A colorful new hurricane cone of uncertainty is coming, Florida. Take a look

Cone of concern. Cone of dread. Even cone of death. The National Hurricane Center’s familiar forecast map goes by a lot of unofficial nicknames, all of which reflect this undeniable fact: You feel worried if you’re in it and better if you’re not. That misreading of the forecast cone has made it the subject of some criticism over the years — that it fails to reflect the risks posed to coastal communities that may be out of the cone one day but in it the next, or close enough to the eye of a storm to still see serious damage. [Source: Miami Herald]

Florida Trend Exclusive
AI, Captain

Boatyard, a Fort Lauderdale tech firm, is using artificial intelligence to streamline the way marine service providers interact with customers and boost the businesses' bottom lines. Boatyard took eight years to grow to $100 million in service sales handled and then just one more year to get to $200 million, entrepreneur Nathan Heber says. His aim this year is to sign more dealers and service providers and continue innovating. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida ranked second in the country for best small business state

Florida is now the second-best home for entrepreneurs in America, according to a new study published this week. More small businesses were launched in the United States and the District of Columbia in 2023 than ever before, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. There were 5.5 million new small businesses created last year. [Source: Florida Politics]

See also:
» Florida, Texas rank as top destinations for relocating businesses

This tiny butterfly was thought to be gone in Florida. Gardeners and naturalists brought it back

Craig Huegel smiled like a proud father as he gazed at a little black Atala butterfly, no bigger than a moth, clambering on a daisy-like wildflower called a Spanish needle, and sucking nectar from its golden center. "They are so gorgeous," said Huegel, director of the Botanical Garden at the University of South Florida. Once thought to be gone forever from Florida, the story of the Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala), is one Huegel has been involved with for years. [Source: WFIT]

Will 2024 be the last daylight saving time change for Florida?

Seasonal depression warriors, rejoice! More daylight hours are right around the corner. For years, lawmakers in multiple states have been pushing to keep daylight saving time, or “summer time,” the year-round norm. Almost 30 states considered legislation related to keeping daylight saving time year-round in 2023, but it still hasn’t stuck in Florida. [Source: Florida Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Great Wolf Lodge, with huge indoor water park, joins Florida market [Orlando Sentinel]
Great Wolf Lodge is bringing its indoor water park and resort business to Florida, but not in Orlando as once was considered. Great Wolf Lodge South Florida, now under construction, will open in Naples on Sept. 25, the company announced Wednesday. It will feature 500 guest suites, a 92,000-square-foot enclosed water park with 12 slides plus three pools, and a 60,000-square-foot family entertainment center. “All of the fun is under one roof,” said Jason Bays, general manager for the new Great Wolf location.

› Rising costs affect Broward's efforts to attract new businesses [South Florida Business Journal]
Higher lending costs, expensive housing, and the loss of the state's incentive program have inhibited efforts of Broward's main economic organization to attract new companies, a recent report states. Sandy-Michael McDonald, director of the office of Economic and Small Business Development, outlined the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance's goals and results in a memo for the Broward County Commission.

› Recent Ybor City bar closures show an area in transition. What’s next? [Tampa Bay Times]
Ybor City, once a haven of nightclubs, cigar bars and tattoo shops, is undergoing a visible transformation, due in part to plans by developer Darryl Shaw to bring 5,000 residences to the area. Shaw has said that the district needs more of a balance of residences, restaurants and other businesses.

› Despite traffic gridlock, Miami Beach votes to oppose Metromover extension [Miami Herald]
The Miami Beach City Commission is unanimous in opposing a Miami-Dade County plan to extend the Metromover to South Beach, voting Wednesday to object to what could become the first mass transit option connecting Miami Beach to the mainland. All six city commissioners and Mayor Steven Meiner cosponsored a resolution opposing the “Baylink” plan and approved it without discussion.

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› Syphilis cases spike in Florida, especially in Orange County [Orlando Sentinel]
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease nearly eradicated 20 years ago, is back on the rise in Florida, particularly in Orange County. The infection increased by nearly 80% in the five years before 2022, the latest year of data available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida data shows the number of cases nearly doubled during that time, with 18,838 Florida residents living with syphilis in 2022.

› NYU Langone receives $75 million gift for new West Palm Beach medical tower [Palm Beach Post]
NYU Langone Health will build a medical office tower in West Palm Beach with the help of a $75 million gift from the Julia Koch Family Foundation. NYU Langone officials said the blockbuster gift will allow the non-profit health care provider to dramatically expand medical services for existing and new patients in Florida.

› AeroVanti pilots sue for back pay, allege exec compared startup to Apple [Business Observer]
A group of pilots has filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging AeroVanti failed to pay them and other employees after being told in a June email from an executive at the beleaguered business that the money was coming and that the troubles the company faced were similar to those of Amazon, Apple, Tesla and Uber in their early days.

› Jacksonville has had scandalous court cases before JEA. Remember these? [Florida Times-Union]
Lawyers for former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn once argued Jacksonville was so “captivated by scandal” and inflamed by news coverage that his big-money fraud trial should leave town to find an unbiased jury. But Northeast Florida has seen circus-like court cases before — peopled by politicians, slick business types, sometimes born adventurers — and looking back at some can be, well, captivating.