Things To Do In SW Florida

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud in a decision that also could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies.

The justices ruled in a 6-3 vote that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have the right to a jury trial in federal court. The in-house proceedings the SEC has used in some civil fraud complaints, including against Houston hedge fund manager George Jarkesy, violate the Constitution, the court said.

“A defendant facing a fraud suit has the right to be tried by a jury of his peers before a neutral adjudicator,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court’s conservative majority.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who read from her dissent in the courtroom, said that “litigants who seek to dismantle the administrative state” would rejoice in the decision.

Federal agencies that oversee safety in mines and other workplaces are among many that can only impose civil penalties in in-house, administrative proceedings, Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan. read more

A Blue Man Group show will move into a new 500-seat theater at Icon Park, the International Drive entertainment complex announced Thursday.

The show’s location is in the development-planning stage and approval process, and the goal is to open in late 2024, officials said. The theater’s entrance would be on the Universal Boulevard side of the 20-acre complex, near the base of the Orlando Eye observation wheel.

Blue Man Group performed in a prominent space at Universal Orlando, accessed through Universal CityWalk for 14 years, before the show was discontinued in 2021. The new production will have a “significant amount of new elements,” Jack Kenn, managing director of Blue Man Group, said Thursday.

“We have our classic things that we have in all the Blue Man shows, but certainly a new look to the show, a new feel of the show and we’re excited about our custom-built theater,” he said. “All of those things are going to make it feel new to our Orlando audience.”

Kenn has worked with Blue Man and Cirque du Soleil for 20 years and has been in his current position for about a year, he said. read more

By TOM MURPHY

Walgreens is finalizing a plan to fix its U.S. business that could result in closing hundreds of additional stores over the next three years.

CEO Tim Wentworth told analysts Thursday morning that “changes are imminent” for about 25% of the company’s stores, which he said were underperforming. The drugstore chain currently runs more than 8,600 in the United States.

Wentworth said the company’s plan could include the closing of a “significant portion” of those roughly 2,100 underperforming stores if they don’t improve.

Company leaders said they’ve already closed 2,000 locations over the last 10 years. Overall, the company runs about 12,500 drugstores worldwide.

“We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require we approach the market differently,” he said.

Walgreens and major competitors like CVS and Rite Aid — which is going through a bankruptcy reorganization — have been closing stores as they adjust to an array of challenges to their businesses. They include include years of tight reimbursement for their prescriptions and rising costs for running their locations. read more