Things To Do In SW Florida

NeoCity touts its advanced semiconductor efforts as the future of Osceola County’s economy and part of the push for technological advancement across the U.S. But after a string of recent accomplishments, it’s clearer than ever that the project’s promise is still years from being realized.

Since late 2022, NeoCity — a collection of multiple, fledgling tech firms — has laid claim to an impressive half-billion dollars in federal funding. It’s created nearly 100 jobs and is on pace for 200+ within its first five years of operation. Still, a full-scale chip manufacturing effort, and the thousands or even tens of thousands of jobs that would bring, is not yet on the horizon.

“Building a new industry cluster takes a long time and we’re really thrilled with the last year and half with all these investments,” said Tim Giuliani, CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership. “There’s always a risk of failure but … as this much money is being poured into one location from a variety of sources your chances of success just continue to go up.” read more

By DIDI TANG (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America’s failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. But as the two countries’ rivalry expands into the biotech industry, some say that shutting out Chinese companies would only hurt the U.S.

Biotechnology promises to revolutionize everyday life, with scientists and researchers using it to make rapid advances in medical treatment, genetic engineering in agriculture and novel biomaterials. Because of its potential, it has caught the attention of both the Chinese and U.S. governments.

Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar “foreign adversary biotech companies of concern” from doing business with federally funded medical providers. The bills name four Chinese-owned companies.

The Chinese Embassy said those behind the bills have an “ideological bias” and seek to suppress Chinese companies “under false pretexts.” It demanded that Chinese companies be given “open, just, and non-discriminatory treatment.” read more

The Department of Defense is looking for a new home for SpaceX’s Starship launching the process to determine what the environmental impact would be to allow the world’s most powerful rocket to launch from the Space Coast.

Led by the U.S. Air Force, which includes the Space Force, but working with NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard, what is officially called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has the most rigorous requirements when weighing the detriments a project might have on its surroundings.

The Air Force detailed its plans for the EIS on a new website: spaceforcestarshipeis.com.

For now SpaceX continues to attempt test launches of the Starship and Super Heavy rocket from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The company had two launches in 2023 in which the rocket generating more than 16 million pounds of thrust made it off the launch pad, but ultimately ended with the hardware exploding minutes after takeoff both times.

The first of the two launches created so much power on liftoff that it destroyed the launch pad prompting major changes that ultimately paid off for the second launch with the pad sustaining little damage. A third attempt to get Starship to complete its suborbital test flight could come before the end of next month. read more