Florida without Kennedy Space Center? Director sounds alarm over relationship
The Kennedy Space Center director didn’t mince words. “We stand at a pivotal moment,” Janet Petro told state lawmakers in Tallahassee. Kennedy needs more money, she said. It needs state funding for roads, utilities and facilities to support its surge in space traffic. It needs research dollars to advance the aerospace industry. Yet Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority, hasn’t been particularly willing. As Texas and Alabama vie for space business and close collaboration with NASA, Space Florida’s relationship with the agency is strained by disagreements over funding and control. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida voting registration about to get tougher. Here's what to know
The Florida Legislature passed a controversial bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, which now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Critics argue the bill could disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters, particularly harming elderly Floridians, students, and women. If signed into law, the new voter registration requirements in Florida would take effect on January 1, 2027. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Florida maintains economic momentum after 2026 Session, Chamber says
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is touting incremental policy wins from the 2026 Legislative Session while acknowledging that budget work was left unfinished. The pro-business group said lawmakers advanced several priorities aimed at strengthening the state’s business climate while defeating proposals the organization argued would have reversed earlier legal reforms or discouraged economic development. [Source: Florida Politics]
Inside the exodus of California tech billionaires to Florida
Florida, with its high concentration of wealth — it has about 115 billionaires, ranking third behind California and New York — no state income tax, pro-business policies and balmy weather, has drawn an unusually large number of the disaffected California tech moguls. This extraordinary wealth migration is reshaping South Florida: spurring development, tripling real estate prices for trophy properties (even as single-family home prices in the state have stagnated here) and amplifying demand for nannies, private chefs, exclusive golf club memberships and private schools. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida gas prices continue to soar, AAA says
Florida gas prices continue to climb at the fastest pace in four years, AAA says. Over the past 12 days, the state average rose 84 cents, adding about $12 to the cost of filling an average-sized gas tank. Sunday’s average reached 3.72 dollars per gallon, the highest daily average price since August 2023, AAA said in a news release. If crude oil prices remain elevated or increase further, pump prices in Florida could continue trending higher through the week. [Source: My Suncoast]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Officials seek $57 million grant for Cocoa Brightline station
Efforts to develop a Brightline station in Brevard County continue to chug along as local leaders travel to Washington and negotiate with lawmakers to secure federal grant funding for a future passenger rail terminal. Cocoa Mayor Mike Blake, Cocoa City Manager Stockton Whitten and Brevard County Commissioner Thad Altman were among a delegation who recently went to Washington D.C. to meet with federal rail transportation officials to state their case for $57 million in federal money to build a passenger rail station for Brightline in Cocoa.
› It may be Spring Break in Miami Beach, but it’s hard to tell
As another Spring Break kicked off in Miami Beach this weekend, Saturday’s crowds yet again confirmed that the time of mega-crowds and unruly college students from all over the world is long past and may never return. The crowd reduction measures the city had touted in weeks prior were in full effect Saturday — restrictions on parking, heavy police presence and checkpoints.
› Army Corps says a Glades restoration project in West Broward is canceled — but is it?
Since the waning days of 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the steward of multiple projects for the massive restoration of Florida’s Everglades, has been locked in a federal court battle with an international Buddhist group over the impact of a West Broward project on the organization’s property in Weston.
› Punta Gorda unveils sales tax project wish list
Punta Gorda officials unveiled a list of priority projects that could receive funding if voters approve an extension of the county’s 1% local option sales tax in November. Planning Director Boyd Lawrence presented the recommendations of the city’s 1% Local Sales Tax Committee to City Council on March 11. The committee reviewed 50 capital improvement projects and ranked them based on priority.
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› Small private schools can open in commercial buildings under new Florida law
Legislators added a provision eliminating zoning requirements for small private schools into a Democratic-led bill in the waning hours of the 2026 legislative session. Both GOP-led chambers of the Florida Legislature on Thursday passed SB 182, allowing private schools with 150 or fewer students to operate in commercially zoned buildings.
› Pompano Beach luring some big fish: Developers transforming skyline with ultra-luxury towers
After decades of living in the shadow of boomtowns like Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Pompano is now the darling of developers willing to build seriously upscale projects along its beach. We’re talking five-star luxury projects like The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waldorf Astoria Residences and W Pompano Beach Hotel & Residences. The metamorphosis — cultivated by the city and fueled by developers — is bringing dramatic change to the Pompano skyline, generating buzz locally and beyond.
› Jacksonville-based Duos Technologies closes largest deployment deal in company history
Right on schedule, Duos Technologies Group Inc. has finalized its $176 million agreement to construct a high-density NVIDIA GPU cluster in Iowa — its largest deployment in company history. The confirmation paves the way for Duos’ entry, through its operating subsidiary Duos Edge AI Inc., into a national proving ground within the data center space it repositioned to last year.
› Seasonal homes strain Collier County housing supply
Seasonal housing directly tightens the supply for full-time residents, said Michael Overway, CEO of the SWFL Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. “It also means that we have fewer units for people who are looking here year-round, like teachers, nurses, police officers, restaurant staff and service workers. It drives up the competition for that limited housing inventory.”