Things To Do In SW Florida

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

Car insurance rates are falling in Florida, thanks to improved company profits and lower costs from reforms aimed at ending excessive litigation.

Dating to late 2024, the state’s five largest auto insurance groups have all asked Florida’s insurance regulators to approve rate reductions for their various lines of business, a review of rate filings by the South Florida Sun Sentinel shows.

Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis attributed the reductions — averaging 6.5% among the state’s five largest auto insurers — to the same reforms enacted in 2022 and 2023 that are credited with stabilizing home insurance rates in the state.

Among other changes, the reforms prevented windshield-replacement companies from requiring customers to sign over the benefits of their insurance claims. Insurers contended that contractors would use the signed-over benefits to sue insurers and collect legal fees that far exceeded the costs to replace broken windshields.

DeSantis vowed to keep the reforms in place amid efforts by some lawmakers to reinstate legal fees for plaintiffs who successfully challenge insurers’ initial claim settlement offers. read more

SeaWorld Orlando is introducing a new icon for its Halloween event.  Howl-O-Scream visitors will come face-to-face with Havoc,  which the theme park refers to as its “ambassador of darkness.”

The Havoc character looks the part: Charred skull, ember-inspired eyes, dressed in chains and tattered black coat, armed with a bloody machete and a motorcycle

“Havoc is the ringmaster of ruin and guests will feel his presence long before they see his smoldering silhouette,” a Howl-O-Scream news release said.  Havos previously was bound by the Sirens, the previous faces of the SeaWorld event.

Also new to the after-hours event, which runs on select evenings beteween Sept. 5 and Nov. 1, is a live show titled “Throttle,” in which Havoc and his “nightmare riders tear through portals,” the release said.  The “Monster Stomp” show and its Jack the Ripper-styled production also returns this season.

SeaWorld Orlando also revealed four new Howl-O-Scream scare zones. They’re named Trailer Park Tragedy (“territorial tenants”), Echoes of the Glass (“warped-mirror maze”), Woodrot Hallow (“trees week sap like blood”) and Ashes of the Forgotten (abandoned scrapyard). read more

By RIO YAMAT, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — When Susana Pacheco accepted a housekeeping job 16 years ago at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip, she believed it was a step toward stability for her and her 2-year-old daughter.

But the single mom found herself exhausted, falling behind on bills and without access to stable health insurance, caught in a cycle of low pay and little support. For years, she said, there was no safety net in sight — until now.

For 25 years, her employer, the Venetian, had resisted organizing efforts as one of the last holdouts on the Strip, locked in a prolonged standoff with the Culinary Workers Union. But a recent change in ownership opened the Venetian’s doors to union representation just as the Strip’s newest casino, the Fontainebleau, was also inking its first labor contract.

The historic deals finalized late last year mark a major turning point: For the first time in the Culinary Union’s 90-year history, all major casinos on the Strip are unionized. Backed by 60,000 members, most of them in Las Vegas, it is the largest labor union in Nevada. read more