Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 12/20/2019

Boeing Starliner won't reach the International Space Station and will return to Earth

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft won't reach the International Space Station as planned after its liftoff from Cape Canaveral early Friday, the result of a timing issue that caused the capsule to prematurely burn fuel. Instead, the uncrewed capsule will be directed to land in White Sands, New Mexico, by sometime Sunday, a significant cutback of the objectives laid out for the mission known as Orbital Flight Test. More from USA Today, the Orlando Sentinel, and Florida Today.

Renting the family dog? Florida lawmakers want to outlaw pet leasing

Floridians eager to add a furry friend to their lives are unwittingly renting their pets, agreeing to contracts that allow their dog to be repossessed if they fall behind in their payments. Animal advocates and state legislators want to outlaw the practice known as pet leasing. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Surprises jolted the Tampa Bay business community in 2019

What a year for Tampa Bay business. From the sale of massive companies to controversial real estate projects, 2019 was not short on surprises. One of the bigger jolts hit in March when St. Louis-based Centene announced it was buying WellCare Health Plans, the third-largest company by revenues headquartered in the Tampa Bay area. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Deltona had $2.5 million tax break at the ready, but warehouse builder wouldn’t go public

A planned distribution center was set to get an estimated $2.5 million in tax savings from Deltona leaders Thursday morning, but the city wants something else in return. They want the public to know the name of the company. City Commissioners postponed the decision Thursday after the company did not reveal its identity as expected. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Council President Wilson says JEA should end sales talks

Jacksonville City Council President Scott Wilson said Thursday he will tell the JEA board it should end negotiations over a potential sale of the utility, making him the highest-ranking official at City Hall to say it’s time to halt any more consideration of selling JEA. More from the Florida Times-Union.

Out of the Box
Disney’s trash cans aren’t garbage to long-standing website

Steve Tanner didn’t expect to be talking Disney trash for 10 years. But his Magical Trash website, created a decade ago, has captured a fan base of people who throw their attention to the themed metal bins at Disney theme parks around the world.

» More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Business Profile
Miami-based LIV Swiss Watches

Husband and wife Sholom “Chaz” and Esti Chazanow founded Miami-based LIV Swiss Watches in 2012, selling limited-edition Swiss-made watches direct to consumers at discounted prices. In 2014, they decided to finance the production of their first custom watch model, using the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. It was fully funded within 12 hours, and the company has continued to launch watch models via Kickstarter.