5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

1.     Gainesville Regional Airport reaches new heights with passenger record

a.     https://www.alligator.org/news/gainesville-regional-airport-reaches-new-heights-with-passenger-record/article_32097908-413e-11ea-8d1e-63fe0a934142.html

b.     Within the last year, there has been an almost 20% uptick in passengers that utilized the Gainesville airport. With this increased revenue, those in charge of the layout of the airport are trying to best optimize how support the projected influx of passengers in the coming years. Managers are looking to solve for the issues that may arise as the numbers do as they begin to build a new terminal. 

c.     With the rapidly increasing number of Gainesville airport users in the last few years, sustaining the amount of demand will be a challenge as it will take, at best, two years for an additional terminal to come to completion. 

d.     This problem is directed towards the managers of the Gainesville airport. 

2.     Ranking schools doesn’t close achievement gap in Alachua County, experts say

a.     https://www.alligator.org/news/ranking-schools-doesn-t-close-achievement-gap-in-alachua-county/article_b3e65070-3e7f-11ea-85b4-9b1663b4adc5.html

b.     About 21 years ago, Florida enacted a letter-grade ranking system that dictates the amount of money that schools can receive, with the labels based upon students’ standardized test results. Within Alachua county, there is now an evident gap amongst the elementary schools and their labeling. Much of the foundational discrepancies can be seen in the economic and demographic make up of each side of the supposed scale. 

c.     The problem results from the economic benefits given to A or A+ schools that are unproportionable to that of a D-ranked school, making it difficult to enact real change initiatives to move a school’s rank higher. Additionally, with certain school’s taking in more of non-native English-speaking students or students with an economic disadvantaged background, it poses additional challenges in order to see student’s test scores rise with these compounded factors. 

d.     This problem is directed at the School Boards, as they are measured based upon their student’s results and the initiatives they attempt to produce in order to help them learn, no matter the original score. 

3.     County commission may install cameras on I-75 to prevent speeding

a.     https://www.alligator.org/news/county-commission-may-install-cameras-on-i--to-prevent/article_60ca8a1c-3940-11ea-9518-f75f01e96b1d.html

b.     While there has been concern over the amount of speeding that has been occurring in our area of I-75, there is no definitive way on how to solve for it, as there are certain Florida laws that block possible solutions. Ultimately, one of the potential solutions has provided a lot of backlash, imputing traffic scanners that report speeding to the insurance company. 

c.     There is an increase in speeding on I-75 that causes safety concerns. 

d.     The issue of speeding affects drivers, as those on the road are most immediately impacted, whether through policy solutions or while actually driving. 

4.     UF campus manholes past due for repairs

a.     https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-campus-manholes-past-due-for-repairs/article_946fcaa6-3ccb-11ea-9bf4-c378dbe14739.html

b.     The vented manhole covers that seem an ironic staple of the UF campus were actually meant to be a temporary solution from about six years ago. Since then, there has been multiple health and safety incidents/issues regarding the steam and temperature that the metal itself can rise to. While this has remained an ongoing issue by campus maintenance, there has been no proposed solution at this time. 

c.     While there has been the claim to fix the manhole covers for some time, there has been no upholding or movement on that promise. 

d.     The health and safety issues that arise from this issue being unsolved affects all those who come onto the UF campus because no one knows when these freak incidents will truly occur. 

5.     Students, professors unfamiliar with sexual assault prevention program

a.     https://www.alligator.org/news/students-professors-unfamiliar-with-sexual-assault-prevention-program/article_8da8973c-38f9-11ea-82fc-67babd048e96.html

b.     While there was a study stating that sexual “misconduct” has been on the rise at UF since 2015, the campus and President Fuchs has been attempting to ending sexual assault entirely. However, some of the initiatives in place are not well-known or thought highly of by those around campus as productive. 

c.     While there has been growing instances of sexual misconduct at UF since 2015, those actions taken to raise awareness or prevent sexual assault have not been viewed as helpful or impactful. 

d.     While this issue affects the perception of the college as a whole, I would argue that those most specifically impacted by this problem are those who would have needed intervention during a specifically charged situation and there was not any via the initiatives mentioned.