Brightline files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Brightline parent companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Friday as management acted to ease the pioneering firm’s debt load. But officials who operate the higher-speed passenger railroad that serves South and Central Florida quickly announced that Brightline Trains Florida, the railroad’s operating company, is not affected and its trains are continuing to run without interruption through the state. More from the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the AP.
Record number of loggerhead sea turtle nests reported in Florida
Florida has broken its record for loggerhead sea turtle nests, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Officials recorded 136,972 loggerhead nests statewide through Aug. 31. That surpasses the record of 134,930 nests set in 2023. FWC says this year's numbers are preliminary, but will set the new record once verified. More from WTSP.
Florida's first quantum computer coming to FIU
Florida International University (FIU) will become the first university in Florida to acquire a full stack, trapped-ion quantum computer, bringing to the state an industry-leading research tool designed to take on problems that exceed classical computing limits. FIU has signed an agreement with IonQ, the world’s leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, to install the company’s new Superion 256 quantum computer on campus. More from Refresh Miami.
Tampa leads U.S. In small-bay industrial market as rents climb
Tampa businesses looking for a smaller warehouse, workshop or industrial building are running into a market where demand has stayed high, relatively little new space has arrived and rents have kept climbing. That combination has now pushed Tampa ahead of every other major U.S. market in a new ranking of small-bay industrial performance. CoStar ranked Tampa No. 1 among the 54 largest U.S. markets after comparing leasing activity, vacancies, new inventory and rent growth across smaller industrial properties. Tampa finished first for rent growth and third for growth in leasing activity. More from Tampa Bay Business & Wealth.
Fortis College is heating up a new workforce pipeline in Orange Park
Within an Orange Park shopping center, Fortis College is quietly redeveloping a new area of space to house additional classrooms and labs: the cornerstone of a new offering opening soon. The career school is adding approximately 4,000 square feet of space to its 25,000-square-foot campus. It’s a bet that Northeast Florida’s demand for skilled trades workers isn’t slowing down and the first time the Orange Park campus will branch beyond medical-focused programs. More from the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Florida voters agree: Keep school vaccine safeguards in place
After a regular legislative session and special session that left Florida's school-entry vaccine requirements unchanged, statewide polling confirms nearly 8 in 10 Florida voters support keeping the current safeguards in place. A survey of 1,000 likely Florida voters conducted for Florida Families for Vaccines by McLaughlin & Associates found that 79 percent support Florida's school-entry vaccine requirements, while just 17 percent oppose them. The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. [Sponsored report]
Business Beat - Week of September 25th
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Out of the Box
Like ‘the wand shop in Harry Potter’ — only it’s in Miami and full of violins
In the tiny village of El Portal just north of the Miami city line, in the lush and tree-shadowed Sherwood Forest section on a bend in the Little River, the door to a storybook 1930 cottage opens to an utterly unexpected world: neatly arrayed rows of fine cellos, violas, violins and bulky double basses, some of them rare and antique, fill a compact showroom in what used to be the living room.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.