Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Florida leads U.S in new HIV cases after years of cuts in public health
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E3CBDB765D70?p=AWNB
The article discusses that Broward and Miami-Dade counties are among the top counties in Florida when it comes to HIV infection cases. It is argued that this increase is a result of cutting spending when it comes to staffing at the Department of Health's HIV program and a general decline in the state work force every year since Governor Scott has been elected. This problem of growing HIV cases can affect the entire population of South Florida. The people who have this problem are those infected, as well as those at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

2. Miami-Dade's unemployment rate inches up in December amid Latin American woes
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E3CB0E055EE8?p=AWNB
This article talks about how certain Latin American economies are having an effect on South Florida's economic growth. Economists have noticed slowed growth in key industries, such as construction and tourism. Because there are several Latin Americans residing in South Florida, any changes in their currency/economic status have the ability to have a substantial impact on the South Florida area. This issue of unemployment affects people who can't find jobs in the struggling job market, as well as the vendors in that area (as there will be less available customers).

3. Miami-Dade to face tough choices as federal funding for uninsured dwindles
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A83B0A30530860?p=AWNB
This article talks about how a lack of money to support those people who are not insured can put the ability of local hospitals to help certain charities in jeopardy. Florida has refused to expand MEdicaid to all low-income adults, making it much more difficult for insured citizens to receive medical care. The Obama administration has also reduced the amount of federal dollars mandated to the Low Income Pool, making less money available to those uninsured. This problem of lowered aid to uninsured people affects those who do not have medical insurance.

4. Miami PD to begin work on state's largest backlog of untested rape kits
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A2F50A6EE42E50?p=AWNB
This article talks about how Miami-Dade county has upwards of 3700 untested rape kits, which is the most in the entire state. However, because there is a nationwide push to examine all DNA from alleged sexual assault cases, Miami PD will begin to go through all of their untested kits and put them in the system. The problem is that there are so many untested rape kits that even if someone was caught, there is a chance that they would not be prosecuted for all of their crimes, simply because of a lack of evidence-handling. This problem affects the justice system, as well as rape/sexual assault victims in the Miami area.

5. New mosquito-borne virus Zika spreading in Caribbean
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7924D5C684EF0?p=AWNB
This article discusses how the CDC is warning people, particularly pregnant women, traveling out of the country about Zika, a virus spread by mosquito that can affect the development of babies' brains. The virus, originally from Brazil, has now spread further north to Haiti. While the number of cases has increased dramatically in 2014, CDC officials are still doing research to find out the full impacts this disease may have. The issue here is a disease is becoming more prevalent in an area that is not too far away from our coasts. All people living in South Florida could potentially be affected, but there is a special risk for pregnant women.