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Florida Trend's 2019 Best Companies to Work for in Florida
The 100 companies that made the cut in our eleventh annual Best Companies To Work For rankings. To identify Florida's best companies, Florida Trend partners with the Best Companies Group, which surveyed firms that chose to participate. Any firm with at least 15 employees in Florida, including firms based outside the state, could participate at no cost. See the full list here.
Elon Musk's SpaceX spreading its footprint in Florida
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expanding its facilities in Florida to make room for the space company’s forthcoming super heavy-lift launch vehicle dubbed Starship. Starship, a 384-foot reusable two-stage rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty, is a central piece of Musk’s interplanetary space travel ambitions as well as U.S. space agency NASA’s goal to send humans to the moon again by 2024. More from Reuters and FOX Business.
Florida pinball wizard targets industry revival
Nearly extinct a decade ago, pinball machine manufacturing has picked up again, and a Largo firm looks poised to cash in on the trend if it can quickly scale up, attract talent and manage its supply chain. But in an era of shuttered malls and nearly infinite home entertainment options, can pinball machine manufacturing be a growth industry? Although he says supply chain could be a future challenge, and he’d like to hire more people to keep up with demand, CEO Jon Weaver likes his chances. [Source: Business Observer]
Plastic straw ban heading to Florida Legislature again
A fight over disposable straws could return to the state Legislature, even after Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year vetoed a bill that would have blocked local governments from banning plastic straws. A measure (SB 40) filed Friday by Sen. Kevin Rader, a Delray Beach Democrat, would take the opposite approach, by prohibiting the use of plastic straws and plastic “carryout” bags statewide. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
HUD is giving Florida money to mitigate disasters. But Puerto Rico will have to wait
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is doling out $16 billion to states and territories for projects that prevent future disaster damage, including $633 million to Florida. But Puerto Rico, which is set to receive $8.29 billion, will have to wait. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida nitrogen ice cream chain to franchise nationally
Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream this month launches its national franchise program to expand the brand beyond south Florida. It was one of the first nitrogen ice cream concept stores in the US when it opened in 2012.
› Florida senator wants to make coconut patties official state candy
Coconut patties, promoted by Anastasia Confections as a “unique, time-tested recipe that will transport you to a tropical paradise with every creamy, chocolatey bite,” is being pushed to be the Sunshine State’s official candy. Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, has filed a measure (SB 38) that would make the treats — “both chocolate-dipped and nonchocolate varieties” — the latest state symbol.
› Scammers trick City of Naples out of $700,000 in spear phishing cyber attack
The City of Naples says the cyber attack that resulted in the loss of $700,000 was a "sophisticated" spear phishing strategy. Spear phishing is an email targeted at a specific individual or department within an organization that appears to be from a trusted source. It's different from a standard phishing attack because the emails are more personalized.
› New tackle shop hopes to catch South Florida fishing novices and experts
Ed Pinto has made a second career out of supplying fishing equipment to those who need it. After retiring from the airline industry about 13 years ago, he started selling fishing equipment to local distributors. Then he decided to open a store of his own with two friends.
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› How to boost Miami’s affordable housing? Cutting red tape would help, say developers
Over the past 15 years, Miami has catapulted from a regional metro into a global city, with all the benefits and growing pains of having the world at your doorstep. But while housing costs have skyrocketed, wages have not. Today Miami-Dade is the most expensive metro in the U.S. for renters and one of the costliest for home buyers.
› Downtown Jacksonville breaks 5,000-resident mark
Downtown Jacksonville has gone through celebratory grand openings and dashed development deals, corporate departures for the suburbs and company relocations back to office towers, booming real estate cycles and bubble-bursting recessions. Through it all, the guide star for downtown boosters for the past 20 years has been the pursuit of getting 10,000 residents to make downtown their home address.
› Epic Universe theme park at Universal Orlando will push wages to $15 an hour. Is it enough?
Central Florida leaders are celebrating that Universal Orlando plans to raise starting pay to $15 an hour when it opens a new theme park, as compensation for tourism workers continues to creep up in the tourism capital of the world. Even so, $15 is nearly a dollar less than the current median pay for workers in Orlando, which ranks last of all big U.S. cities in wages.
› An in-depth look at Sarasota YMCA’s imperiled finances
In late March, the longtime auditor of the Sarasota Family YMCA issued a dire warning about its survival. “There is substantial doubt about the organization’s ability to continue in its current form as a going concern within one year after March 29, 2019,” local CPA firm Kerkering, Barberio & Co. stated in the annual audit. Four months later, the YMCA announced it would shut down its two Sarasota fitness centers on Sept. 13 — a move that shocked and infuriated its members, but one that the organization’s leaders say was simply inevitable.