Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Without fanfare and after business hours, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that prevents local governments from requiring worker protections from heat exposure and forbidding them to impose minimum wage requirements on contractors.

The bill, backed by business groups, was fiercely debated and received final approval from the House and Senate on March 8, the final day of the session.

DeSantis’ office revealed that he had approved the measure (HB 433) in a news release without comment on Thursday night. For much of his administration, including Friday, the governor has held news conferences to celebrate bill signings.

In a statement, Bill Herrle, Florida director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said the new law would help “create a stable environment where owners can grow their businesses.”

“Small business owners don’t have the time or the resources to navigate a confusing and contradictory array of local ordinances that go beyond [what] the state already mandates,” Herrle said. read more

SpaceX managed a Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Friday night less than three days since the last rocket blasted off from the same launch pad, setting a turnaround record while also using a first-stage booster for a record-setting 20th flight.

A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40, targeting 9:40 p.m.

SLC-40 was used for the last Starlink launch that came at 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, so the turnaround came only two days and 20 hours after, besting the previous record by nearly 26 hours.

Liftoff of Falcon 9! pic.twitter.com/aMZKAFr897

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 13, 2024

The previous record was set from two launches from SLC-40 on Aug. 3 and Aug. 6 separated by three days, 21 hours, 41 minutes.

The first-stage booster became the first for SpaceX to fly 20 times, having previously flown on two human spaceflight missions — Inspiration4 and Axiom Space’s Ax-1 — as well as the GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8 and 12 Starlink missions. read more

Ronit Liberman, Technical Designer at Adirondack Studios, works on the new facilities for SAK Comedy Lab under construction at 55 West Church Street in downtown Orlando, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

Box office at the new facilities for SAK Comedy Lab under construction at 55 West Church Street in downtown Orlando, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

Box office and two entrances for the stage at the new facilities for SAK Comedy Lab under construction at 55 West Church Street in downtown Orlando, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

SAK Comedy Lab executive director Chris Dinger gives a tour of their new facilities under construction at 55 West Church Street in downtown Orlando, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

Stephen Komives of Envision Orlando, Left, works on signs at the new facilities for SAK Comedy Lab under construction at 55 West Church Street in downtown Orlando, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel) read more

A luxurious eco-spa and hotel complex could soon be built in Clermont, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The project — Sundara Inn and Spa — will be modeled after an existing facility by the same name at Wilderness Resort, the country’s largest waterpark resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Amenities there include a fitness studio, pools, an exclusive restaurant, a golf course, tranquil spaces and Sundara’s proprietary Purifying Bath Ritual.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Clermont City Council heard a first reading of ordinances that would make way for the eco-spa on 42 acres near Hammock Ridge Road and Lakeshore Drive. The items will go back to the council for final approval.

The proposal for the Clermont location includes a full wellness spa facility, outdoor patios and pools and a hotel with 55 rooms. Plans also include walking trails lined with benches, access to Lake Susan and untouched natural spaces.

Clermont, nicknamed the Choice of Champions, has become an international training hub for elite athletes. read more

TALLAHASSEE — The vast majority of small insurers operating in Florida are considered so financially weak that they wouldn’t typically meet federal guidelines allowing them to back mortgaged homes.

That’s a central finding of a study that also suggests that Florida consumers are being led to believe their insurers are much healthier than they really are.

The study, by researchers at Harvard University, Columbia University and the Federal Reserve Board, has not yet been peer-reviewed. But it was posted on a website for scholarly papers in December and has caught the attention of national and state insurance officials and observers.

There are few independent studies of Florida’s insurance crisis, and the report offers insight into one of the state’s vulnerabilities: its reliance on about 50 small insurers that cover about 70% of policyholders and are usually rated by a single company.

That ratings company, Ohio-based Demotech Inc., was the target of a round of public retribution in 2022, after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration accused it of threatening to downgrade 17 companies that year. read more