Tech salaries rise in Florida as AI reshapes market
Florida has seen a significant increase in tech-related salaries, which grew by 34.8% from 2017 to 2024 and far exceeds the national average of 21.4% over that same period, according to a recent report by Dice, a brand of DHI Group, Inc. The average tech salary last year in Florida reached $116,939, surpassing the national average of $112,521, to rank fifth for highest pay behind New York ($121,246), California ($120,942), Georgia (120,768) and Virginia ($117,073). More from Orlando Inno.
Firefly Blue Ghost lander to launch NASA payloads to moon from KSC
NASA's uncrewed mission to the moon is set to lift off overnight tonight. Launch time: 1:11 a.m. Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A. The mission, known as Ghost Riders in the Sky, will carry 10 science and technology payloads for NASA to the lunar surface. It will reach the moon in early March, landing at a location known as Mare Crisium, which is a 350 mile-wide crater. More from Florida Today.
Lakewood Ranch life sciences firm seeks to raise $9.5M through public offering
A Sarasota company specializing in treatments for oncology, autoimmune diseases and women’s health is raising funds in part to buy a fertility center in Wisconsin. NAYA Biosciences is offering 13,615,171 units at a public offering price of $0.70 per unit, according to a Jan. 13 statement from the company. More from the Business Observer.
Knight Foundation appoints new VP of arts. She takes over its $466 million portfolio
A new face is joining the leadership of the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which since 1950 has worked to build informed communities by investing in journalism, the arts and civic innovation. On Tuesday, the foundation announced Kristina Newman-Scott as its new vice president of arts, succeeding Victoria Rogers, 73, who retired on Dec. 31 after nearly a decade. More from the Miami Herald.
Brightline reviving South Florida commuter pass it killed in 2024
Brightline will revive its South Florida commuter program, which it killed in 2024, thanks to a $33.8 million grant from the Biden administration, the private passenger rail company has said. Brightline plans to restart the program in March but has yet to reveal prices or how long the it would last. More from the Palm Beach Post.
Sports Business
PGA Tour pro teams with Strings Sports Brewery to open pickleball, golf, restaurant venue
A PGA Tour pro is teaming up with the owner of a popular Jacksonville microbrewery to open a 30,000-square-foot sports entertainment venue featuring tournament-caliber indoor pickleball courts, high-tech golf simulators, and a courtside gastropub. Chipshot will be the first-of-its-kind venue in Northeast Florida when it opens this fall at 13164 Atlantic Blvd. near Hodges Boulevard, founder and owner Thomas Walsh said.
» More from the Florida Times-Union.
Entertainment
Epcot’s arts festival to spotlight Broadway exhibit
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts again kicks off the special-event season for Walt Disney World. The daily fest showcases visual, theatrical and culinary arts for theme-park visitors. A new element for the festival is “Once Upon a Stage: Celebrating 30 Years of Disney on Broadway,” a walk-through exhibit in the new CommuiCore Hall in the World Celebration neighborhood of Epcot. It features costumes, set models and behind-the-scenes items from the company’s stage productions.
» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.