Florida metros dominate list of best large cities to start a business
Florida’s large cities are the best in the nation to start a business. That’s according to a new study published by WalletHub, which found that the Sunshine State’s biggest cities are so business friendly, there’s little room for any other states in the top tier. In fact, Florida cities made up the entirety of the Top 5. Tampa was followed by Orlando at No. 2, Jacksonville at No. 3, Hialeah at No. 4 and St. Petersburg at No. 5. Miami elbowed out other metros by placing No. 10. More from Florida Politics.
Miami Tech Summit celebrates that the AI future is here and there’s still time to get it right
It was all about AI as the Miami Tech Summit kicked off its 5th year Wednesday with a full house at the Perez Art Museum Miami. Summit organizers Justin Sayfie and Jose Felix Diaz once again brought their “labor of love” to Miami Tech Week with stimulating discussions among a mix of tech, political and civic leaders, both on stage and off. Everybody has an opinion about AI, but one thing speakers did agree on is that it is going to transform the world, for good or bad, and there’s still time to do the work collectively to ensure we get it right. More from Refresh Miami.
Central Florida small business owners may not see payday from tariff refund system, expert says
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump were unconstitutional. Following the decision, a refund system for business owners who paid tariffs launched earlier this week. Despite small business owners and consumers indirectly paying the price of the imposed tariffs, the refund system only applies to those businesses that paid the tariff directly. Economists say that up to $166 billion is expected to be returned to businesses that paid the tariffs. More from Spectrum News.
Fort Myers Airport has busiest month in its history
More than 1.5 million passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport in March, achieving a record in the Fort Myers airport’s more than 40-year history. RSW reports its March passenger count of 1,521,149 was up 3.9% compared with March 2025. Passenger traffic is up 1.9% year to date, officials say. More from the Business Observer.
J&J Vision sales rise 3.6% in first quarter
Johnson & Johnson increased sales by 3.6% in its Jacksonville-based vision products business in the first quarter, and the medical products giant expects stronger growth the rest of the year. Tim Schmid, worldwide chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s MedTech division, said in an April 14 conference call that Vision sales tend to be slower early in the year and then accelerate. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
In Memoriam
Andy Barnes, longtime chairman of the Times Publishing Co., dies at 86
As chairman of the newspaper from 1988 to 2004, the Harvard-educated Barnes led the Times to the peak of its circulation and influence. Named one of America’s 10 best newspapers by Time magazine, it won three of its 14 Pulitzer Prizes, journalism’s highest honor, during Barnes’ tenure as chairman. It had large bureaus in several Florida counties, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., as well as correspondents covering Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
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Florida Trend Exclusive
‘What it’s all about’
After years of planning, a once-vacant patch of Pasco County land is blooming into Moffitt Cancer Center's Speros Campus, a 775-acre medical hub in Land O'Lakes projected to grow to 140 buildings including clinics, research space and housing over the next few decades. The outpatient facility also houses Tampa Bay's first proton therapy center, to which the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation gifted $15 million.
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