Things To Do In SW Florida

By Rachel Phua and Maggie Shiltagh, Bloomberg News

Hours before kickoff in a game pitting Arizona State University against Texas Christian University, the atmosphere feels more fine-dining than college football. A chef is carving chili-rubbed prime rib. Nearby, a bartender shakes up this week’s featured cocktail, a tangerine-hued, mango-flavored Spicy Rita.

Those premium offerings at the football stadium in Tempe, Arizona, are free for fans in the most expensive seats, like four-person field boxes that cost $20,000 a year. Upstairs, concession stands are prepping for the proletariat, but even there choices go beyond traditional fare to get a little luxe: $18 pulled-pork sandwiches, $15 birria tacos and a $10 Texas-themed hot dog with cowboy caviar and barbecue sauce — a nod to ASU’s opponent.

Fancy food, bespoke sips and a deluge of alcohol are taking over university stadiums and arenas across the country, becoming a critical source of revenue amid the explosion in money tied to college sports and shift to paying high-profile student athletes. Athletic-department revenue at colleges with top-tier football programs surged to almost $12 billion in 2024, up 32% from a decade earlier even after adjusting for inflation. Schools will pay out some $1.5 billion to athletes this year, marking the first time they’re allowed to directly compensate players, according to Opendorse, a company that helps connect players with sponsorship deals. read more

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Sam Whitehead, KFF Health News

This summer, the state of Louisiana texted just over 13,000 people enrolled in its Medicaid program with a link to a website where they could confirm their incomes.

The texts were part of a pilot run to test technology the Trump administration says will make it easier for some Medicaid enrollees to prove they meet new requirements — working, studying, job training, or volunteering at least 80 hours a month — set to take effect in just over a year.

But only 894 people completed the quarterly wage check, or just under 7% of enrollees who got the text, according to Drew Maranto, undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Health.

“We’re hoping to get more to opt in,” Maranto said. “We plan to raise awareness.”

The clock is ticking for officials in 42 states — excluding those that did not expand Medicaid at all — and Washington, D.C., to figure out how to verify that an estimated 18.5 million Medicaid enrollees meet rules included in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law. They have until the end of next year, and federal officials are giving those jurisdictions a total of $200 million to do so. read more

If you’ve dropped by a car lot lately and received a severe dose of sticker shock, you’re not just imagining things.

The average transaction price for a new vehicle in the U.S. surpassed $50,000 for the first time, according to a new estimate by Kelley Blue Book.

The price climb has even alarmed car dealers in California, the state with the most drivers in the nation and the place that has long defined car culture in the U.S.

“That’s really concerning because what that means is that only wealthier Californians are going to be able to enter the new car market,” said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association.

“And that’s not good for the industry, it’s not good for consumers, it’s not good for dealers, it’s not good for the automakers. We need a broad range of consumers to be in the new car market and if only wealthy folks are buying those cars, that’s a concern.”

The average price has been on a steady rise for years and analysts with Cox Automotive, which owns Kelley Blue Book, attribute the most recent increase to a combination of factors. read more

As the holiday shopping season approaches, some smaller retailers could find themselves attracting new customers who turn away from big-box stores facing mounting tariff pressures.

Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based retail and consumer goods consulting firm, cited a Bloomberg report that tariff issues are slowing things down because manufacturers and shippers are eating about 50% of the tariffs and the retailers are eating the rest.

“Because of the cross-world traffic on the tariffs, inventory levels are low because people didn’t preorder enough before the tariffs went into effect in the first half of this year,” he said. “We have low inventory, and we have the highest prices in history in all 12 monthly consumer expenditure areas for the first time in 70 years.”

Flickinger believes the current economic landscape sets up well for small shops to flourish.

“The local merchants should have the biggest retail renaissance they’ve had since before COVID because everything is locally sourced, the inventory and replenishment levels are high, the quality is the highest compared to mass-manufactured goods, and the prices will be far more competitive than products imported from central Asia, China, southeast Asia, Vietnam and Cambodia,” he said. “This should be a bonanza for the independents.” read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is drifting near its record heights on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 added 0.3% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 336 points, or 0.7%, as of 1:50 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher. All three indexes are coming off their latest all-time highs.

Moves were also modest in the bond market as Wall Street waits for a few events that could shake things up. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates, while some of the stock market’s most influential companies will report how much profit they made during the summer. On Thursday, President Donald Trump will meet China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in hopes of smoothing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Until then, profit reports from overnight and the morning were the main drivers of Tuesday’s action.

United Parcel Service rallied 7.8% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. UPS also gave a forecast for revenue in the all-important holiday shipping season that was slightly above analysts’ expectations. read more