How Florida Gulf Coast businesses are recovering from 2024 hurricanes, preparing for this year
Building a business can be hard work. And for business owners across the Florida Gulf Coast, there’s been an added disruption — hurricanes. Hurricanes Milton and Helene caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to Pinellas County businesses. And that number grows exponentially when you look around the rest of the region. More from WUSF.
Miami ranks as fastest-growing U.S. city for startups
Miami is among the Top 30 cities in the world and is the fastest-growing U.S. city for technology startups, according to a new report from research platform StartupBlink. The Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 ranks more than 1,400 cities across 110 countries to determine where the world's fastest-growing startup ecosystems are located. More from the South Florida Business Journal.
Could Epic Universe spur a revitalized I-Drive north in Orlando?
A few miles west from Universal’s glitzy new Epic Universe lies another world, where a tattoo parlor, an adult boutique and graffiti-covered vacant buildings vie with the Fun Spot theme park and resort hotels for prominence. The city of Orlando would like to bring I-Drive north of Sand Lake Road closer to the standards of the tourist strip to the south, which sits in unincorporated Orange County. Last week, it approved a package of property tax incentives it hopes will start the process. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Job training program part of plan to transform life in east Gainesville
Helping people become self-sufficient is at the core of what officials at the Gainesville Housing Authority preach. Led by Pamela Davis, executive director of GHA, the housing authority will be opening its ELITE Training Center to provide job training and business development programs for GHA residents, as well as the broader Gainesville community. More from the Gainesville Sun.
Home sale prices in Sarasota, Manatee see steepest decline in years
The cooling trend in the Sarasota-Bradenton area real estate market accelerated in April, according to a new report, with median sale prices dropping and inventory continuing to grow. The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s April findings noted some of the steepest drops in median sale prices that the region has seen in years. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Business Profile
$12M Naples skin, hair care business wins upgraded stock listing
Publicly traded skin and hair care brand Naples Soap Co. is hoping a boost in the index it trades on will translate to more attention from investors and, eventually, more capital. The Collier County-based company, traded under the symbols NASO, has been upgraded to the OTCQB Venture Market, which serves entrepreneurial and early-stage U.S. and international companies.
» More from the Business Observer.
Recreation
There’s a new, snorkel-friendly reef off Hollywood
The city of Hollywood and the nonprofit Ocean Rescue Alliance International have teamed up to deploy a snorkel-friendly artificial reef trail 250 to 350 feet off Hollywood Beach. The project, named Guardians of the Reef, includes 50 modules, 38 of which emulate coral reef habitat and 12 of which are sculptures, including mermaids, oceanic deities such as Poseidon and Amphitrite, and marine animals such as a turtle, octopus and manta ray.
» Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.