Florida lawmakers are already proposing new laws for 2025. Take a peek at their plans
Florida lawmakers are filing a slew of bills for the upcoming legislative session, including proposals in response to a boating accident that killed a high school girl, public concern about weather modification that surfaced after two devastating hurricanes and the governor’s scrapped plan to bring pickleball and other recreational activities to state parks. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Rural reckoning
One by one, rural hospitals in Florida are turning out the lights and going out of business. In 2019, the Regional General Hospital closed down in Williston, population 3,089, forcing townspeople to drive 45 minutes to Gainesville or Ocala for care. In 2020 in Lake City, the Shands Lake Shore Regional Medical Center shut its doors forever. In 2022, the Healthmark Regional Medical Center went dark in the Panhandle town of DeFuniak Springs, population 6,535. Another eight rural hospitals in Florida are at risk of closing. [Source: Florida Trend]
Report: Florida's pension system on solid financial ground
Florida's pension system improved its financial position in the past fiscal year according to its annual comprehensive financial report. The Florida Retirement System for state, county and municipal employees enjoyed investment returns of 10.52%, which increased the plan's net position to $199.7 billion, a 6.6% increase compared to the year before ($187.4 billion). The plan's funding ratio improved from 82.4% to 83.7% this year. [Source: The Center Square]
Florida escalates battle with Starbucks over hiring practices
After an investigative agency sided with the company, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office will urge an administrative law judge to find that Starbucks has improperly used race-based hiring practices. Moody’s office alleges Starbucks violated the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, which says it is illegal to make hiring or other employment-related decisions based on factors such as race. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Florida’s manatees are actually relative newcomers, historical research suggests
Manatees, long considered among Florida’s most beloved and enchanting inhabitants, are not native at all, and only came to the Sunshine state for warm temperatures and clear blue waters like any other visitor, researchers have found. The surprise revelation by scientists at the University of South Florida (USF) and George Washington University (GWU) upends decades of thinking about the origins of the threatened species. [Source: The Guardian]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Buddhist group sues to delay Everglades project, says Army Corps ignores impact on Weston retreat
A worldwide Buddhist group that operates a sprawling cultural center in Weston asserts that the Army Corps of Engineers isn’t listening to its concerns about the impact of a major Everglades restoration project in western Broward County.
› Tampa Electric, Duke seek big bill increases to pay for 2024 hurricanes
Many Floridians who get their power from Tampa Electric and Duke Energy were already bracing for rate hikes this year. But after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, both utility companies are asking for more. If approved, these hikes would mean customers pay hundreds more for their electricity this year.
› Is there red tide on Florida beaches right now?
For any Floridian or seasoned visitor to the state's coasts, you know it only takes a visit from one unwanted visitor to ruin any beach day — red tide. Karenia brevis is a naturally occurring, single-celled organism belonging to a group of algae called dinoflagellates. Large concentrations can discolor water from red to brown, causing blooms to be called "red tides."
› Calculator: Are you middle class in Florida? Here’s what middle, top 10% and top 1% make
Do you consider yourself to be middle class? The definition of America's middle class is not totally clear; however, the Pew Research Center defines the middle class as those whose household income is two-thirds to double the national median income.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Biopharma company to cut 90% of jobs after sale
Veru, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, plans to slash its employee headcount after selling a portion of its business to investment firm Riva Ridge Capital Management for $18 million. The Miami company offloaded its FC2 Female Condom business, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved internal condom for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
› Conservancy of Southwest Florida wraps sea turtle nesting season; storms had big effect on outcome
Debbie, Francine, Milton and Helene were not kind to turtle nesting along the Collier County coastline this season causing an early end to the season and washing out disturbingly close to half late-season nests. But The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s sea turtle research team still documented 425 nests during the March to October nesting season on Keewaydin Island with a total of 422 loggerhead nests and three green sea turtle nests surviving.
› 'We are terribly sad': Sarasota’s first and only dog bar and restaurant is closing
The holiday season has been a rough one for the Sarasota dining scene, with three major restaurant closings occurring in December, including one on New Year's Eve. Now, Sarasota's first and only dog bar and restaurant — named one of the Top 10 dog bars in the country by USA TODAY readers in the publication's 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest for "canine-centric spots" — has announced it will permanently close later this month.
› PGA Tour unveils state-of-the-art Studios facility to enhance content creation and fan engagement
As the PGA Tour kicks off the 2025 FedExCup Season this week with The Sentry (in its 27th year at Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui), the Tour unveiled PGA Tour Studios. Adjacent to the 187,000-square-foot PGA Tour offices that opened in 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, the state-of-the-art production studios will redefine how the Tour creates and delivers content to better serve fans across its media landscape.