Thursday, January 30, 2020

Identifying local opportunities


Story 1:

Title: Europe steps up China virus fight, aims to repatriate 600 (The Gainesville Sun)


Description of the story: European officials and business stepped up efforts Wednesday to counter a spreading virus from China that has killed more than 130 people. 

Description of the problem: Coronavirus is quickly spreading in China to thousands of people and is now even spreading to different countries as a result of people traveling. Problem is how to stop the spread of this deadly virus.

Who has this problem: All Chinese citizens, pretty much anyone in proximity of someone with the virus, hospitals, plane companies that aren’t allowed to fly, family of members affected.

Story 2:

Title: Man hunting iguana prompts lockdowns at nearby schools



Description of the story: The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office got a call that a man with a rifle was seen near a local elementary and middle school. Police say it was all over an iguana, however schools were placed on lockdown because of it.

Description of the problem: It is dangerous that certain people can own a gun when they should not be allowed to. It causes real threats to many people and can be deadly. In this case, it caused a great disruption to a school.

Who has this problem: Gun right activists, ant-gun right activists, schools, students, members of the neighborhood, police.

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Story 3:

Title: Storage needed to address water woes


Description of the story: This story addresses the issue of harmful freshwater being released into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries and how that negatively effects many things.


Description of the problem: There just isn’t enough water storage north, south, east or west of Lake Okeechobee to change the way the water flows to reduce damage from high and low flows to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries.

Who has this problem: Water animals living in any of the three water bodies, residents in the area, government, pollution activists, agriculture workers.

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Story 4:

Title: West End fades away


Description of the story: West End Golf Course has officially closed after 50 years of business in the Gainesville area. This gold course opened in 1969 and was a huge part of the Gainesville community. The par-60 course has been for sale for more than a year but finally closed as it became unplayable.

Description of the problem: There was a significant drop in play over the last three years. Without the finances coming in, it was impossible to keep pouring money into a golf course to keep it nice and useable. Ultimately, West End Golf Course was effected by the struggling economy and a change in generations and peoples hobbies.

Who has this problem: Golf enthusiasts, owners of the company, residents that live next to the course that will now see a change in landscape.
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Story 5:

Title: Man accused of beating grandfather


Description of the story: A 24-year-old man was accused of beating his 75-year-old grandfather this week.

Description of the problem: Violent acts are never good for an area, especially when it is against old men who cannot defend themselves as easily. Maybe the problem is there is not enough mental health care in Okeechobee.

Who has this problem: Grandson, grandfather, neighborhood members, hospitals, police.
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2 comments:

  1. Hi Aaron,
    Thank you for sharing your post as I learned 5 new things! I found number 4 especially interesting due to my interest in golf. The closing of a golf course is a huge opportunity, whether it be for another golf course to take its place and renovate it due to its unplayable nature or just for the sheer land alone. I will definitely monitor the local news regarding West End's fate. One more thing is I would just discuss how each problem is or can become an opportunity.

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  2. Aaron
    You did a good job of finding local problems. I found this assignment sort of difficult as time went on because I was running out of places to look for stories. However I think you could have described the stories a little bit more and explained why you thought these people had the problem. With that being said you followed the instructions of the assignment very well.

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