Thursday's Afternoon Update
Florida marijuana industry growing, but companies face challenges in emerging business
As companies stormed into Florida since 2016 when the state legalized medical marijuana, some of their recent earnings reports dispel any notion that the pot business is easy money as the number of patients grows by thousands each week. Four of the five companies with the most dispensaries in Florida are publicly traded — Trulieve, Curaleaf, Liberty Health Sciences and Fluent — and two reported net losses in recent earnings reports. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida banker shifts from business to academia, being named business school dean
Colleges often talk about providing real-world experiences for students. Hodges University, with campuses in Naples and Fort Myers, is doing that for real with Todd Katz, its new business school dean. Katz, who has started and sold two banks in the region, was named dean of the Johnson School of Business at Hodges earlier this year. More from the Business Observer.
Nation’s first automated rapid DNA collection pilot program rolls out in Florida
The nation’s first fully automated Rapid DNA collection process is now being used at the Leon County Detention Facility. The way it works is DNA is taken from a suspect and then electronically submitted and automatically searched in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to see if the DNA is connected to an unsolved crime anywhere in the nation. Results are returned in under two hours. More from WUSF.
Henry Moso of Orlando’s Kabooki Sushi earns James Beard Award nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year
Henry Moso, 29, is the chef/owner of Kabooki Sushi and Kabooki Sushi Sand Lake. He’d announced the expansion of his Colonial venue just days ago. Now he is the only Orlando-area chef with a 2020 James Beard Award nomination, and he’s in contention for a title for which no other Central Florida nominee has previously been considered. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
State mistake leads to $100M shortfall to Florida hospitals for Medicaid
Medicaid officials made a calculation error that has resulted in upward of a $100 million shortfall in payments to Florida hospitals this fiscal year for caring for poor, elderly and disabled patients. Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, and Rep. MaryLynn Magar, R-Tequesta, told The News Service of Florida on Wednesday that Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew discussed the error with them and gave assurances she wouldn’t need additional funding this year to make up for the shortfall. More from the Miami Herald.
Sports Business
Revamped ballpark, with bank as naming rights sponsor, opens for spring training
Following extensive renovations that began last year, the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training home in Dunedin has been renamed TD Ballpark. TD Bank and Blue Jays officials opened the revamped facility Feb. 24 when the Major League Baseball team’s 2020 spring schedule kicked off with a game against the Atlanta Braves.
» More from the Business Observer.
Development Trends
New Tampa bruised by Wesley Chapel boom, but a new study eases worries
Once there was an H.H. Gregg. A Bed Bath and Beyond. A Sweetbay. A Macaroni Grill. Now, the shuttered businesses along Bruce B. Downs seem to add insult to injury for some New Tampa residents. Just across the Pasco line, Wesley Chapel has boomed with new retail and restaurant openings. They worry New Tampa might be turning into a ghost town. But a recent survey, conducted by students at the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs, suggests the reality is not so dire.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.