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They use staggering amounts of electricity and water and have been blamed for escalating electricity bills in other parts of the country. Large-load data centers — the massive windowless warehouses that earned Loudoun County, Va., the nickname "Data Center Alley" — are likely to come to Florida in the next few years. That likelihood creates difficult decisions for local elected officials. [Source: Florida Trend]
TSA woes meet 80,000 travelers a day in Florida’s spring break season
Over a month into the partial government shutdown that has left Transportation Security Administration employees without pay for the third time in nearly six months, Florida’s busiest travel season of the year hit its midpoint with millions of people flying into the state. Tampa International Airport alone said it expects 3.1 million passengers between March 5 and April 13, averaging up to 80,000 travelers a day. [Source: The Center Square]
Growth rate slowed in US metro areas in 2025, with steepest drops along the southern border
Growth rates in U.S. metro areas dropped the steepest in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border last year because of declines in immigrants while counties along Florida’s Gulf Coast lost residents due to a series of hurricanes, according to new population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The estimates showed that a majority of metro areas and counties had slower population gains last year. [Source: AP News]
New Florida water restrictions issued as historic drought intensifies
Water restrictions are tightening across parts of Florida as the state's historic drought intensifies with two more months to go before the start of the rainy season. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, which includes Tampa, voted Tuesday to declare an "extreme" water shortage which will restrict private outdoor water use. [Source: Fox Weather]
COVID in Florida six years later: Another new variant, milder infections, fewer deaths and vaccines
Six years ago this month, Florida schools and beaches closed, cruise ships reported their first COVID outbreaks, and shoppers scrambled to get whatever toilet paper remained on the shelves. Almost overnight, the COVID lockdown went into effect, triggering isolation of the elderly, drive-through testing sites and social distancing in public places. A lot has changed since then. [Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Northern influx: As North Jacksonville grows, residents say area not prepared for development
Two-hundred and twenty town homes on Starratt Road. Ninety single-family homes off Scarwin Lane. Forty-eight single-family homes on Yellow Bluff Road. Forty-seven homes on Cedar Bay Road. That adds up to 405 single-family residences approved in North Jacksonville since January 2025, a period of contentious growth. Little by little, residential development is taking up space in the historically rural area.
› Tariffs leave South Tampa battery maker in limbo
On a cool March morning, Nathan Staron stood in his empty warehouse in South Tampa, a space that was supposed to sound like the future of American manufacturing by now. Rows of robotic arms along automated assembly lines were meant to hum with activity by May 2025, producing advanced lithium-ion battery systems for defense contractors and energy companies eager for U.S.-made production. In reality, the cavernous building is silent, its machinery sitting idle at Port Tampa Bay, tangled in tariffs and compounding costs.
› Live Local Act alters paths of Allapattah, Biscayne Boulevard developments
Florida lawmakers have been tweaking, clarifying and updating the Live Local Act since its enactment in 2023. Some of the major changes in 2025 removed local review and approvals, with the goal of encouraging more affordable housing. Developers can use the Live Local Act to incorporate additional height and density beyond what the underlying zoning district permits.
› After public uproar, Port Canaveral votes to not sell land for LNG plant
Port Canaveral commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to not sell land to a company that wants to build a liquefied natural gas plant which could help supply both the cruise and space industries on the Space Coast. A 50-acre barge canal property on Merritt Island, part of the port authority’s property, was the target of an unsolicited offer by Berkshire Hathaway and Chesapeake Utilities, which wanted to purchase the land for an LNG liquefaction plant.
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› Jaguars open 75K-square-foot business office at One Tower Court in downtown Jacksonville
The Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday opened a 75,287-square-foot business operations office at One Tower Court, downtown Jacksonville’s first multi-tenant Class A office building built since 2007. The team occupies the building’s second through fourth floors. The office was designed for collaboration and growth, with private and shared work areas, social gathering spaces, outdoor terraces, wellness rooms and meeting rooms.
› Sarasota ends 18-month search with hiring of first female city manager
Sarasota has confirmed the hiring of its first female city manager after the commission approved the contract of Karie Friling. Friling will begin on May 29 — about 21 months since Sarasota last had a permanent city manager. The city will pay her a $279,500 annual salary, with a 2% annual cost-of-living increase. She said in a statement that she was honored by the board’s confidence in her.
› Orange County awards federal funds for a family shelter and a food pantry
Orange County commissioners signed off Tuesday on funding recommendations for $39 million in federal grant awards, including $15 million to the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, Inc. for a new shelter for women and children experiencing homelessness. “This is a much-needed facility with a lot of time — and a lot of work — in the planning,” said Martha Are, CEO of Homeless Service Network of Central Florida, which works closely with the coalition.
› Inter-American Development Bank is opening an office in Miami. What it means
The Inter-American Development Bank is opening a new office in the United States for the first time in 67 years. In Miami — because, why not? But in contrast to many of the region’s recent arrivals, the IDB Group, the organization’s acronym, knows Miami well and has long worked in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region’s largest development bank provided $35 billion in financing in 2025.