Saw palmetto berries: $150M industry spans Florida flatwoods to European pharmacies

Saw palmetto berries — despite their nauseating bitter taste — are a lucrative crop that grows naturally throughout Florida's wild pinelands. The berries are harvested not for eating, but for their medicinal properties. Market projections estimate the saw palmetto market will grow to more than $300 million by the 2030s. Other projections have even higher estimates. More from Yahoo News and TC Palm.

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Boat buyout

Roger Moore sailed the world before coming ashore in Florida and building $100-million-in-revenue boat dealer Nautical Ventures Group. Trade publication Boating Industry named Nautical its 2024 Dealer of the Year. He’s long talked of taking his Fort Lauderdale-based operation public. In June, he did — in a way. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida Social Security recipients may get hit hard with 2026 changes

The good news first. Social Security recipients may see a 2.8% rise in their monthly checks next year, according to the latest estimate based on the latest inflation report. The bad news: that only works out to about an extra $52 a month for the average Social Security recipient and still may not keep up with inflation. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Florida has 3rd most debt collection calls in the nation

In Q1 2025, Americans reported over 112,000 debt collection calls to the FTC. That’s a surge of more than 150% year-over-year. Florida received the third largest amount of those calls, and it’s a sign that consumers are struggling financially. “If we head into any sort of broader economic issues, because you’re going to see more of this pop up. You’re going to see those complaints to the FTC increase even further,” Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator with Money Management International, said. [Source: News 4 Jax]

Florida approves 10 insurers to take policies from state-run Citizens in December

A wave of policies could leave the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. after this year’s hurricane season. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on Monday issued orders that would allow 10 insurers to take up to 254,811 policies from Citizens in mid-December. That came after earlier approvals for companies to assume batches of policies in October, November and December. [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Ex-Water Street CEO James Nozar says Gasworx will shape Tampa’s future [Tampa Bay Times]
When James Nozar arrived in Tampa in 2016, he was given the lofty task of transforming 40 acres of former industrial land into a walkable, urban district. Over the course of five “amazing and exhausting” years as the CEO of Strategic Property Partners, Nozar turned Water Street from a dream to a reality. The neighborhood helped put Tampa on the map. After spending several years consulting on real estate projects across the country, Nozar, 46, is back in Tampa. This time, as the president of development for Washington, D.C.-based Kettler.

› Morgan & Morgan sues Disney over ‘Steamboat Willie’ ad [Orlando Sentinel]
The Morgan & Morgan law firm sued Disney in federal court on Wednesday, seeking a ruling that it can use an adaptation of the nearly century-old “Steamboat Willie” cartoon in one of its ads without violating the entertainment giant’s intellectual property rights. The iconic 1928 animated short, featuring the public debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, entered the public domain last year, but Disney still holds trademarks for later iterations of the characters.

› Unhappy about a $27 million Tri-Rail cut, Palm Beach County to send lobbyists to help restore funding [Palm Beach Post]
Palm Beach County commissioners on Sept. 16 officially demanded that Florida lawmakers restore funding to Tri-Rail, weeks after opposing state officials' demands that county taxpayers pony up millions of dollars for the publicly funded South Florida passenger train. The Florida Department of Transportation announced a $27 million cut to Tri-Rail's funding, which officials warn could shut down the service by mid-2027.

› Tampa could hike development fees for first time in 36 years [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
Developers may soon have notably higher fees when building in Tampa. The city is considering increasing its multimodal transportation impact fee, which is a one-time fee paid during the permitting process of new developments. The funds are used to fund the new public services, transportation facilities or infrastructure that the project could create a need for.

More stories ...

› How Tampa businesses are maintaining growth despite tariffs in 2025 [Tech Bullion]
Tampa has become one of Florida’s most resilient business hubs. From construction and home services to digital marketing and finance, local entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to maintain momentum in the face of rising costs and global tariffs. Instead of slowing down, many businesses are doubling down on brand building, customer trust, and digital visibility to stay competitive.

› Publix opens nine new stores across the Southeast in September expansion [B1039]
Publix added nine stores to its chain across the Southwest in September. The new locations spread across seven states — three in Florida, two in Kentucky, and single stores in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Currently, Publix runs 1,417 stores in eight states. The story started in Winter Haven back in 1930.

› After deadlock and clashes, Hialeah council passes budget with rebate still unsettled [Miami Herald]
It took three tense meetings for the Hialeah City Council to finally settle on a flat-rate millage budget, approved under the condition that struggling homeowners will receive a one-time rebate to help ease their financial burden. How much lower the millage rate should be, what kind of rebate would truly help working families, and where to find funds to offset rising utility costs were the key questions that deadlocked the council.

› Punta Gorda weighs privatization of Laishley Park Marina [Gulfshore Business]
Punta Gorda City Council members debated the future of Laishley Park Municipal Marina last week, agreeing to hold a workshop to examine whether the city should continue managing the facility, privatize it or sell it outright. The marina has been closed to the public since sustaining heavy damage from Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

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