Florida jobless claims dip
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,976 first-time unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended May 17, down from 6,724 the previous week. While the state’s unemployment rate has inched up from 3.5 percent in January to 3.7 percent in April, the weekly average of new claims has hovered around 6,000 since the start of the year. More from the News Service of Florida.
A federal judge in Florida considers AI chatbots and the First Amendment
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected arguments made by an artificial intelligence company that its chatbots are protected by the First Amendment — at least for now. The suit against Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, also names individual developers and Google as defendants. It has drawn the attention of legal experts and AI watchers in the U.S. and beyond. More from the AP.
Space Florida: Project Beep mystery aerospace company wants to hire 1,000 on Merritt Island
An unnamed company, Project Beep, plans to invest $247 million in an aerospace development near Kennedy Space Center, creating approximately 1,000 jobs. The project involves a 30-year land lease with Space Florida at Exploration Park, which already houses Blue Origin and Airbus facilities. Project Beep aims to build aerospace manufacturing, research and development, warehousing, and administrative facilities. More from Florida Today.
Builders race to file permits before Osceola’s mobility fee deadline
With a huge hike in development fees looming, homebuilders submitted a deluge of building permits in recent days to Osceola County. The county received 879 building permits this month through Monday, the last day to submit an application and still qualify for the current rates for mobility fees, which pay for the traffic impacts of new development. Those rates will rise in June to become the state’s highest, jumping nearly $12,000 per new home and varying amounts for other developments. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
West Palm Beach, Palm Beach rank high in national list for growing affluence
West Palm Beach and Palm Beach came in second place in a ranking of fastest growing “wealth hubs” nationwide as affluent households migrated to Palm Beach County following the pandemic, according to a new report from Henley and Partners. The two cities combined came in runner up to Scottsdale, Arizona, and ahead of the northern California Bay Area, Miami and Washington, D.C. They ranked third in last year’s ratings. More from the Palm Beach Post.
| Florida Trend Mention |
|
Entertainment
What’s new at Florida's attractions this summer
After dealing with fallout from the pandemic, many theme parks and attractions took a few years to recover financially before investing some capital in new attractions. In addition to the first brand-new Orlando theme park in 25 years, Epic Universe, there’s a new rainforest-themed land for kids at Busch Gardens, an eye-popping planetarium screen at MOSI and new shows and rides to check out this summer.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Golden hour
When someone is having a stroke, there’s a “golden hour” for patients to receive fast treatment for lifesaving results and less brain damage. A new mobile treatment unit from UF Health in the Gainesville area helps to bring quicker care to those having a stroke.
» Read more from Florida Trend.