Florida recreational pot amendment group to try again for 2026
Two months after a similar measure failed to garner enough voter support to pass, a political committee bankrolled by the state’s largest medical-marijuana company has launched a new effort to allow recreational pot in Florida. The revamped proposal, filed Tuesday at the state Division of Elections by the Smart & Safe Florida committee, would go on the 2026 ballot. It seeks to address a number of issues raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who led a drive to defeat last year’s proposed constitutional amendment. More from the News Service of Florida and the Tampa Bay Times.
'We did it on our first go': Blue Origin launches mighty New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral
Lumbering off the launch pad from a billowing fiery cloud, Blue Origin's mighty 321-foot-tall New Glenn rocket hurtled into the history books early Thursday morning on its maiden mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The two-stage rocket lifted off in the late-night darkness at 2:03 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 36. The heavy-lift vehicle's second stage successfully carried the private space company's Blue Ring pathfinder test equipment into a final target orbit after a pair of engine burns. More from Florida Today.
Spirit cuts 200 jobs as ‘smaller’ South Florida airline seeks to emerge from bankruptcy
Broward-based Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November, has cut another 200 jobs across multiple departments, the company said on Thursday. The move is part of $80 million in annual cost reductions the carrier embarked on last year. The cutback affects management and operations. The reduction also targets those in training and administrative support, areas the airline wants to consolidate. More from the Miami Herald.
Fort Myers flood insurance costs to drop by 20%
While other Lee County localities have struggled to maintain, and in one case has lost, federal flood insurance discounts, Fort Myers residents will see the cost of their policies fall by an additional 15% starting later this year. That discount is a result of the Federal Emergency Management Agency upgrading the city’s Community Rating System classification for its National Flood Insurance Program. More from the Business Observer.
Analyst sees freight trends helping boost CSX in 2025
Ahead of its year-end earnings report Jan. 23, one analyst is forecasting positive trends for CSX Corp. The railroad company is generally the first Jacksonville-based company to report results every quarter and it’s also one of the first large U.S. industrial companies to report, so its earnings can be a bellwether of trends in the national economy. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Florida Dining
First look at Mowgli’s Tiffin, St. Petersburg’s newest Indian restaurant
For nearly five years now, a large metal sign hung above the doorway at 165 Dr. M.L.K. Jr. St. N., the name advertising a restaurant where, until very recently, there was none. Last week, Mowgli’s Tiffin finally opened its doors, capping a years-long wait for the Indian restaurant, and a full career revamp for owner Amita Mukherjee.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Cancer care: Flexible approach
With a goal to make recovery from head and neck cancer surgeries quicker, Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center in Jacksonville has added a single-port robotic surgical system to help remove head and neck cancers. The system adds to its toolkit of robot-assisted surgeries for prostate, abdominal, colorectal, lung, thoracic, cardiovascular, gynecological and other malignancies, says Dr. Ron Landmann, chief of colon and rectal surgical oncology at Baptist MD Anderson. Surgeons at the hospital perform about 800 robotic surgeries annually.
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