Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be in Jacksonville tonight as part of a two-stop Florida swing to lure voters in the Nov. 8 election.
Trump will have an event at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena after a 3 p.m. stop in Daytona Beach. Doors open at 4 p.m.
The Jacksonville event is open to the general public with registration required at bit.ly/2aDgziT.
Two tickets are allowed per registration and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Cecil Airport project wins transportation award
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority recently received a statewide award for a Cecil Airport project.
The Florida Department of Transportation awarded the authority the General Aviation Airport Project of the Year honor for a development on the east side of the airport.
The Eastside Roadway and Taxiway opened up the area to future development. The taxiway was designed to accommodate the largest aircraft anticipated to use the airport and extends 1,000 feet east and 3,000 feet north from the end of a runway.
The $4.1 million project was funded mostly by the Federal Aviation Administration. Roadway and clearing costs were an additional $3.8 million, split almost evenly between the authority and state transportation department.
Criteria for the award included the ability to contribute to moving people and goods as well as benefiting the community.
OneBlood testing for Zika virus
All blood collections in OneBlood’s service areas in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina will be tested for the Zika virus.
The blood bank’s operations will remain business as usual and collections will continue uninterrupted.
The action follows the Food and Drug Administration requesting blood donations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties be tested for the Zika virus.
OneBlood implemented testing in those South Florida counties and then decided to test all donations.
If testing determines a unit of blood is reactive for the Zika virus, OneBlood will quarantine the unit, notify the donor and alert the Florida Department of Health, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control.
ClaimMedic launches in Jacksonville
One of the country’s only medical billing advocacy services launched in Jacksonville this week.
ClaimMedic helps patients and caregivers verify and manage medical bills.
It’s comprised of medical claims specialists who are licensed health insurance agents and will assist in having insurance companies pay claims and discovering erroneous bills.
“Even as an expert, I found that I was exhausted and frustrated with the errors and the time it took to manage payments and insurance,” said Mary Daniel, ClaimMedic CEO, in a news release.
The company organizes, analyzes and verifies medical bills to ensure accuracy. It also offers two levels of service — a contingency-based auditing of past medical bills and payment recovery along with a fee-based monthly management and review services.
Daniel worked with state Rep. Travis Cummings, R-Elkton, to expand the public adjuster law in Florida. The law went into effect July 1 and allows health insurance agents to represent clients in billing issues.
Baptist Medical Center locations recognized for women's services
Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville and Baptist Medical Center South were recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top hospitals nationally for women’s services.
The two share a license and ranked 50th nationally for gynecology services. The ranking reviews technology and services, including robotic surgery, digital mammography and image-guided radiation therapy.
The hospitals also ranked fourth in Florida out of more than 250 facilities. They are the only community hospitals to be recognized as a top hospital in Florida by the publication.
U.S. News evaluates close to 5,000 hospitals nationwide, according to a news release. The latest ranking was part of its Best Hospitals 2017 guidebook that published this week.
Tote, Intership partner in Puerto Rico
Tote Maritime Puerto Rico and Intership have teamed to form one of the largest and most experienced advanced terminal operating companies in Puerto Rico.
Called Puerto Rico Terminals, it includes combining assets of the two maritime operators and $38 million in existing assets at the Puerto Nuevo terminals.
The company will move more than 250,000 containers and automobiles annually in and out of the country.
It’s expected customers will see improved vessel turn times, enhanced safety and security features and other technology-based upgrades, said Anthony Chiarello, president of Jacksonville-based Tote Maritime, in a news release.
The two companies operated on adjacent properties on the terminal and combined will cover 122 acres, have eight renovated cranes and eight inbound/outbound lanes for cargo.
Local Hurricane owner best in state
A local business owner who runs two Hurricane Grill & Wings was named “Franchisee of the Year” by the restaurant’s parent corporation.
Bill and Sharon King own the restaurants in the Baymeadows and Bartram Village areas and were recognized as being “great as well as highly respected” within in the brand.
The Kings grew their business sales by more than 10 percent in 2015 and they’re up 9 percent this year.
The Florida-based company has more than 80 restaurants open or under construction in 16 states and five European counties.