Things To Do In SW Florida

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO (AP Retail Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bed & Bath & Beyond will live on, online at least, after Overstock.com acquired the bankrupt retail chain’s intellectual property assets for $21.5 million.

The online retailer Overstock.com is dumping its name online and will become Bed & Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Overstock.com’s CEO Jonathan Johnson told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Thursday that the company is considering changing its corporate name but won’t make any decisions until after it digests the assets.

The switcheroo to a very recognizable brand was cheered on Wall Street. Shares of Overstock.com Inc., based in Midvale, Utah, soared nearly 20% during afternoon trading Thursday.

The deal doesn’t include Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the last of which are expected to be shuttered Friday, or the Buybuy Baby chain.

The name change will roll out in Canada next month and in August, a relaunch of the company’s website and mobile app as Bed Bath & Beyond will appear in the U.S. Those visiting overstock.com will be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com. read more

DALLAS (AP) — The pilots’ union at Southwest Airlines is asking federal mediators to open the way for a strike, saying that big differences remain over pay and other items despite three years of bargaining over a new contract.

The request Thursday by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association doesn’t mean a strike is imminent, even though union members voted nearly unanimously in May to authorize a strike.

If mediators grant the union’s request, pilots could strike but only after a 30-day cooling-off period, during which the White House could delay a walkout or Congress could impose a settlement on both sides.

Southwest opposed the union’s request.

Adam Carlisle, Southwest’s vice president of labor relations, said the two sides are meeting regularly and the company has proposed industry-leading compensation and changes in pilot scheduling. He said further mediation will drive negotiators closer to an agreement that helps both sides.

The union’s move is the strongest step yet toward a strike by any of the major pilot unions, which are seeking large pay raises as travel and airline revenue rebound from the pandemic. read more

Port Canaveral officials raised an alarm after finding out the Florida Department of Transportation at the behest of the space industry had put on hold plans to replace a critical bridge at the port, which has also delayed the widening of the Beachline Expressway.

Port CEO Capt. John Murray laid out concerns about FDOT’s decision during the port authority commission meeting Wednesday. He said he thought all of the stakeholders, including commercial space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, were on board with a decision to move forward with a fixed-span bridge, one of several designs mulled during two public hearings held in January and February.

“It was a surprise,” Murray said. “We assumed we were in the full-scale design phase but we weren’t hearing much feedback on how it was going, which was raising our concern that something was changed.”

Murray said Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, who leads Space Launch Delta 45 and the Space Force’s Assured Access to Space, had asked FDOT to re-engage with the commercial space companies before moving forward with the design. read more

Health care

Dr. Adele Evans was appointed chief of otolaryngology for Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando.

Real estate

Victor Belitchenko has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Winter Park, as a sales advisor.

Kate Hoffman has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Southeast Orlando, as a sales advisor.

Teri Stamper has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Port Orange, as a sales advisor.

CJ Taylor has joined Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Winter Park, as a sales advisor.

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