Things To Do In SW Florida

An enormous master-planned community in Kissimmee is moving closer to construction after years of effort, driven by Puerto Rico’s largest mall developer in its entry to the Florida market.

The company, Empresas Fonalledas, has spent $70 million through its affiliate, Plaza Lakes LLC, over the last two decades assembling the nearly 900 acres along Simpson Road for the community known as Hilliard Isle. Pulte has been involved as the homebuilding partner for the project since 2022 and has secured zoning entitlements for the mixed-use development with a marina on East Lake Toho.

Craig Holland, the city’s development director, called Hilliard Isle the Kissimmee’s “last hurrah,” according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

“It’s our last big undeveloped piece of property,” he told Osceola Realtors last month. “We’re looking at 3,000 dwelling units, approximately. That includes single-family, townhouses, and multifamily, and about 125,000 square feet of commercial with a town center vibe. And this is located between BVL and East Lake Toho. This is the easternmost portion of the city. It has good access to pretty much everything.” read more

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — A public document filed by a company that just hired President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons as advisers included a sentence early Monday that said it hoped to benefit from grants and other incentives from the federal government, which their father happens to lead.

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But when The Associated Press asked the Trump family business about the apparent conflict of interest, the document was revised and the line taken out.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are getting “founder shares” worth millions of dollars in New America Acquisition 1 Corp., a company with no operating business that hopes to fill that hole by purchasing an American company that can play “a meaningful role in revitalizing domestic manufacturing,” according to to the filing. The president has geared his trade policy toward boosting manufacturing in the U.S. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The monthly jobs report is already closely-watched on Wall Street and in Washington but has taken on a new importance after President Donald Trump on Friday fired the official who oversees it.

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Trump claimed that June’s employment figures were “RIGGED” to make him and other Republicans “look bad.” Yet he provided no evidence and even the official Trump had appointed in his first term to oversee the report, William Beach, condemned the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics appointed by former President Joe Biden. The firing followed Friday’s jobs report that showed hiring was weak in July and had come to nearly a standstill in May and June, right after Trump rolled out sweeping tariffs. read more

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — DuPont and two other companies will pay New Jersey up to $2 billion to settle environmental claims stemming from PFAS, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” the companies announced Monday.

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State Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the deal with DuPont, Chemours and Corteva is the largest such settlement in the state’s history. It calls for the companies to pay $875 million over 25 years and create a remediation fund of up $1.2 billion. The companies will split the costs under the deal, which must still be approved by the courts. read more