Things To Do In SW Florida

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

Cybersecurity specialist CrowdStrike Holdings on Wednesday estimated it absorbed a roughly $60 million blow to its sales pipeline last month after its botched handling of a software update triggered a technology meltdown that stranded thousands of people in airports in addition to other exasperating disruptions.

Although the massive outage spooked customers that had been expected to close deals totaling $60 million during the final few weeks of CrowdStrike’s fiscal second quarter, executives running the Austin, Texas, company predicted it will still be able to cinch those contracts before its fiscal year ends in January 2025 because customers still have faith in its cybersecurity products despite the July 19 gaffe that froze up machines running on Windows software.

“Our mission is alive and well, and I know that CrowdStrike’s very best days are ahead of us,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told analysts during a conference call covering the company’s April-July period. He also apologized for the company’s role in an outage that he said “will never be lost on me, and my commitment is to make sure this never happens again. The days following the incident were among the most challenging in my career because I deeply felt what our customers experienced.” read more

One person in Florida has died from eating Listeria-contaminated Boar’s Head deli meat as the outbreak spreads into more states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reported Wednesday.

Florida health officials did not release the name of the city or store where the deli meat was purchased. Along with the death, three people in Florida have been hospitalized from eating contaminated deli meat.

Overall,  57 people have been hospitalized and eight have died from what federal officials call the largest listeriosis outbreak since 2011. The CDC reported that, as of Aug. 8, the Boar’s Head deli meat outbreak had sickened people in 18 states.

An investigation into cases of Listeria linked to deli meat began in July when health officials found Boar’s Head brand liverwurst was making people sick. Boar’s Head has since recalled 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. The recall list includes hams, bologna, bacon, sausage, salami and frankfurters. Turkey has not been recalled. read more

The investment group seeking to purchase Red Lobster announced it has appointed the former CEO of P.F. Chang’s to lead the Orlando-based seafood chain, pending court approval of Red Lobster’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.

Damola Adamolekun, who stepped down as P.F. Chang’s CEO in 2023, was named CEO of RL Investor Holdings LLC on Monday and will become CEO of Red Lobster, if the court approves.

Fortress Investment Group, joined by co-investors TCW Private Credit and Blue Torch, created RL Investor Holdings LLC to acquire Red Lobster through bankruptcy court.

“Red Lobster is an iconic brand with a tremendous future,” Adamolekun said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with our team members across North America to reinvigorate the brand by making it the best place to work for our employees and improving the experience for our guests.”

Red Lobster will continue to operate as an independent company, with 544 locations across 44 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, according to Fortress. read more