2 years after healthcare expansion passes, Florida kids are still waiting to get access
Landon Booth is 10 years old. He’s a cancer survivor. And he’s being denied important post-chemo therapies. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. In 2023 Landon lost his Medicaid coverage. After the COVID-19 health emergency was declared over, states were allowed to disenroll people who it said no longer qualified. Landon was one of those kids, even though his mother, Erin Booth, said that by law, he should have been allowed to keep the coverage given his complex medical needs. More from Central Florida Public Media.
Pot proposal goes to Florida Supreme Court
Attorney General James Uthmeier has formally submitted a proposed recreational-marijuana constitutional amendment to the Florida Supreme Court, setting the stage for a judicial review of the ballot initiative. Justices will hear oral arguments on the marijuana proposal on Feb. 5. The political committee Smart & Safe Florida is sponsoring the proposal to allow recreational marijuana and has far exceeded the 220,016 petition signatures required to trigger the crucial Supreme Court review. More from the News Service of Florida.
These Central Florida cities added the most new restaurants in 2025
More than 500 new restaurants opened in 2025 in Central Florida, with the most openings occurring in downtown Orlando, Kissimmee, Melbourne and Clermont. According to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation analyzed by Orlando Business Journal, there were 577 new restaurant licenses issued in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties in 2025 as of Dec. 12. More from the Orlando Business Journal.
Trackers, AI translators, pepper spray: Cabinet approves cops’ immigration requests
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet on Wednesday approved more than $2 million in immigration enforcement money for local agencies seeking AI language translators, pepper spray, GPS trackers, handcuffs, bonuses, and more. The $2.4 million greenlit to 10 law enforcement agencies means Florida has now approved roughly $21 million of the original $250 million diverted by the Legislature in February to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More from the Florida Phoenix.
Southwest Florida builders adopt AI, redefining tech-driven construction
Southwest Florida building and construction are implementing AI into their processes and even launching new businesses with their tech teams. DeAngelis Diamond recently introduced a new company from their technology team—Future Bylt. Meanwhile, another building company, Suffolk of Southwest Florida, introduced Dusty Robotics Technology, which is transforming construction at Moorings Park Grande Lake in Naples. More from the Florida Weekly.
Business Beat - Week of December 19th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Smart HELP
When May Piamenta founded the startup Vee at age 20 in Israel, she already carried nearly a decade of nonprofit experience. She had volunteered as a young girl with nonprofits and then as a teenager worked with U.S.- based nonprofits and Israel-based NGOs while studying computer science in high school. After finishing her service with the Israel Defense Forces in a technical leadership role, she was motivated to innovate in the nonprofit world to help solve a problem she continued to see: Nonprofits were locked in “the circle of failure.”
» Read more from Florida Trend.