Florida is still battling the federal government over imported drugs
Four years after Florida lawmakers passed a plan to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, the plan remains snarled in disputes between the state and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The state on Friday filed a lawsuit alleging that the Food and Drug Administration violated the Freedom of Information Act by not properly responding to a request for records about Florida’s attempt to get approval for the importation program. The state also filed a similar federal lawsuit in July — a case that remains unresolved. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Public safety: Altering fentanyl
A University of Florida professor and researchers from around the U.S. have found a way to make fentanyl less addictive. Although fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, helps people with severe pain, it also has many dangerous side effects. Opioids were associated with 107,477 overdose deaths in the U.S. for the 12 months ended in August 2022. [Source: Florida Trend]
Column: Work from home or office? What’s the best workplace option?
Remote and hybrid work was a sensibly flexible response to the challenges we faced during the pandemic. Freed of commute time, many workers felt less stress, spent more time with family and, in the short term, were more productive. But others found endless Zoom meetings tiring, and became more sedentary, heavier and, in some cases, became depressed. Remote work has proved to be a public health wash. [Source: Tampa Bay Tiimes]
Florida’s lawsuit deluge threatens weakened insurance market
The fact trial lawyers have dumped tens of thousands of lawsuits into the Florida courts in March, just before the state’s tort reform legislative overhaul kicked in, adds another threat to the already challenged Florida insurance market, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) has said. While this isn’t strictly property insurance related, for Florida’s legal system the fact trial lawyers have filed a record 280,122 lawsuits between March 1st and March 23rd, in order to beat the state’s tort overhaul, has the potential to be a concern. [Source: Artemis]
The rich legacy of the Florida beef cattle industry
The beef cattle industry in Florida today is modern and big business. On January 1, 2023, Florida was the number nine beef cow state in the country with nearly 900 thousand head. Several of the top ten cattle cow-calf ranches in the country are in Florida. The long legacy of cattle ranching in Florida includes many multi-generational operations that are still going strong. [Source: Beef Magazine]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› New housing projects plummet by 20% in South Florida as region deals with affordability crisis
South Florida is seeing a stark drop in the number of new housing projects expected to be developed, as the region deals with an affordability crisis — fueled in part by a lack of available places to live. New residential housing permits issued in South Florida plummeted 21% in 2022 when compared to the year before, according to the latest data from Point2Homes, a company that analyzes real estate trends.
› Disney World’s ‘Fantasmic’ continues despite dragon fire at Disneyland show
The show will go on for “Fantasmic,” the nighttime spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, despite a fire that damaged the Maleficent dragon character at a similar show at Disneyland over the weekend. The blaze occurred during a “Fantasmic” performance in Anaheim, California, late Saturday evening. The outdoor theater was evacuated as the 45-foot robotic dragon burned.
› Miami’s blossoming tech hub hits rough patch, as startup capital gets scarce
Venture capital financing, which was plentiful last year in Miami, dried up in the beginning of 2023. In the first quarter, $243 million in venture capital was invested in the Miami metropolitan area, including Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, and that’s less than one-tenth the amount during the same three-month period last year, according to data from research firm PitchBook.
› Guy Fieri features Jacksonville restaurant on new 'Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives
Friday night’s all-new episode of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Triple D Nation” featured some familiar Jacksonville faces. After first visiting the Culhane sisters in 2010, celebrity chef/host Guy Fieri made a return visit to Northeast Florida, stopping in at Culhane’s Irish Pub in Atlantic Beach – and the sisters’ newer restaurant on Jacksonville’s Southside, a restaurant made possible “thanks to you,” Michelle Culhane told Fieri, referring to Culhane’s appearance on the landmark show some 13 years ago.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Brightline station in Brevard? Cocoa, Melbourne leaders want one, but no decisions made
In 2015, Cocoa and Melbourne leaders lobbied for their respective cities to rise atop a target list of potential sites for All Aboard Florida to build a future passenger train station along the Space Coast. Fast-forward eight years. Now known as Brightline, the private rail company just unveiled its newly built Orlando International Airport station — which is projected to accommodate millions of travelers in the coming years.
› Karis Cold joins the cold storage warehouse expansion boom in Jacksonville
Karis Cold is pursuing plans to prepare more than 24 acres in Westlake Industrial Park to develop a warehouse, joining the movement by refrigeration and freezer companies into Northeast Florida. The city and the St. Johns River Water Management District are reviewing plans for the Florida-based company to develop a cold storage warehouse on a wooded and undeveloped site along Pritchard Road in West Jacksonville.
› Original director will help Orlando Ballet dance through ‘Streetcar Named Desire’
Orlando Ballet will open its production of “Streetcar” on April 27 in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando — after some coaching from Nancy Meckler. She explains why she always looks forward to working with dancers. “I find they are really responsive. They can really concentrate and focus on something in a way that sometimes actors can’t,” she says. “Dancers are very disciplined and hardworking. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten where they are.”
› Curbside hurricane debris collection complete for unincorporated areas of Lee
The debris collection process for Hurricane Ian has concluded in Lee County and residents have been directed to place their waste curbside in compliance with regular weekly standard waste-collection procedures. Lee County Solid Waste reminds contractors that they are responsible for the proper disposal of their own waste. This includes debris and materials generated as part of their work activities.