Floridians working for small businesses pay more for health insurance, report finds
Floridians working for small businesses pay more out-of-pocket for health insurance than their peers employed at large companies, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund. The report from the independent health care research firm calculates that small business employees pay $2,235 more in deductibles for family plans than people working in companies with more than 50 employees. More from the Florida Phoenix.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Floridian of the Year updates: Where are they now?
Florida Trend caught up with a few former Floridians of the Year. Here's a closer look at what they're up to. In 2014, FLORIDA TREND described Geraghty’s company, Florida Blue, as “a staid company in a staid industry.” The 67-year-old health insurer had 11,500 workers and did about $8 billion in annual revenue. Revenue has more than quadrupled since Geraghty became CEO in 2010, due in large part to its transition to GuideWell, a Jacksonville-based mutual insurance holding company with 18,000 employees and more than 150 primary care locations that it either owns outright or are part of a joint venture. More from Florida Trend.
Tarpon Springs ready to move forward with revised downtown redevelopment plan
City Manager Charles Rudd offered city commissioners a sample of his philosophy, along with a report and suggestion on downtown redevelopment Dec. 3. He called his report “Revitalizing the Revitalization.” “I want to acknowledge that a lot of work has gone on in the last 25 years. It is an ongoing process. That’s the nature of redevelopment, revitalization,” he said. “We’re never going to be finished, even when the area is booming there’s still management.” More from Suncoast News.
Ribbon cutting ceremony for 30+ year Black-owned, legacy business in downtown Delray Beach
The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority (Delray DDA) and Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (Delray CRA) celebrated Blanc Fresh Cut Barber Shop’s new location in The Set (West Atlantic) neighborhood of Downtown Delray Beach. Blanc Fresh Cut Barber Shop is a black-owned legacy business that has been on Atlantic Avenue for over 30 years. More from the Boca Raton Tribune.
NuVision Solar plans cell and panel manufacturing in Florida
New solar panel company NuVision Solar announced plans to start a 2.5-GW solar cell and panel manufacturing facility in the United States. The company will create 500 jobs at the operation. NuVision intends to manufacture bifacial modules using heterojunction technology (HJT). Online documents list the principal address for NuVision as the former SolarTech Universal panel assembly factory in Riviera Beach, Florida. The site was also once leased by Heliene. More from Solar Power World Online.
Out of the Box
TikTok famous coffee company to open cafe in downtown St. Pete
A local mobile coffee truck that has garnered a large following through viral TikTok videos will open a new cafe in downtown St. Pete. Next month, Bean Wandering will bring its popular canned-to-order iced coffee, in addition to a small food menu from The Crumb Factory, to the ground floor of the 12-story City Center office building.
» More from St. Pete Rising.
Tech Startups
Homebuyers can access neighbors' political leanings with new real estate platform
A new real estate platform lets buyers see the political affiliations of their future neighbors and how many dogs may be living on their block. Why it matters: Tech startup Oyssey believes social data – like age, education and income demographics – is influencing buyers more than the physical conditions of a home. Driving the news: Oyssey is soft launching in South Florida and New York City this month.
» Read more from Axios.