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☆ I'm an Air Force mechanic. It's a very stressful job, but I love it — here are the best and worst parts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Paul Krantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Raymond Pendergraph has served all over the world as an E6 technical sergeant in the US Air Force. My dad was in the military, so moving around and living on Air Force bases was part of my life growing up. My first duty station was at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. International assignments brought me to South Korea, Japan, and ItalyI spent a year working on Osan Air Base in South Korea. In the military, working hours really depend on your positionPeople working in administration or finance have pretty standard, set schedules.

☆ Car dealers fight the threat of extinction as the Teslafication of their industry intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The modern car shopping experience, from initial research to final purchase, can now be done online — and the pandemic accelerated that shift. Others are emulating firms like Carvana and moving some parts of the buying process online. We don't exactly know how the car business is going to look going forward with this EV shift, and how much the EV shift is actually going to take place." Ford has set stringent requirements for its dealers to sell EVs — though some dealers have called its EV certification program unfair and dropped out. Some dealers are having a hard time committing to changes when the return on investment — especially with EVs — isn't yet clear.

☆ Hurricane winds will get stronger in states like Illinois and Tennessee, threatening more properties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Researchers also estimated the U.S. could experience an annual loss of $18.5 billion from hurricane-force winds that would eventually rise to $20 billion in 2053. The mid-Atlantic region will experience the largest rise in maximum wind speeds, the report found. Inland states including Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee could see wind speeds rise from 87 mph to 97 mph during strong hurricanes. Residents in these states will likely be less prepared for future hikes in wind speeds, the report added. The projections also show that areas of Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia are at greater risk of destructive storm winds.

☆ Months After Hurricane Ian Hit Florida, Many in Fort Myers Are Living in Tents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Deborah Acosta | Photographs Marco Bello For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People in Fort Myers, Fla., are scrambling to find a place to live after Hurricane Ian ravaged the area in September, compelling some residents to camp in places where their homes once stood. The storm made impact in southwest Florida, destroying 5,000 homes and severely damaging another 30,000, according to data firm CoStar Group Inc. The destruction forced many families that want to stay in the area to seek temporary accommodations. They are often competing with the construction workers who swarmed the area to help with restoration efforts.

The group of hard-line Republicans standing firm in opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker has coalesced around an alternative: Rep. Byron Donalds, a conservative two-term lawmaker from Florida who is considered a rising star in the GOP but is still relatively unknown nationally. Donalds said the incident inspired him to change his life and eventually emerge from businessman to politician. In 2021, Donalds was denied membership in the Congressional Black Caucus and insisted it was because of his conservative views. Donalds’ wife, Erika Donalds, with whom he has three children, is also a conservative Republican and involved in state politics. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., center right, speaks with a colleague in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, on Wednesday.

☆ 2 Black people have been nominated for House speaker for the first time in American history
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For the first time, two Black people were nominated to be speaker of the House of Representatives. Conservatives opposed to Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds on the 4th ballot on Wednesday. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from leadership at the end of the last Congress, though she will remain in the House as a rank-and-file lawmaker. "Now, here we are, and for the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed into the nomination for speaker of the House." Donalds' nomination came on the fourth ballot for House speaker.

☆ 2 Black people have been nominated for House Speaker for the first time in American history
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

For the first time, two Black people were nominated to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. Conservatives opposed to Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds on the 4th ballot on Wednesday. Conservatives oppposed to Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida — a Black Republican who was first elected to a southwest Florida district in 2020 — as their candidate. "Now, here we are, and for the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed into the nomination for Speaker of the House. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from leadership at the end of the last Congress, though she will remain in the House as a rank-and-file lawmaker.

☆ Southwest's cancelation nightmare sends ripples across travel industry with rental car shortages, inflated flight prices, and ongoing delays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Southwest canceled thousands more flights on Wednesday amid an ongoing wave of travel chaos. The airline's struggles have started spilling over into the travel industry as a whole. Stranded passengers are facing rental car shortages and ongoing delays. "The first thing JetBlue tells me is to cancel my travel," Rivera said. The JetBlue representative told her that displaced Southwest passengers have been snatching up available tickets, inadvertently displacing JetBlue passengers who need to rebook after their own delays or cancellations.

☆ After a slow start, the 2022 hurricane season roared in with memorable and destructive storms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jennifer Gray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —As the hurricane season closes, a handful of blockbuster storms made history after an eerily quiet first half of the season gave false hope. In fact, we didn’t have any named storms from July 3 to August 31, the first time that’s occurred since 1941. One of those storms was Hurricane Ian, which hit land in late September and will go down as the most memorable storm of the 2022 season. “Tropical storms have formed in every month outside of hurricane season, and there have been a few hurricanes, too,” NOAA said. Historically, we’ve seen at least 15 named storms form in the month of December, even all the way up to December 30.

