Florida’s pension fund is stuck holding $300 million in Russian investments

A $300 million slice of Florida’s nearly $200 billion public pension portfolio is invested in Russian companies, even as the pariah nation faces mounting accusations of genocide and other war crimes in Ukraine. Democrats want Florida to divest that tiny part of the fund, arguing the state’s leaders should act swiftly to dump Russian investments. Florida’s holdings include Russian oil producers, mining companies and the country’s largest bank, according to a review from late January. Florida’s chief investment officer says the state’s hands are tied because Russia has blocked foreigners from markets, and leaders are taking a “deliberative approach.” [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

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Florida Trend's Pasco County Regional Economic Profile

Listen to those who live and/or work in Pasco County and a distinct sense of place emerges. It's represented in a mixture of adjectives such as "amazing" and "inspiring" blended with further descriptors such as "great diversity," a "gem" and a "phenomenon." Call it the Pasco vibe. And that vibe is all about growth.  [Source: FloridaTrend]

More than 46,000 Cubans, biggest wave in years, have arrived in the U.S. in five months

Driven by a government crackdown on dissent, widespread poverty and a lack of opportunities, young Cubans are leaving the island in a new exodus by land and sea that has already eclipsed the balsero crisis of 1994, when more than 35,000 Cubans took to the sea in makeshift rafts. In the five months between October and the end of February, 47,000 Cubans arrived at the Mexico-U.S. border, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics. [Source: Miami Herald]

Walgreens goes to trial in Florida lawsuit on opioids

Most of the defendants in Florida's lawsuit over the opioid epidemic have settled for more than $870 million, according to the state attorney general. One remains: Walgreens Co. is not giving up. A jury has been seated in Pasco County, Florida, just north of Tampa, to hear the state's case against Walgreens, a huge drug store chain with more than 9,000 outlets on streetcorners throughout the country. Opening statements are set for early next week. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company says it will not settle. [Source: AP]

Amazon taps Blue Origin, ULA to launch thousands of satellites from Space Coast

The Project Kuiper satellite constellation plans to use three companies’ heavy-lift rockets — Blue Origin’s New Glenn, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur and Arianespace’s Ariane 6 — in up to 83 launches over five years to stick most of its hardware in space. The low-Earth orbit constellation would rival SpaceX’s Starlink system, which already with more than 2,000 satellites in orbit of an approved 4,408 Starlinks. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

The right team cures developers' 'blind effect'

The Florida-bound migration fueled by the pandemic has created a new-construction land rush and development boom. From coastal communities to cities in the center of the state, developers have bought up property and unfurled plans to capitalize on the demand for residential and commercial capacity. Some developers new to a region, however, suffer the “blind effect.” [Sponsored report]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› How to build a Florida insurance company, one acquisition at a time [Tampa Bay Times]
Last month, Tampa insurers BRP Group struck a deal to acquire a California agency that it said will add annual revenues of $81.8 million to its ledger sheet. It’s the largest acquisition in the company’s 11-year history. It’s also par for the course in how BRP Group does business. In 2020 and 2021, the publicly owned company spent $2.1 billion acquiring 32 firms large and small, adding more than $440 million in revenues.

› University of North Florida launches Women in Business initiative [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The University of North Florida announced a new Women in Business initiative within its Coggin College of Business designed to encourage confidence, capability and connections for women and provide students with mentorship and career advancement opportunities within the community. A news release from the university April 5 says Jacksonville companies Borland Groover Clinic, CSX Corp., The Adecco Group and Truist are providing initial funding as founding supporters.

› Miami feds seize $34 million of bitcoin in fraud case. It’s one of largest seizures in U.S. [Miami Herald]
Federal authorities in South Florida routinely confiscate millions of dollars in hard cash, high-rise condos and luxury cars when they convict criminals of drug trafficking, fraud or money laundering. But in a rare civil case — one of the biggest of its kind in the United States — prosecutors in Miami have seized $34 million in cryptocurrency.

› Red Lobster CEO Kelli Valade resigns after only 8 months on the job [Orlando Sentinel]
Red Lobster CEO Kelli Valade is resigning after just eight months at the helm of the Orlando-based seafood chain. A news release announcing Valade’s resignation did not give a specific reason for her departure, which she called “an incredibly difficult, but necessary, decision.” It is effective April 15. Valade took over as CEO in August after the retirement of the brand’s longtime leader Kim Lopdrup.

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› Atlanta developer files plans for 525,000-square-foot North Jacksonville warehouse [Jacksonville Daily Record]
National industrial real estate firm Seefried Industrial Properties submitted plans for a 525,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in North Jacksonville. The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing an application for the project on 32 vacant acres at 186 Pecan Park Road. The site is at southwest Pecan Park Road and North Main Street.

› Café Don Juan brings Puerto Rican coffee to Winter Park [Orlando Sentinel]
After almost 10 years delighting the palate of Puerto Ricans, Café Don Juan opened its doors in Winter Park, with a soft launch on Monday. The new establishment will offer visitors various dishes and experiences, in addition to coffee, said Juan Pablo Torres Rodríguez, owner of Café Don Juan.

› Social services nonprofit expands with new Venice location [Business Observer]
The new JFCS of the Suncoast Venice location officially opened April 1 at 2167 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. The organization is based in Sarasota but serves clients throughout six counties as a mental health counseling and human services provider. The new office will expand services in Venice and North Port after the organization noticed a growing need for assistance in those areas.

› Newsweek ranks Health First's Cape Canaveral Hospital among nation's best [Florida Today]
Health First Inc.’s Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach has been named to Newsweek magazine's “World’s Best Hospitals 2022” list for U.S. hospitals. It is the only one of the seven general hospitals in Brevard County to make the list, and is one of 18 Florida hospitals on the list. Cape Canaveral Hospital was ranked No. 249 nationally out of the 420 hospitals on the list.