Identifying Opportunities in the St. Augustine Record
I am from the small city of St. Augustine, Florida. In this post, I will be listing five news articles that discuss a problem a person or organization has.
I will be:
- Describing the story and the problem within the story
- Identifying who has the problem
1) Florida Lawmakers Vowing to Crack Down on Pollution that Contributes to Algae Problems
- In St. Augustine, higher levels of pollution coming from municipalities has led to the over blooming of algae in the inter-coastal and beaches. In the past, lawmakers have not taken action to stop this excess pollution, but rather would spend excess money on the environmental cleanup. This year, lawmakers are proposing laws to regulate pollution, including a bill that enforces increased financial penalties for sewage spills.
- The major problem within this story is the fact that homeowners with septic tanks, agricultural operations and sewer systems are all major causes of pollution in the water, thus contributing to the overgrowth of algae. This algae is imperative because it is causing significant death of our oceanic wildlife and making water unsafe to swim in.
- The people who are dealing with the impacts of the overgrown algae include the local government who is responsible for funding the sewage spill cleanups, as well as local citizens who are warned to stay away from unsafe water.
2) Florida Students Will Start Receiving Mental Health Classes in 2020
- Florida school systems will now require students grades 6-12 to take five hours of mental health classes aimed at suicide prevention and substance abuse. This initiative was started after the school shooting in Parkland in 2018 which drastically affected the mental health of students.
- The problem being addressed in this story is the increased suicide rates noticed by teenagers in the past few years.
- The people who are experiencing this problem are the teenage student across Florida.
Identifying Opportunities in the Cincinnati Enquirer
My mother is from Cincinnati, Ohio, so I decided to look into the Cincinnati Enquirer to look for some more opportunities.
3) ER Doctors Keep Prescribing Fewer Pain Pills. Is That Good or Bad for Patients in Pain?
- Laws are increasingly being enforced in efforts to prevent patients from leaving hospitals with pain killer prescription after the opioid crisis. The decrease in prescription simultaneously means educating patients on how to deal with "acute pain" from broken bones or minor surgeries. Doctors are trying to help patients treat pain in safe ways and avoid the possibilities of drug abuse. Particularly in Ohio, prescriptions for acute pain have been limited to seven days.
- The problem being outlined in this story is that some patients are being severely under-treated for intense pain. Patients are returning to the ER after discharge with extreme pain due to being told to use Tylenol as opposed to a prescription pain killer.
- The people who are dealing with this problem directly are the patients who are not being properly treated for their level of pain. However, lawmakers and doctors too are being affected by this in the decision making process to determine when prescription drugs are necessary.
Identifying Local Opportunities in the Atlanta News
I decided to look into one more local newspaper to identify more opportunities that could be addressed.
4) Atlanta's Beloved Hosea Helps Needs Funds for Building Renovation
- Hosea Helps is a local food kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia. Recently though, Hosea Helps is in need of drastic renovations. Currently, Hosea Helps is in the process of buying a new location that would bring together their kitchen, store-house and staff into one large building.
- The problem identified in this story is that the project will cost in all, $2 Million, which is to be composed completely of donations. Hosea Helps is a crucial part of the Atlanta community that is in need.
- The financial costs are not only impacting Hosea Helps as an organization, but also the homeless population in Atlanta that relies on Hosea Helps to get back on their feet.
5) Georgia Lawmaker Seeks New Curb on Vaping
- The number of vape-related deaths in teenager is rising rapidly. Georgia Legislature is looking at ways to restrict vaping. The legislation that has been proposed includes raising the vaping age to 21, as well as incorporating education about smoking into the school systems.
- The main problem being discussed within this article is the drastic number of teenage fatalities related to vaping products. 41 deaths have been reported by the Georgia department of health in the past year.
- This problem is directly affecting the health of teenagers in Georgia. It is also affecting the state legislature as they look for solutions to effectively enforce vaping rules and efforts without causing a spike in the sale of illegal acquisition of vape products.
Hi Holly,
ReplyDeleteGreat job identifying opportunities in different areas like Cincinnati, Georgia, and Florida. One opportunity that affects Cincinnati locally with the concerns about opioid addiction, I believe, is an issue nationally as well. Unfortunately, "big pharma" companies have immense control in the U.S. and it seems like the options are either work with them or get treatment, or choose no treatment at all. Perhaps there can be an opportunity in promoting alternative medicine like acupuncture to offset the lack of pain killer prescriptions happening in the Cincinnati area. Thanks for sharing!
Karla Cejas
You know, I'm not sure how I feel about you using local newspapers from such far away areas. Like, are you planning on entering into those markets? Still, I think it's great how clear cut you were in defining the who and the what of the problems, especially with number 1 and 4 on the list. Although, I would caution on your inclusion of law makers in the identification of people with problems, since, in a cynical but realistic way, law makers begin to have problems only once their jobs are jeopardized by a negative trend in their community.
ReplyDeleteHolly,
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing the way that you included articles from multiple different states, I also decided to follow that structure. I found the article about the algae bloom to be particularly interesting. Not only is the over bloom a problem in St. Augustine, but all over Florida. The main cause of these blooms is poor water runoff (usually from agricultural areas), and the algae level of the water is boosted due to fertilizers and other nitrogen heavy chemicals. Not only is this a huge problem for the government, but also for people that enjoy using the intracoastal and coastal waterways for recreation such as fishing.
Hi Holly! These local problems are definitely major opportunities for entrepreneurs, but they are also very tricky and nuanced. I love the idea of students taking mental health classes and learning more about themselves and why they are feeling that way, and I hope it helps to combat the growing mental health crisis in America. If an entrepreneur/therapist would be able to find a way to effectively teach and program such a class, I feel like it would be a major opportunity, not just for Florida, but the whole country.
ReplyDelete