Obamacare premiums in Florida to rise 45 percent on average next year

Florida regulators said most of the average rate hike — 31 percentage points — came from standard plans sold on the ACA exchange at healthcare.gov. Insurers raised rates for those plans due to the political uncertainty that has plagued the healthcare debate. See the full news release from Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, here. Also read more at the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and the AP.

Florida Trend Exclusive
In search of a better battery

A startup company in Volusia County is trying to develop a lightweight, environmentally friendly battery. It all started when Andrew Heath, while investigating alternative energy sources, came across the research of a University of Central Florida associate professor, Lei Zhai, who worked with nanotubes — carbon formed into tube-shaped structures with minuscule diameters thousands of times thinner than a human hair. Ultimately, Andrew Heath and Sigrid Cottrell launched HyCarb in 2014 and bought rights to commercialize Zhai’s work. Full story from Florida Trend, here.
Part two of a three-part series on energy in Florida.

Related:
» Update on Tampa Electric Co. and HART's HyperLINK service

Florida ranks as one of the worst states for teachers

A new report ranks Florida as one of the worst states for teachers in the country. According to WalletHub.com, Florida ranked overall 47th out of 51, all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, for teachers in the nation. See more findings from the study, here.

Japan’s space, tech companies seek new business in Florida

About 30 Japanese manufacturers plan a trip to Orlando in October to check out the new commercial space race and other business opportunities in Florida. The meeting will start Oct. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport for morning of networking and speakers. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida's Movers & Influencers See some of Florida's top executive moves, board appointments, civic accomplishments, and more at Florida Trend's Movers & Influencers. Each profile appears in three places: in a weekly eNewsletter, online at FloridaTrend.com and in a monthly print issue of Florida Trend. Read more here.

“Unanswered questions” remain for Florida blueberry industry after Irma

As was the case with much of Florida’s agricultural industry, the blueberry sector seems to have taken a hit from Hurricane Irma that pounded the state earlier this month. [Source: Fresh Fruit Portal]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› When it comes to home price increases, South Florida trails most of the country [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Home prices in South Florida rose 5.1 percent in July from a year ago, although that’s one of the smallest annual increases in the country, a new report shows.

› Wawa to hire 200 employees for its northeast Florida stores [First Coast News]
Wawa will be opening the first northeast Florida stores in a few months and to prepare it will be hosting two job fairs to fill positions for those stores.

› Over 20 Florida top chefs unite to help Florida Keys tourism workers [WPTV]
A heartfelt Facebook post from Chef Adam Brown of The Cooper to help the tourism industry decimated by Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys has inspired chefs restaurants across South Florida to come together.

› Khan increasing Jaguars’ earnings [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Forbes magazine’s annual look at the value of NFL franchises, released last week, showed the Jaguars have become a lot more profitable since Shad Khan bought the team.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Pass rate for Florida's July bar exam increases [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners recently announced the latest group of lawyers who have qualified for admission to the Florida Bar.

› Opinion: Florida's small businesses need tax cuts to survive [Fort Myers News-Press]
In South Florida alone, small businesses make up roughly 90 percent of the economy. Nearly one in 10 adults owns a business in the region — the highest metro rate in the country.

› Tampa-based vXchnge secures $200M loan to expand operations [Tampa Bay Times]
Tampa-based vXchnge, which operates data centers in 14 metro areas, has secured a loan for roughly $200 million for "major expansions and enhancements."

› Manatee finalizes $628 million budget with no property tax rate hike [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The Manatee County Commission on Monday finalized its 2017-18 budget at $628.1 million, including transfers and cash balances from the current fiscal year. The next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.