SpaceX plans to shift its focus from a mission to Mars to laying the groundwork for a city on the moon, according to founder Elon Musk. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk writes that SpaceX's "overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the moon is faster." Less than a year ago, however, Musk said SpaceX was working toward sending an unmanned spacecraft to Mars by the end of 2026, calling the moon "a distraction" in a post on X. SpaceX is now aiming for an uncrewed lunar landing in March 2027.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"We're a smaller entity compared to others in Tampa, Orlando and the Miami area, but we are having a pretty good impact considering we are not in a large metropolitan area. A lot of the startups in our ecosystem are 'hard tech' or very product-oriented compared to others in Florida, which tend to be very software-oriented." — Mamoon Rashid, board member and mentor at Groundswell, a business incubator in Melbourne that has helped launch more than 100 startups
HIGHER EDUCATION
- NUC University – Florida Technical College has rebranded as Northbridge University. The institution — which was founded in 1982 and operates eight campuses in Florida, 19 in Puerto Rico and three in Oregon — stated that it has "evolved beyond its technical college origins." The name change coincides with a phased launch of 30 new academic programs at Northbridge, with 10 being rolled out this year.
- Rasmussen University's Florida footprint has grown with the opening of a second campus in Orlando. Owned by the publicly traded Public Education, Rasmussen specializes in career-focused academic programs such as nursing, design, business, technology and education. In Florida, it also has campuses in Fort Myers, Ocala and Tampa suburbs Odessa and Brandon.
TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
- Travel + Leisure Co. moved into its new global headquarters in downtown Orlando. The company — whose timeshare and vacation ownership brands include Sports Illustrated Resorts, Eddie Bauer Vacation Club, Club Wyndham and Margaritaville Vacation Club — invested $36 million in the building, which will house more than 900 employees.
FINTECH
- Orlando-based fintech firm Worth has added two leaders to its executive team: Chief Financial Officer Keith Durden and Chief Revenue Officer Christian Miller. Durden is the former CFO of Stax Payments, also headquartered in Orlando. Miller is the co-founder of CAMP Digital, a digital marketing firm for home-services companies, and will be based in Minneapolis.
HEALTH CARE
- One of Central Florida's largest providers of outpatient behavioral health services has opened a clinic in Lake Mary. It's the third location in the region for APG Health, which was founded in 1993 and serves more than 50,000 patients. The office will offer psychiatric evaluations, therapy and counseling, medication management and transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy.
- Tanya Easterling is Florida Blue's new Central Florida market leader. She replaces Tony Jenkins who is now heading up Florida Blue's Northeast Florida division.
- AdventHealth opened a freestanding emergency room about three miles from Universal's Epic Universe theme park. The 13,700-sq.-ft. AdventHealth Sand Lake ER boasts 12 private patient rooms, respiratory therapy services, advanced diagnostic imaging, an on-site full-service laboratory and on-site pharmacy.
REAL ESTATE
- Quality Inn & Suites by Lake Kissimmee has been sold for an undisclosed price after being listed at $10.9 million. Tampa-based DSH Hotel Advisors brokered the deal, representing seller JC Investments FL and the undisclosed buyer.
- Pulte Homes has broken ground on Hilliard Isle, its latest master-planned community in Osceola County. The 900-acre mixed-use development will include commercial, retail and recreational elements, as well as a town center. Housing options consist of single-family homes, bungalows and townhomes.
LAYOFFS
- Sanford-based lighting manufacturer ILLUMUS closed its Titusville facility and laid off 84 employees. In a notice filed with the Florida Department of Commerce, the company says some managerial workers will be temporarily retained, but their employment will be terminated no later than Sept. 30.
- UF Health closed its Leesburg-based Central Florida dietary services operation and dismissed 102 hourly employees as it plans to outsource dietary services to Morrison Healthcare. Laid-off workers will be given the chance to transfer to Morrison Healthcare and keep the same positions.
RETAIL
- Two Orlando-area luxury car dealerships — Lexus of Winter Park and Lexus of Orlando — have been acquired by Penske Automotive Group. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based company has been aggressively expanding its Florida holdings, buying two Toyota and four Lexus dealerships within the past few months. Penske says the acquisitions will collectively add about $2 billion in annual revenue to its bottom line.
SeaWorld's Slump
United Parks & Resorts, the parent company of Orlando's SeaWorld and Discovery Cove, reported lower-than-expected attendance and revenue in its fiscal year 2025 summary. Some 21.2 million people visited the company's theme parks last year, a decline of 378,000, or 1.8%, from 2024. Total revenue dropped by $62.7 million, or 3.6%, to $1.7 billion.
Elite E-Sports
Florida Polytechnic University has opened an e-sports arena equipped with 20 high-performance gaming PCs, two large TVs for console gaming and a 48-foot exterior screen that allows on-campus spectators to watch video game tournament action. The facility is part of the Lakeland institution's Barnett Applied Research Center. Florida Poly's e-sports program fields more than 100 players across 14 competitive teams in various games.