Identifying Local Opportunities

Hey everyone,

Today I will be talking about five different "local opportunities" that I have observed from my local newspaper back home, the Sun-Sentinel. The Sun-Sentinel is a newspaper based out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but covers news anywhere from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

#1. "Jobless claims hit 6-month high"

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E37879B1BEB0?p=AWNB

This article spoke about how the number of people who sought after jobless benefits rose to its highest point since last July. The article states how the number jumped 10,000 jobs higher to an astounding 293,000. This could be because extra holiday staffers have been laid off, but nonetheless it still creates a rather large problem.

The problem presented in the story is that the number of jobless claims and need for aid rose at a significant rate over the month of December. This poses a problem specifically for both the thousands of people who are now jobless as well as the local government, who now is responsible for providing benefits to an extra 10,000 people.

#2. "Miramar man is convicted of $56 million Medicare scam"

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E379C1C53388?p=AWNB

A man by the name of Khaled Elbeblawy, who was in charge of numerous health car agencies in the Miami-Dade area was finally convicted of stealing $56 million from Medicare programs. He did these things through bribing doctors and recruiters to supply patients "who did not need or receive" any of the benefits. He basically created countless false reports of patients that needed the aid of Medicare such as: insulin injections, nursing and physical therapy. Once Medicare had been billed and he received the money for these "patients", he would pay kickbacks to those who conspired with him.

The problem that this creates is the fact that millions of dollars, which in fact are tax-payer and publicly funded dollars, have been wasted on numerous false accounts when it reality there are thousands of people that could have used this money for real health issues. The people that will specifically be affected by this problem are those that have not been able to receive proper health care due to this as well as us taxpayers who have basically been robbed of our money.

#3. "Snowstorm disrupts flights in S. Florida"

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E37AB077C6A0?p=AWNB

This article stated that due to the large series of blizzards and snowstorms to hit the east over the past week have delayed a substantial number of flights throughout Broward, Palm-Beach, and Miami-Dade counties. Yesterday, close to 300 flights flights in the tri-county area were delayed on top of another 150 flights that were cancelled altogether. Nationally, over 3,000 flights were cancelled and another 2,500 were delayed.

The main problem here is that thousands of flights nationally and hundreds locally have been suspended or cancelled. Those who are specifically affected by this problem are both the airline industry who will be forced to reimburse and rearrange flights for thousands of people, as well as the thousands of people who will be forced to alter their schedules and travel plans because of these delays.

#4. "Guns on campus will be costly - Security needed, school officials say"

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E6F685D70A78?p=AWNB

This article revolves around the possibility of Congress passing a law that makes it possible to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. However, many local police departments around the state are scared that if it is passed, it would cost millions to allocate new salaries and funding for the need for increased forces. For example, the head of police at UCF estimates it would cost their department 1.1 million within the first year alone to adequately staff and fund their department. This is only one out of many schools in Florida and this could cost the state millions. Not to mention the safety of some campuses could be comprised when disagreements or arguments among students occur.

The main problem presented in the article revolves around the millions that the state would need to spend on adjusting to this passed legislature. It also presents a safety issue for campuses statewide as this act could create crime just as well as it could stop it. Specifically, this problem affects the state as well as police departments around the state that would be forced to adjust and deal with the numerous problems attached with that.

#5. "Power outages affect thousands in South Florida"

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E6F6042B90E0?p=AWNB

Last Sunday, over 6000 homes in the South Florida area were without power due to large wind gusts (over 55 MPH) during a series of bad thunderstorms. There was even record of a tornado at 90 MPH touching down around the Hobe Sound area. However, aside from that, there were minimal damages and injuries which is the silver lining in this story.

This obviously causes a major problem due to the fact that around 6000 people were without power. Those directly affected by this problem are those who lost their power, as well as FPL, the largest electricity provider in South Florida. FPL now has to assess and fix this issue, while thousands deal with the struggle of living without electricity, AC, water and so on.