Citizens enrollment plunges as Florida legal reforms reshape property market
Enrollment in Florida’s insurer of last resort has fallen to levels not seen in years, even as the population and housing have expanded, according to Florida Association of Insurance Agents president and CEO Kyle Ulrich. Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s policy count dropped from 1,407,805 in September 2023 to 427,097 in November, a shift Ulrich and other industry sources link mainly to the 2022 legal and market reforms. More from Insurance Business Magazine.
A new kind of nuclear company puts its HQ in Palm Beach Gardens
A few years ago, the idea that Florida would compete for the global headquarters of an advanced nuclear energy company might have sounded unlikely. Today, it has become a reality. AMPERA, an advanced nuclear energy company, has decided to lead its worldwide operations from Palm Beach Gardens, placing South Florida at the center of a conversation usually dominated by national labs and legacy energy hubs. More from Refresh Miami.
GRU Authority defends role amid rising legal costs over referendum
The GRU Authority during its Dec. 11 meeting faced sharp criticism from customers and activists who voiced their disapproval of the board and its ongoing legal battle with the city over control of the utility. Several GRU customers called out the "unqualified board." One of the main points of contention was why the authority has charged city taxpayers over $700,000 in legal fees while not respecting the Nov. 4 referendum in which 75% of voters voted to disband the board. More from the Gainesville Sun.
Cape Coral boosts incentives to keep Bones Coffee HQ
Family-owned Bones Coffee Co. has grown from a Cape Coral spare-bedroom startup in 2016 into a rapidly expanding manufacturing and wholesale operation. Now, Cape officials are working to keep the company local as it plans a $27.3 million, 100,000-square-foot expansion of its headquarters and national operations hub. More from Gulfshore Business.
Study finds 1.1 trillion microplastic bits fall into Indian River Lagoon daily
Commonplace plastics have come back to haunt us at the most basic biological levels: in the Indian River Lagoon, in our cells and otherwise. They come from sewage, landfills, rocket and boat building, and increasingly from up above. A new study by University of Central Florida found more than 1 trillion miniscule plastic bits rain down daily into the lagoon, with very uncertain consequences for human health and the lagoon. More from Florida Today.
Business Beat - Week of December 12th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Ranch reimagined
In 1914, Pittsburgh lumber tycoon Edward Vose Babcock Sr. purchased a pocket of agricultural land in Southwest Florida. Over generations, while surrounding towns gave way to suburbs and shopping centers, the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch remained a working landscape — home to cattle, timber, rock mining, recreational hunting and other various farming operations. Today, it’s America’s first solar-powered town and one of its fastest-growing communities.
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