Lee County suffered none of the state’s 123 Irma deaths. That experience influenced many people’s decisions not to flee Hurricane Ian. “Hurricane Ian is going to be the strongest outreach messaging for southwest Florida ever,” said Gleason, the Charlotte County spokesman. “When you live through it, then that message sinks in deep and forever.”A view of the Matanzas Pass side of Estero Island, home to Fort Myers Beach, Fla. Fort Myers Beach is expected to take years to rebuild. Thomas Simonetti for NBC NewsMichael Yost's two closest friends in Fort Myers Beach drowned in Hurricane Ian.

☆ Florida’s East Coast Braces for Possible Hurricane by Midweek
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ron DeSantis told Floridians to be prepared for the possibility of a tropical storm or hurricane later this week. A weather system brewing in the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico may hit Florida’s east coast as a tropical storm or hurricane later this week, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The low-pressure area could become a tropical or subtropical storm by Sunday night or early Monday, the hurricane center said. The system is forecast to approach parts of the Bahamas and coastal Florida at or near hurricane strength on Wednesday and Thursday, about six weeks after Hurricane Ian made landfall and devastated parts of southwest Florida.

☆ Two Florida medical boards advance ban on gender-affirming care for minors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Florida’s state medical boards voted Friday afternoon to approve the language of a first-of-its-kind rule banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors who don’t already receive it. The rule updates the medical standards of practice in the state to mostly prohibit health care professionals from starting treatment for gender dysphoria in those younger than 18. Gender dysphoria refers the stress and discomfort some experience when their gender identity doesn’t match their sex assigned at birth. The measure bans the prescription of puberty blockers or hormone therapy to new patients who are minors, and it forbids gender-affirming surgeries. In a statement Friday, Equality Florida said once the rule goes into effect, it will be the only ban in the country of gender-affirming care for minors instituted by a state medical board.

☆ Florida teen wins competition by capturing 28 Burmese pythons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

MIAMI — A 19-year-old South Florida man captured 28 Burmese pythons during a 10-day competition that was created to increase awareness about the threats the invasive snakes pose to the state’s ecology. Earlier this year, a team of biologists hauled in the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida. A Burmese python is held during a safe capture demonstration on June 16, 2022, in Miami. Concepcion told the South Florida SunSentinel that he’s been hunting pythons for about five years, and typically looks for them at night because that’s when they’re on the move, seeking the warmth of roads. We are removing record numbers of pythons and we’re going to keep at it,” South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Member “Alligator Ron” Bergeron said in a news release.

☆ Florida's Hispanic voters back DeSantis over Crist, support Martha's Vineyard migrant flights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Marc Caputo | Noah Pransky | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Florida’s Hispanic voters back Gov. “There are lots of Hispanic voters in this state who really like the governor’s style, this strongman who won’t back down. And Crist has no mojo,” said Coker, who conducted the bilingual survey of 625 likely Hispanic voters from Oct. 17-22. And other Hispanic voters from throughout Latin America also side with Crist over DeSantis by a narrower percentage, 53% to 43%. Both DeSantis and Crist receive strong support from voters registered with their respective parties, but DeSantis has slightly more intense intraparty support than Crist, and the governor is leading among independent Hispanic voters by a 22-point margin.

☆ Real-estate investors rush to score deep discounts on Florida properties hammered by Hurricane Ian: 'If they were asking $1 million before the storm, I'll offer $750,000'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Real-estate investors are trying to take advantage of the down market by buying properties for less. They seem undeterred by high insurance costs, possibly falling home values, and ever-worse storms. The real-estate market in Florida just doesn't stop. "If they were asking $1 million before the storm, I'll offer $750,000," Lema told The Wall Street Journal. Photo by Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty ImagesStill, it seems many buyers are undeterred by or unaware of insurance costs, future home-value depreciation, and the risk of ever-stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels.

☆ Dangerous flesh-eating bacterial infections increased in Florida after Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Carma Hassan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An increase in infections with a rare flesh-eating bacteria was reported in Florida in the days after Hurricane Ian due to catastrophic flooding from the storm. Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm on September 28 in Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida. The Florida Department of Health in Lee County warned residents of the risks of Vibrio vulnificus on October 3. “DOH-Lee is observing an abnormal increase in cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections as a result of exposure to the flood waters and standing waters following Hurricane Ian. Since September 29, 2022, 26 cases of Vibrio vulnificus associated with Hurricane Ian have been reported to DOH-Lee.

