Florida TaxWatch urges lawmakers to improve affordable housing for ‘missing middle’
Florida’s twice-updated Live Local Act is delivering affordable units and faster approvals, but not for a major category of renters it promised to help. A new report from Florida TaxWatch says the 2-year-old law is falling short for “missing middle” renters — households that earn too much to qualify for affordable housing subsidies, but not enough to comfortably pay market rents in their area. More from Florida Politics, The Center Square, and Florida's Voice.
Investor group buys cup maker Tervis, will move HQ to Bradenton
Less than a year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with at least $30 million in debt — and six months after coming out of it — Sarasota County-based drinkware manufacturer Tervis has been sold. The new owners are a group of five investors formed under the name JV2 Innovative Products LLC, which, records show, was formed June 4 in Delaware. Executives with Venice-based Tervis declined to disclose the names of the investors, saying only that one of the five is local, while the others are outside of Florida. More from the Business Observer.
Miami-based SmartBarrel is reshaping the future of construction labor
In a city known for crypto hype and AI experiments, SmartBarrel is building something far more tangible: a new foundation for construction labor management. And founder Albert Bou Fadel is doing it the hard way: in person. While most tech companies embraced remote work after the pandemic, Bou Fadel made a different call. More from Refresh Miami.
Sarasota Sheriff's Office requests $225 million budget, but what is it going toward?
Faced with rising costs, an expanding population, tourism growth and complex economic crime, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman is asking county commissioners for a 12% budget increase. But what is that money going toward? The sheriff's office proposed budget of more than $225 million includes more than $160 million for personnel costs, $50 million for corrections, $11 million for courts and $2 million for internal county service charges. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
City of Gainesville officials finding new ways to cope with loss of RTS funding
In an effort to increase funding for Gainesville's bus service, the city commission on Aug. 7 voted to lease six Regional Transit Service buses to Six Flags Entertainment Corp. The commission approved a two-year lease with Six Flags Entertainment for $932,212. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward told The Sun that the agreement was made to cope with some of the funding lost from the University of Florida. More from the Gainesville Sun.
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Out of the Box
Florida Man Games returns for third year at new venue, the Freedom Factory
An idea that began as a Floridian fever dream is coming to life for its third year, bringing high-adrenaline hijinx and sun-soaked shenanigans to the Sunshine State. The Florida Man Games, which spectators have previously described as a sort of “redneck Olympics,” landed in St. Augustine for the first two years and will move to the Freedom Factory, a racetrack venue in Bradenton, for year three.
» More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Sports Business
Profit sharing
The new season of the Division I level of pro football — also known as college football — kicks off this month in Florida. Along with Name, Image and Likeness dollars, university players’ pay will come from revenue sharing with their universities, plus whatever collectives produce. University of Miami QB Carson Beck reportedly is being paid through various sources from $4 million to $10 million to transfer from the University of Georgia.
» Read more from Florida Trend.