County struggling to meet new law - State advisory group would penalize school districts over security
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0114%21January%2B14&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/170F192510EDE878
In light of recent school massacres many schools around the country have been implementing many of preventive measures to prevent another massacre from occurring of these proventive many states (such as Florida) are mandating so that all schools must have an on-campus deputy or private security personal at all times. This law was established Feb. 14 of the previous year in wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. This would be good news if it wasn’t for struggles happening in Orange County Sheriff’s Office as they struggle in supplying full-time deputies to all the schools in the county and may be facing penalties for failing to comply. According to the article they’ve been struggling since the start of the school semester, but since then they’ve hired 50 more officers yet still need 21 more to provide full time protection to all campuses. While it is still unclear whether or not the county needs to provide for charter schools as they are privately owned, currently every high school has two on-duty officers, each middle school has one officers yet a majority of elementary schools struggle to have a single officer available all day. This has lead to much debate as many complain it is unreasonable and that there is nowhere in the law that states that an officer has to be on campus from first bell to dismissal, but allowing officers to “float” between campuses is not what the law was intended for. Now it has become a battle of funding as either funding is spent on schools or providing new officers, while Broward county is attempting to fundraise for the short funds.
While intentions are good this has quickly become a war on funding as schools struggle enough as is providing the bare necessities for their students. Those who are affected the most by this problem are also those who need this the most. What I mean is that if the law becomes stricter the less funding goes to teachers and education defeating the purpose of school but if it is the other way around in case of a crisis the school will lack the proper protection against an armed attacker.
Malls are fading, making way for new entertainment
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0121%21January%2B21&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/171169386BD6E298
In the age where online shopping is all the rave, many outlets are struggling to compete as mall are becoming more and more obsolete. Interesting this is not all bad as these outlets are not onlying being replaced with onsite online retailers but many dining plazas. As districts such as Disney Springs have opted in building stores that don’t rely solely on retail. This trend is also seen in many grocery stores as many no longer just sell fresh foods but also provide a variety of options for to-go meals and many even have full fledged restaurants.The new trend many retailers are now aiming for is place for customers to be entertained while they spend as the new Margaritaville may be the largest new project in florida in 2019, as it plans to be 300 arc plaza with nearly 900 homes, with several shoppings and restaurants options. This came at a hefty cost as many outlets are closing their doors including the popular retailer Sears as they face another bankruptcy this year and plan on closing more of its doors. Ironically enough these foreclosures aren't making it easier for the competition as the new open spaces are quickly being occupied by Amazon locations, making online shopping even easier. Many mall developers are opting to use their unoccupied space to various types of new tenants ranging from healthcare facilities to call centers. Researchers are estimating that this will be the new face to the diminishing mall industry. “You probably won’t recognize malls in 10 or 15 years … Malls are great properties in great locations but they will have to find a way to adapt.”
The main victims of this article is the retail/mall industry as they now not only competing with the online market but other retailers that opted to include an element of entertain to their business.
Illegal immigration features some ironies
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0114%21January%2B14&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/170F19256117C188
This articles the contradictory nature that is illegal immigration as it doesn’t make sense why people would flee their homeland to nation that is seemly inhospitable and unwelcoming to foreigners. The article begins with a poll as over a third of Mexican citizens would want to emigrate to the US, but the article quickly diminishes this claim by stating why would residences of a naturally rich country (“19th globally in oil reserves and currently 12th largest oil provider”) would want to leave. Then the article mentions how Mexico is in the lower half of the population density and how much revenue there is in the tourist industry in Mexico. The answer to this why so many Mexicans want to leave Mexico is the idea that Life in Mexico is relatively poor as Mexico lacks many of the rights that many American use liberally. The author believes the best way to assist Mexico with their emigration problem is by helping become more progressive by giving their residence equality.
SpaceX announces layoffs - About 10 percent of employees cut 'due to the extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead'
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0112%21January%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/170E728B55BA64A8
Popular space program SpaceX lays off over 6000 employees. Many of the company heads have come forth and stated that “ To continue delivering to our customers and succeeding in developing an interplanetary spacecraft… SpaceX must become a leaner company.”
The people who are suffering this problem in the article are those who are being laid off the SpaceX program as even though the article repeated over and over again that the leaders at SpaceX are grateful for the contributions of everyone they had laid off made. But the article also mentions how other space programs have been letting go senior members and this downward thread seems to counterproductive in terms of space travel as yes on one hand it leaves more funds for building space crafts, but it also limits what the team can do and less people on deck to prevent errors or other miscalculations.
Short staffs and long lines at U.S. airports
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0115%21January%2B15&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/170F6F1B1BE91888
In Atlanta, preflight traffic was at its worst Monday, 1/14, as many reported delays to have lasted over hours. The article attributes this massive delay to an unprecedented 7.6% absence rate this was in part due to the government shut down as many sympathized with the TSA workers as they agreed they too would have went on looking for new work if their current employment didn’t pay. According to many TSA members the wait times reported by many customers do not accurately reflect the actual wait times as the Sunday prior over 99% of all customers experienced wait times less than 30 minutes and over 93% experienced less than 15 minute wait times.
The problem here stems from the idea that TSA traffic is being affected by the government shut down as less TSA members are willing to show up to work as they are government officials are currently looking elsewhere for work.
Hey there Nadeen. You found some interesting situations that could be effecting the local area that you could tackle, but I want to maybe help focus the search.
ReplyDeleteIn the situation of meeting staffing requirements for student safety, the main resource of funding for schools comes from local taxes on housing, which is a very uneven form of funding when some of the most vulnerable schools can be urban environments that are not as affluent as suburban areas. Would there be a way to fix the hiring issue without outsourcing the problem to private security?
In looking at the SpaceX situation, the problem with senior layoffs is that senior staff are the ones that hold the biggest paychecks. Similar to that is the layoffs that happened at Buzzfeed, which severely cut the reporting staff that made up some of their major sections. In the case of business organization, companies like Buzzfeed and SpaceX need writers and scientists, but scientists and writers don't need these companies to continue their work. Technology allows for the allocation of information and exposure that creates environments where people don't need to lose their labor over to managers or bosses, we just need to equitably pay for the fringes of our workers like reporters and aeronautics engineers. Is there any way for senior workers to organize and continue producing valuable work and sill be properly supported?
Hi Nadeem,
ReplyDeleteYour opportunity regarding emigration from Mexico to the US is certainly a controversial one. It would be fair to make the claim that Mexicans immigrants to the US are not welcomed by so many in this country. We in the UK do to a large extent face the same issue. Uneducated citizens of our nation, particularly the older, more traditional populations voted to leave the EU in summer of 2016, with the core reasoning behind this being the 'problem of immigration' and disfavour shown towards those not originally from the UK. So it is interesting to draw parallel's between the two states.
Hi Nadeem, I enjoyed reading your reflections on the local opportunities you found. I particularly found the section on illegal immigration from Mexico interesting. I wanted to read the article, but the link didn’t take me directly to it. I’d be interested in knowing what the author suggests for becoming more progressive in their own countries. I also found the SpaceX article interesting – the layoff of 6,000 people seems extreme and I wonder whether this is just a sign of things to come.
ReplyDelete