Florida Trend Exclusive
And now, the details: Florida's New Governor, Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis won the race for governor after a year-long, $100-million-plus campaign that was one of the most expensive and closely watched elections in the nation last year. And yet DeSantis, a Republican from Northeast Florida who spent most of the past six years as a far-right member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is still very much a mystery to many Floridians. Read the full story here.

See also:
» Rick Scott's Legacy as Florida's Governor: Scott's focus on the state's economy and finances has left incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis room to maneuver.

David Denor named publisher of Florida Trend

David Denor has been named publisher of Florida Trend, a statewide business magazine published by the parent company of the Tampa Bay Times. Denor, 47, replaces longtime publisher Andy Corty, who will continue as president of Trend Magazines. See the full announcement here and read more from the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida gas prices sink to 26-month lows

Prices at the pump are off to their lowest start to the month of January since 2016. Gas prices in Florida dropped another 4 cents last week. The state average has now declined nearly 70 cents since October. [Source: NorthEscambia.com]

You knew hurricanes are stressful. Now researchers know how much.

 

Watching the news to brace for a hurricane is a fact of life for us Floridians, but you need to be careful not to stay glued to all those media reports. Because if you do, you’re more likely to succumb to stress and mental health problems after the storm. Those are among the findings of a new study released by psychologist-researchers at the University of California-Irvine. See the full announcement and read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida ranks No. 3 for the most student debt

Florida ranks No. 3 for the highest amount of student loan debt, according to a new analysis by Experian. Floridians had $89.4 billion in student loans for the third quarter of 2018, up 177 percent from the same quarter in 2008. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Overcoming the Odds

Carol Broxton, Pharm.D., is the Northwest Florida regional pharmacy manager of JTJ Medical Supply, doing business as Mail-Meds Clinical Pharmacy & Bliss Rx. Not only does Carol help her community by championing new medical initiatives that make it easier for patients to achieve optimal health, she also serves as an inspiration, proving anything is possible when you work hard to achieve your goals. [Sponsored report]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida restaurant chain opens new concept in Nashville [Busines Observer]
Restaurant chain First Watch has opened Sun & Fork by First Watch, a new fast-casual all-day breakfast and lunch concept, in Nashville, Tenn. The new restaurant is east Manatee County-based First Watch’s only fast-casual restaurant.

› War against Miami Beach’s rogue scooters goes high-tech [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
After a rowdy 2018 Spring Break, Miami Beach banned motorized scooter rentals for the month of March — a time of year when thousands of young people flood the island. Miami Beach police gave out over 450 tickets to scooter drivers that month, more than double the number of citations in the first two months of the year combined.

› JEA hunt for headquarters site is silent on evacuation risk [Florida Times-Union]
EA’s search for the site of a new headquarters building will move forward Tuesday when developers formally submit their proposals in the next step of a selection process that potentially could end with JEA relocating to an area that’s more vulnerable to hurricane-related storm surge flooding.

› The intersection of art and wealth management in Florida [Miami Herald]
As Art Basel descended upon Miami with an army of wealthy global art collectors, it’s useful to consider how the art market drives billions of dollars worth of economic activity not only locally, but around the world.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Alachua's Tech City making steady progress [Gainesville Sun]
The San Felasco Tech City, the brainchild of Glaeser and Rich Blaser, CEO of Infinite Energy, is under construction. The development will be something of a live-work-play concept, where seasoned companies, like Fracture, that have grown and need more space, can expand.

› Sarasota’s iRide becoming Gotcha, adding $3 fee [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Commuters who use the popular free iRide service in downtown Sarasota will soon have to fork over some cash to hitch a ride after the service’s operator rebrands later this month. The city and Gotcha Group, the private company that operates the iRide service, in August mutually terminated a contract for the service following revelations last year the endeavor would likely be insolvent without a city subsidy.

› Jacksonville’s homicide tally drops in 2018, but still too high, some say [Florida Times-Union]
Little has changed in Jacksonville’s year-end homicide totals that regularly eclipse the century mark. In 2018, the 126 victims were 11 fewer than 2017′s tally of 137, but still higher than the previous eight years.

› Ivey's in line for Port Canaveral cruise terminal, garage projects totaling $108.5 million [Florida Today]
The company that built Port Canaveral's newest cruise terminal now is in line to build the port's next one. Port Canaveral commissioners will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider approving awarding a $78.98 million contract to Ivey's Construction Inc. of Merritt Island for the port's Cruise Terminal 3 project.