☆ Elon Musk says SpaceX will let people donate money to fund Starlink for places in need of internet
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said SpaceX will add a donate option to Starlink for areas in need of internet. Musk said SpaceX was burning through $20 million per month to maintain Starlink in Ukraine. He also tweeted that SpaceX was burning through around $20 million per month to maintain Starlink in Ukraine. "The hell with it," he said, adding that SpaceX will go on funding the Ukraine government for free, despite the amount of money Starlink continues to lose. SpaceX, designed to provide internet to rural locations, also delivered 120 Starlink internet kits to southwest Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, according to Gov.

☆ 7 people who left California detail the bigger and better homes they were able to buy or rent in their new locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Jordan Pandy | Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Seven people who chose to leave California told Insider about the bigger and better homes they could afford in other locations. Brittany PhillipsName: Brittany Phillips, 37Profession: Hairstylist making about $85,000 a yearHome in California: Phillips shared a three-bedroom, 1,353-square-foot house with a roommate. Home in Florida: Phillips and her 13-year-old daughter moved in with her parents in a northwest Florida hot spot, Panama City Beach. Worst part of California: Phillips felt that California is simply unaffordable. Worst part of California: Berube said Chino Hills was getting crowded and expensive.

☆ Electric vehicles will become power plants on wheels by providing backup power for homes and the grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Electric vehicles in the coming years will be capable of powering homes and the grid. Backup power from EVs can help during storms and support electric grids strained by extreme weather. A new business unit, GM Energy, has a line of electric-vehicle chargers that can also feed power back to homes and the electric grid. "There's a value stack in EV batteries: supporting the grid, serving as backup power for your home, and also reducing greenhouse-gas emissions." The Ford F-150 Lightning also has bidirectional charging, which proved useful after Hurricane Ian pummeled southwest Florida's power grid.

☆ Coastal communities losing billions in tax revenue to rising sea levels
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCoastal communities losing billions in tax revenue to rising sea levels“We don’t even know if we’re going to be able to rebuild.” As the Hurricane Ian cleanup efforts continue in southwest Florida, some business owners there are already cutting their losses. CNBC's Diana Olick reports on what Florida stands to lose.

Last week, Killnet targeted the websites of several U.S. states, successfully knocking Colorado.gov offline for more than a day and briefly interrupting Kentucky.gov. Killnet frequently posts lists of targeted websites on its Telegram channel, encouraging fellow Russia supporters with entry-level hacker skills to join it in trying to disrupt them. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. It listed the city of Chicago’s general air travel website, flychicago.com, which was inaccessible Monday, but not that of its major airports, like O’Hare International or Midway International. Similarly, it targeted Hawaii’s state website for air travel, which was also inaccessible, but not Honolulu International.

“This looks and smells like human trafficking,” said Ariadna Phillips, a New York community organizer with South Bronx Mutual Aid. On Tuesday, DeSantis said at a news conference that three of four people arrested last week for "ransacking" communities following Hurricane Ian were illegal immigrants who should be immediately deported. Remembering "horror stories" of immigrants not being paid for work or being deported following previous natural disasters, Phillips rushed to Queens. "Promises are often not kept to these workers," said Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Workforce, a New Orleans group that advocates for and monitors migrant workers following natural disasters. In the days following Ian, Resilience Workforce deployed staff members to Florida to observe work conditions on the ground.

☆ A 55-year-old who never made more than $52,000 a year built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in 5 years and is now financially independent: 'If I can do it as a basic blue-collar worker raising a famil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A former cop who never earned more than $52,000 built a 25-unit real estate portfolio. He spends time managing his investments, including a 25-unit real estate portfolio, which Insider verified. Here's how Mark built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in just five years on a salary that never exceeded $52,000 a year. He agreed, called up a real estate agent he knew in the area, and told her he wanted to invest in real estate. "At that time, I had not read any real estate books, I had not watched any YouTube videos, and I really didn't know anything about buying real estate," said Mark.

☆ Low-price grocers like Aldi are winning as consumers trade down
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN Business —With grocery prices soaring, consumers are changing the way they shop for food. “Inflation is hitting everyone.”More consumers are additionally switching over to store brands, also called “private label,” which are often comparable in quality and lower in price. “I don’t think you can underestimate the strength of all these private label offerings,” said Heather Lalley, editor in chief of Winsight Grocery Business, a trade publication. “Now we’re seeing other retailers trying to emulate them.”In September, for example, Kroger (KR) announced a new budget private label brand called Smartway, which consolidates some of its other private label brands under one umbrella. Aldi, for one, is rolling out a new tagline to explain what it’s all about: It’s An Aldi Thing.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, the living have struggled to account for all the dead. More than half of the victims drowned, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has reported. A high-water vehicle with responders drives through a flooded neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in North Port, Fla., on Oct. 3. Precisely how many have died as a result of Hurricane Ian is a point of contention. “The communities hit by Hurricane Ian were places that have many new residents who had never experienced a major storm,” he said.

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