Florida Trend Exclusive

Florida's 350 Biggest Companies

To qualify for consideration for Florida Trend’s public companies list, a company must be headquartered in Florida, have its stock publicly traded on a major exchange and file regular financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Subsidiaries are eligible provided they are headquartered in Florida and have their own CEO/president. Banks’ revenue is the sum of interest income plus non-interest income. [Source: Florida Trend]

Canceled flights, expensive tickets await travelers this summer. Will they stay home instead?

If you’re traveling this summer, don’t forget to pack your patience. The chaotic start to the summer travel season over Memorial Day weekend, with thousands of canceled flights in Florida and across the country, may have been just a glimpse of what travelers may expect in the coming months. A similar scene played out over the Father's Day and Juneteenth weekend, too. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Florida’s preventable deaths rose during the pandemic. It wasn’t just COVID.

Florida has recorded 17,000 unexpected or excess deaths from preventable health issues other than COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Some were likely because the pandemic led people to put off checkups, surgeries and other preventative health measures, according to a new study. Excess deaths are defined as those that exceed the number of expected deaths based on historical averages. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Farmworkers in Wimauma say climate change is drying out the land and harming their health

Climate change is impacting workers in many segments of the economy, but for those who work the land for a living, the effects can be physical and financial. Hillsborough County is home to some of the most productive farmland in the state and each season, thousands of workers spend long days in the fields harvesting crops. A farmworker, plumber and advocate describe their experiences with climate change, including less work in the fields as fruit plants dry up in rural Hillsborough County. [Source: WUSF]

Citizens insurance denied expected rate increases as more companies halt new policies

Two more Florida property insurers are no longer writing new business for homes in the state. This comes as Citizens Property Insurance Corps. received rate increase approval below the anticipated 11%. Centauri Insurance and Bankers Insurance both attributed the pause on new policies to higher reinsurance costs this year. They add to the dozens of companies either halting new business in the state or pulling out of the state completely, in addition to the nine now in receivership. [Source: WFTS]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› St. Petersburg mayor: ‘Major announcement’ on Tropicana Field coming Wednesday [Tampa Bay Times]
Mayor Ken Welch gave himself a June 30 deadline to select a developer to redevelop Tropicana Field, one of the largest land deals in the country. The Welch administration has announced a news conference Wednesday morning, teasing a “major announcement” regarding the Tropicana Field site redevelopment process by the mayor.

› North Florida Innovation Labs brings business incubator for startups to Innovation Park [Tallahassee Democrat]
Construction is underway for a business incubator within Innovation Park that's considered the missing piece to the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem. A regional first, the $24-million North Florida Innovation Labs is geared toward startups and growing technology companies that need specialized lab facilities to commercialize and grow their innovations.

› Despite Bolts’ Cup loss, Tampa Bay charities win big thanks to $1.2M donation [Business Observer]
With the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game 6 loss on home ice to the Colorado Avalanche Sunday evening, Lord Stanley’s Cup is headed west for the first time since 2019, and there will be no boat parade on the Hillsborough River, no drinking beer from one of the most hallowed trophies in sports. Yes, the Stanley Cup final ended in heartbreak for the Bolts, but owner Jeff Vinik has given the team’s employees — and dozens of charities across the Tampa Bay area — plenty to cheer about.

› Port Canaveral finances sitting pretty as new Disney ship joins the party [Orlando Sentinel]
As Disney Cruise Line gears up with its first new ship sailing from Port Canaveral in more than a decade, the port is already surging ahead of its expected budget nine months into the fiscal year. Disney Wish is set to have its christening at the port Wednesday, and begin sailing with customers on July 14. That begin date for sailing is actually six weeks beyond what the port had originally budgeted, and cruise revenue through May is actually behind plan.

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› Biden’s housing chief calls Miami the ‘epicenter of the housing crisis in this country’ [Miami Herald]
The nation’s top housing official visited Miami on Tuesday and called the city the “epicenter” of a housing crisis in the United States. “I decided I was going to Miami, to the epicenter of the housing crisis in this country,” Marcia Fudge, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said during a visit to Miami-Dade County’s Liberty Square complex.  

› City Council voting on incentive for Allegis to add 500 Jacksonville jobs [Jacksonville Daily Record]
City Council is scheduled to vote June 28 for a grant capped at $750,000 for Allegis Group Inc. to add up to 500 jobs in Jacksonville. Allegis, a Hanover, Maryland-based workforce services company, says it will create the jobs at an average wage of $53,000 by Dec. 31, 2026. The company estimates it will make a $1.3 million capital investment into real estate improvements, IT equipment, furniture and fixtures, according to a May 20 city project summary.

› Airport, college land $5.5M in funding for aviation training school [Business Observer]
After at least two years of trying to start an aviation maintenance school at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, the plan is coming to fruition. The School District of Manatee County, Manatee Technical College and the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, in partnership with Sarasota’s Suncoast Technical College and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, will open the Aviation Maintenance Technician School at the airport. It's tentatively scheduled for a 2024 opening.

› Orlando Zillow surfers can now see homes in virtual 3D [Orlando Sentinel]
This month, the real estate website Zillow rolled out a new feature for online listings in Orlando that gives viewers a clearer view of the homes they’re peeking into. When viewers take a virtual 3D tour of a home, certain listings will include a floor plan, generated by artificial intelligence, that shows where the camera is.