Things To Do In SW Florida

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press

Steel and aluminum are ubiquitous in Americans’ lives. A stainless steel refrigerator holds aluminum soda cans. A stainless steel drum tumbles inside an aluminum washing machine. They’re the metals used in cars and airplanes, phones and frying pans, skyscrapers and zippers.

That’s why President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports — which went into effect Wednesday — could have widespread impact on manufacturers and consumers.

Here are some of the industries and products that rely on aluminum and steel:

Construction

The construction industry uses about one-third of all U.S. steel shipments, more than any other industry, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The industry depends on a global supply chain to build everything from airports to schools to roads, according to Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group with more than 23,000 members.

The group says some contractors were able to lock in prices on steel or aluminum ahead of the tariffs. But if they are prolonged, the import taxes will ultimately raise prices at a time when the construction industry is already struggling with higher costs for labor and materials. And uncertainty around the tariffs will make it less likely that companies will commit to big building projects, the group said. read more

SeaWorld Orlando’s next big ride will have an arctic theme, flying sensations, no artificial intelligence and go by the name Expedition Odyssey when it opens this spring.

The attraction’s name was revealed during a hard-hat tour of the construction site for members of the media Wednesday.

Expedition Odyssey will be a “flying theater” type of ride with seated passengers dangling in front of a curved screen that’s 50 feet in diameter. The images they’ll see will feature animals from the Arctic that were filmed during three two-week excursions spread over a year.

“We wanted to make sure that we truly captured everything that this incredible atmosphere has to offer,” said Conner Carr, corporate manager of rides and engineering for United Parks & Resorts, SeaWorld’s parent company.

It won’t be a computer-generated experience.

“Everything that guests will see during the ride experience is 100% real,” Carr said. “All of the animals, all of the landscapes, all of the adventure is truly real.” read more

TALLAHASSEE — In a new TV ad for his congressional campaign, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis touts that he’s “the one person fighting for homeowners.”

In fact, the ad states, “he oversaw the largest fine in history against an insurance company.” The video included a Tampa Bay Times headline from last year about state regulators fining Tampa-based Heritage Insurance $1 million for how it treated homeowners after Hurricane Ian.

Except, Patronis never explicitly came out in support of that fine when it was issued (and it wasn’t the largest).

The ad, “Fighting for Homeowners‚” was for Patronis’ race for Congressional District 1 in the western Panhandle. He faces a Democrat in the April 1 special election, which he’s expected to easily win.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, not Patronis’ Department of Financial Services, levied the fine against Heritage Insurance. The office found that the company was slow to respond to claims, slow to pay claims, used improperly licensed adjusters and kept poor records. read more

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street got some relief Wednesday after an encouraging report said inflation slowed last month by more than expected, and the U.S. stock market is scraping back a chunk of its sharp losses from recent weeks.

The S&P 500 was 1.2% higher in early trading, a day after it briefly fell more than 10% below its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 145 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2% higher.

Companies in the artificial-intelligence industry were leading the way, after recently getting crushed by worries their prices had gone too stratospheric in the market’s run to record after record in recent years. Nvidia climbed 6.4% to trim its loss for the year so far to 13.8%. Server-maker Super Micro Computer rallied 6.8%, and GE Vernova, which is helping to power AI data centers, rose 5.8%.

Elon Musk’s Tesla, whose price had more than halved since mid-December, was heading toward its first back-to-back gain in a month. It added 7.8%. read more