I decided to look into five local opportunities that were presented in the local newspaper of Bradenton, Florida. The Bradenton Herald has been sharing news stories in the Bradenton area for almost a century. They report on many different aspects of the community. Here are a few examples of problems in the community that could eventually be developed into an opportunity.
Side Note: The links featured are the links that were available when I was viewing the articles. Some links have had trouble reopening so it would be best to use the "eJournals" tab on the UF Business Library page, type in Bradenton Herald, open the World News Research Collection, and then search for the titles using the search bar.
Opportunity #1:
Title:
Red tide is weaker, but still hanging around Anna Maria Island. Is the worst behind us?
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E69B5ACC2F7DD8
In summary, this article talks about red tide and how it is effecting Bradenton and the surrounding areas. This spell of red tide has been around since August of this year. Red tide causes deaths among wildlife causing their carcasses to be washed up on shore. The smell and fumes in the air cause respiratory problems among visitors. It moved from only being present on beaches to traveling into the canals and creeks. Tropical Storm Gordon helped a little to change the winds and distance the algae from the beaches.
The problem in this article is red tide. It is a natural phenomenon that we unfortunately have not found a solution to. We simply have to sit back and let it run it's course until the algae disperses and then the fish population can regain proper numbers.
This problem greatly affects many aspects of the beach and ocean environment. Fish and vegetation die which hurt the ocean ecosystem as a whole when there is an imbalance in the typical food chain. Once the dead fish wash on shore, people often can no longer visit the beaches because of how the smell makes them cough. This will also damage house rentals near the beach, restaurants, and shops that depend on tourists and beach goers.
Opportunity #2:
Title:
Dirty Dining: These Bradenton-area restaurants cited for mold, food temperature issues
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0906%21September%2B06&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E45AF734D9C518
This article shows glimpses of health inspector reports of local restaurants in the Bradenton area. The inspectors cite many cases of mold, food not being kept at the appropriate temperature, and food not properly dated.
The problem is that some restaurants are not keeping up with health regulations that are put in place for the safety of their customers. The article says that there was more information said in these inspector reports, but these are a few of the worst to be mentioned.
This problem mostly affects the customers that come into eat at these restaurants. It puts their health at risk. In addition to the customers, the workers handling these food products are also put in danger because of the possibility of coming into contact with germs that could affect their health.
Opportunity #3:
Title:
Manatee school district is struggling with paying its employees. Here’s what went wrong
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0905%21September%2B05&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E44CBAA6703D90
Basically, this article talks about the effects that have come from the installation of a new software system for the School District of Manatee County. There have been many negative outcomes to this installation due to software issues, human errors, and faulty leadership. The implementation of this software has effected the payment of teachers, how soon supplies can be delivered to classrooms, and put tension on leadership and those in charge of the software.
There are multiple problems mentioned in this article; some include faulty software, human error, misunderstandings of how to assess a teacher's paycheck, multiple investigations into the leadership behind this software "upgrade", and also the mistake of not continuing the use of the old software in order to serve as a back up for the new software.
The people affected by these problems are teachers and their families, students and their families, leaders of the School District, anyone involved in the supply chain of school supplies, and faculty members of Manatee County Schools.
Opportunity #4:
Title:
Two pygmy killer whales stranded in Clearwater now on the road to recovery in Sarasota
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0831%21August%2B31&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E260BB55B69FD0
This article outlines the rescue of two pygmy killer whales. These whales were found beached in Clearwater and were then taken to Mote Marine Aquarium to begin rehabilitation. Both whales were very thin and considered to be in critical condition. After a few days of working with the Mote staff, both whales, named Thunder and Lightning, could swim mostly on their own.
The problem in this case was the two pygmy killer whales getting stranded on the beach in Clearwater. They would have been helpless without the assistance of local marine volunteers to save and rehabilitate them.
This problem mainly affects the whales and also could have been a danger to pedestrians visiting the beach.
Opportunity #5:
Title:
A 76-year-old man answered knock at his door. Gunman got away with pills, cash, cops say
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0830%21August%2B30&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E1FE2152449AF0
This article talks about an unfortunate incident where a young male barged into the home of an elderly man to steal medication and money from the household.
The problem that presented itself in this article is the elderly man was threatened with a handgun and got his medication and money he lives off of taken away. In terms of business opportunities, advanced security and fast response systems could have possibly helped this poor man.
In this particular case, this elderly man had this problem. I think many older people are taken advantage of and threatened due to their perceived vulnerability.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I like the stories that you chose for this exercise. You included issues that I wasn't even aware of such as the red tide issue we are having in Florida. I also like that you chose the story about the old man, because safety for the elderly is a big problem right now, especially in Florida.
Hello Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you decided to write about the Red Tide thats been happening on the west side of Florida. Since Gainesville is in the center we do not see the effects that this event has had on our wildlife. I also agree that the security system for elderly is a good really good idea. Usually older people do not have the strength or energy to fight and defend themselves, so if they could see who is knocking on their door they could prevent an attack.