Will Florida's Space Coast surpass 100 annual rocket launches for 1st time this year?
Will the annual number of orbital rockets launched from Florida's Space Coast reach triple digits for the first time by year's end? Stay tuned. During 2024, a record-shattering 93 launches took flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center, easily zooming past the previous record of 72 launches in 2023. But in an unprecedented cadence, 61 launches have already racked up thus far during 2025. That's a full month and a half — or 47 days — ahead of last year's record pace. More from Florida Today.
Peanut farm that sought 700 acres of Florida state forest withdraws plan
A peanut farming company that sought 700 acres of north Florida state forest land, home to wildlife like gopher tortoises and swallow-tailed kites, last week withdrew its request for a land swap after several conservation groups raised concerns. The Tampa Bay Times first reported in March that Lee Peanut Farms LLC wanted to acquire a swath of Madison County land in the Twin Rivers State Forest – dubbed the Ellaville Tract – in exchange for roughly 550 acres of property along the Withlacoochee River. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Media specialist rule changes by Florida education officials draw First Amendment concerns
Florida's State Board of Education voted to reduce competency requirements for educational media specialists, who manage library books in schools – and who some say are defenders of students' First Amendment rights. In a meeting in Orlando July 16, board members approved a motion to adopt new requirements, which brought down the 25 listed competency requirements to eight. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Miami isn’t an AI ‘superstar’ yet. But we’re climbing fast, according to new Brookings report
The latest Brookings report on AI doesn’t bury the lede: the vast majority of U.S. cities aren’t ready for the next tech wave. Just two metro areas (San Francisco and San Jose) were responsible for 13% of all AI job postings in 2023. The message? When it comes to artificial intelligence, the rich are getting richer – and most cities are just watching from the sidelines. More from Refresh Miami.
Here’s the first retail spot coming to St. Petersburg’s tallest tower, 400 Central
A wine shop, specialty grocer and boutique wine bar will open inside St. Petersburg’s 400 Central building early next year. Volta Wine + Market will open on the bottom floor of the Residences at 400 Central, the 46-story luxury condominium building currently under construction in downtown St. Petersburg. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Credit Unions
Takeoff mode
PenAir Credit Union got its start in 1936 with its first branch tucked in the back of a building at Pensacola Air Station, where it served members of the armed forces and contractors working on the base.
Nearly 90 years later, Pensacola’s largest credit union has more than 130,000 members and more than $3 billion in assets — and it’s expanding into neighboring states while embracing efficiencies that its CEO says benefit customers and PenAir’s bottom line.
» More from Florida Trend.
Cybersecurity
Driving success
Kyle Wu drove his 2006 Camry to work one day last December, ready to spend the day doing what he always does, searching for updates to critical software programs that ThreatLocker customers rely on. Without those updates, ThreatLocker protections might not work as effectively, or the customer might not be able to perform necessary tasks.
Wu, 32, is one of about 120 people on ThreatLocker’s application update team. But his colleagues believe he is among the most helpful and valuable.
» Read more from Florida Trend.