Florida snaps record by launching 5 different rockets in one month
Five different types of orbital rockets launched from Florida's Space Coast during the same month — toppling Cape Canaveral's six-decade-old record dating to the days of NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs. During April, the Cape hosted launches by NASA, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin, in addition to its usual heavy dose of SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Then SpaceX's Falcon Heavy liftoff on April 29 — the first since October 2024 — pushed the monthly total to a record-breaking five rocket varieties. More from Florida Today.
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Erik Weiner wants to push back against the rising tide of consolidation within Florida's banking industry. Over the past decade, locally owned community banks have disappeared at an alarming rate, replaced by branches affiliated with large regional and national banks. "Whenever there's a community bank that's proven successful, there's somebody waiting in the wings to pick them off," says Weiner, 52, the founder, president and CEO of Portrait Bank, set to open this month in Winter Park in office space that the bank spent $500,000 to renovate. More from Florida Trend.
KIPP Miami Tech aims to get students ready for tech-forward futures
KIPP, which stands for Knowledge is Power Program, will be opening a high school this August with a focus on getting students ready for college and for jobs in AI and technology. The school, which will be located on Miami Dade College’s North Campus, will also offer business and digital and commercial arts as part of its curriculum. More from the Refresh Miami.
Central Florida restaurants test commission-based pay model, raising legal and wage concerns
A growing number of Central Florida restaurants are replacing traditional tips with a 20% service charge commission system — raising questions about worker pay, transparency and whether the model skirts minimum wage laws. The shift comes as Florida’s rising minimum wage and tight labor market push restaurants to rethink compensation. Under the model, a mandatory service charge replaces tipping, and employers control how the revenue is distributed across staff. More from the Orlando Business Journal.
Tampa's ReliaQuest gifts FSU $1.5M for AI cybersecurity research
The Tampa cybersecurity firm ReliaQuest is giving Florida State University $1.5 million for a partnership aimed at researching and developing real world applications for AI technology in cybersecurity. The money will go toward establishing an annual ReliaQuest Innovation Challenge at the Tallahassee university to “incentivize faculty research into some of the most complex use-cases for this dynamic field.” More from the Business Observer.
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Out of the Box
Meet your new best friends at this gigantic Miami potluck dinner
Maybe not. But the creators of The Longest Table project are hoping to make a dent in what the World Health Organization has identified as a significant public health issue when the free public community event rolls into Miami on Friday. A national program that aims to foster community spirit, The Longest Table hosted a private, invitation-only dinner earlier this year in February, but Friday marks its first public appearance.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.