Tuesday’s Afternoon Update

10 big issues from the 2025 legislative session

Though they will have to return to Tallahassee to hammer out a budget, Florida lawmakers Friday night finished most of the business of the 2025 legislative session. Here’s a look at 10 big issues from the session --- some that passed, some that didn’t and some that remain up in the air. More from the News Service of Florida.

Cruise giant Carnival unveils site of global HQ campus in Miami-Dade

Carnival Corp. on Monday announced plans to build a new global headquarters on land it purchased south of Miami International Airport. The new multi-building campus will replace the company’s existing headquarters in Doral. Carnival’s headquarters has been located in Miami-Dade County for more than 50 years. “As the world’s largest cruise company, there is no better place for us to be based than Miami — the cruise capital of the world,” Carnival Corp. CEO Josh Weinstein said. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Jacksonville-based U.S. Legal Services acquired

U.S. Legal Services, a longtime Jacksonville provider of group legal insurance plans, has been acquired by an affiliate of CCW Safe, LLC in a transaction that marks a significant expansion in the national legal services market. The deal, brokered by Jacksonville-based Heritage Capital Group, enables CCW Safe to leverage U.S. Legal’s nearly 50-year foundation to scale its offerings across the country. More from the Jacksonville Business Journaland the Jacksonville Daily Record.

NASA next-gen control room experiment at KSC aims to make sure humans work at their best

Imagine monitoring a robot working more than 200,000 miles away on the lunar surface — a stressful job, and one that requires operators to be on the ball at all times while in small control room for hours on end. For a future robotic moon mission known as IPEx, the goal is to get the design of this small control room right, and enable operators to be alert and at their best. More from Florida Today.

Cities in Sarasota, Lee lead nation in new apartment permits

North Port and Cape Coral are among the national leaders in permits issued for multifamily units, according to a new report. The two Gulf Coast communities rank in the top five in a report released by Redfin highlighting the state of the multifamily sector nationally. Orlando; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Austin, Texas are the others topping the list. More from the Business Observer.

Florida Trend Mention

2025 ACEC Transportation Conference | June 5-6, 2025 Join ACEC Florida and FDOT at the 2025 Transportation Conference, June 5-6, 2025, at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. This event offers valuable continuing education opportunities and a chance to network with FDOT policymakers and transportation consultants. Designed for technical professionals both inside and outside of government, attendees include professional engineers, planners, and consultants from the public and private sectors, all focused on transportation. Don’t miss it!