With no new budget deal in sight, Florida House extends session to June 30
With no new deal in sight, House Speaker Daniel Perez called back his members to extend the budget talks to June 30 following the collapse of a deal with the Senate last week. “I don’t think we’re at risk of a shutdown, but we’re no closer now than we were three weeks ago,” said Perez after the regular 60-day session ended earlier this month without producing a balanced budget as required by the state constitution. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Safer streets
On average, nine people died and 44 people were seriously injured on Florida roadways every day between 2019 and 2023. The good news? State data for 2024 generally shows a continued downward trend in roadway fatalities and serious injuries, says Pei-Sung Lin, program director of Intelligent Transportation Systems, Traffic Operations and Safety within the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida’s corals are in hot water, but 1,000 coral babies are here to help
In the race to save Florida’s coral reef from extinction, hope comes in many shapes and sizes. At the Florida Aquarium’s coral breeding lab, it looks like hundreds of knobby, golden-brown pastries. Scientists believe some of these palm-sized coral babies — 1,050 of them in total — contain the special ingredients to stave off a warming ocean that has damaged 84% of the world’s reefs since 2023. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Backers of recreational pot in Florida join court fight against tougher rules for ballot initiatives
Backers of a renewed attempt to pass a recreational-marijuana constitutional amendment have joined a court challenge to a new law that makes it harder for groups to place initiatives on the ballot, saying the measure imposes “draconian restrictions on Floridians’ sovereign” right to change the state Constitution. In court documents filed Saturday, lawyers for Smart & Safe Florida argued that the new law “changes the law at halftime” for sponsors already working to place initiatives on the 2026 ballot. [Source: News Service of Florida]
What's the 'coolest' job in Florida? Survey finds it's this NASA job
3 ... 2 ... 1 ... liftoff! A career at NASA helping to execute both crewed and uncrewed rocket launches from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida was recently voted as the "coolest" job in all of the state. That's according to a study conducted by career.io, which surveyed 3,002 job seekers asking them to name the coolest positions in every state in the U.S. [Source: Florida Today]
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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Push for more U.S.-made pharmaceuticals could boost Central Florida companies
The change could impact some local businesses, like a new compounding facility in Orlando. Compounding facilities make pharmaceutical medications and help manufacture certain medications when there are shortages. As COO of Wesley Pharmaceuticals, Taylor Fritzler is getting ready to launch operations at their new compounding facility, which will soon produce more than 300,000 vials a week of all kinds of medications.
› Millionaire money has poured into Miami. Meanwhile, locals are being pushed out
From 2014 to 2024, the Miami area’s millionaire population nearly doubled, ballooning by 94% to nearly 39,000 people, according to wealth consultant Henley & Partners and financial intelligence firm New World Wealth. The findings underscore the massive influx of wealth to Florida during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, with high earners from other parts of the country drawn to Florida’s favorable tax policies, warm weather, relatively cheap real estate and lax pandemic restrictions.
› Northeast Florida median home prices rise 2.9% in April
The median price of a single-family home increased 2.9% in April while the inventory of homes for sale rose 10.2%, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. NEFAR supplies monthly home sales data for Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. The April median price of $389,000 is down 2.7% from the same month a year ago.
› Massive immersive attraction may join Unicorp's I-Drive project
A significant redevelopment project underway on International Drive, led by Chuck Whittall's Unicorp National Developments Inc., is exploring the inclusion of a 100,000-square-foot immersive entertainment concept.
This potential addition is part of a broader vision to transform the 43-acre former Wyndham property into a dense destination with a variety of offerings.
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› FAU blames Indian River Lagoon parasite derth on pollution, algal blooms, seagrass loss
Parasites might not be the first creature people think of when they think of a healthy environment, but their scarcity in the Indian River Lagoon signals big trouble, according to a new study. Their low numbers suggest the lagoon is more fragile and less biodiverse than it used to be, likely because of pollution, seagrass loss and algae blooms, according to the study published in the journal Estuaries and Coasts.
› $2.6B global tech firm buys Fort Myers company
Global technology installation giant Convergint is expanding in Florida with the acquisition of Fort Myers-based Fiber Solutions. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Fiber Solutions, according to a statement, is “a leading integrator that specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of fiber optic, structured cabling, electronic security, and audio/video networks.”
› New music venue Five opens in Jacksonville's Five Points
Five is alive, even if it took longer than expected to get there. Five, a new live music venue, opened in the former Sun-Ray Cinema building in Five Points on Tuesday. Opening night at the venue has been delayed a number of times by construction delays. Five was originally slated to open in January, and the first 17 shows booked at the venue were canceled, moved or postponed.
› Richmond American Homes plans community near Mount Dora
A homebuilder is moving forward with plans for a residential community in northwest Orange County. Denver-based Richmond American Homes, the developer behind the subdivision, submitted new documents to Orange County that outline a 130-home project known as Sadler Road Estate, less than a 10-minute drive to downtown Mount Dora.