Things To Do In SW Florida

A black-tie awards ceremony that salutes theme parks and their creators will be staged in Orlando next year after a three-decade run in Southern California. The Thea Awards, presented by the Themed Entertainment Association, dole out recognition for outstanding achievement in categories such as theme park land, immersive technology and spectacular show.

“They’re like the Academy Awards for theme parks and attractions and destinations globally,” Melissa Oviedo, CEO of TEA, said.

The shift reflects a trend in attractions development.

“Orlando really is becoming almost a new epicenter of attraction and entertainment development,” Oviedo said. “We want to be able to celebrate all of the great work that’s being done in that region.”

Universal: One-day Epic Universe theme park tickets now on sale

The awards ceremony caps off the organization’s TEA Inspire Week programming, which includes sessions about the winners’ creative processes, success and challenges, Oviedo said. Those events also will shift to Orlando for 2026. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writer

PepsiCo said Monday it’s acquiring the prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion.

The acquisition gives PepsiCo a fast-growing brand in the popular functional beverage category.

“More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement.

PepsiCo said the transaction includes $300 million of anticipated cash benefits, bringing the net purchase price to $1.65 billion.

Allison Ellsworth, the co-founder of Austin, Texas-based Poppi, said the combination with PepsiCo will expand Poppi’s reach.

“We can’t wait to begin this next chapter with PepsiCo to bring our soda to more people – and I know they will honor what makes Poppi so special while supporting our next phase of growth and innovation,” Ellsworth said in a statement.

Ellsworth developed Poppi – then known as Mother Beverage — in her kitchen in 2015 because she loved soda but was tired of the way it made her feel. She mixed fruit juices with apple cider vinegar, sparkling water and prebiotics and sold the drink at farmer’s markets. read more

Firefly Aerospace — the first private company to manage a fully successful lunar landing — announced Monday it had completed its mission on schedule.

The Blue Ghost lander that launched from Kennedy Space Center in January touched down on the moon on March 2 without crashing or tipping over.

On board, the lander carried 10 NASA science and technology experiments as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

The Cedar Park, Texas-based company said it met 100% of its mission objectives over 14 Earth days of surface operations, which is approximately the length of the daylight portion of a lunar day. The lander was designed to survive only about 5 hours of the harsh temperatures once it passed into the darkness of lunar night.

The last data received by the lander came at 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Coupled with 346 hours of daylight operations, it marks the longest commercial lunar operation to date, the company stated.

“After a flawless moon landing, the Firefly team immediately moved into surface operations to ensure all 10 NASA payloads could capture as much science as possible during the lunar day,” said Firefly CEO Jason Kim in a press release. read more

By ALEX VEIGA and MAE ANDERSON, Associated Press Business Writers

Shopping for a new home? Ready to renovate your kitchen or install a new deck? You’ll be paying more to do so.

The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects.

The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales.

We Buy Houses in San Francisco, which purchases foreclosed homes and then typically renovates and sells them, is increasing prices on its refurbished properties between 7% and 12%. That’s even after saving $52,000 in costs by stockpiling 62% more Canadian lumber than usual. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Federal Reserve officials last met in late January, things looked pretty good: Hiring was solid. The economy had just grown at a solid pace in last year’s final quarter. And inflation, while stubborn, had fallen sharply from its peak more than two years ago.

What a difference seven weeks makes.

As the Fed prepares to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, the central bank and its chair, Jerome Powell, are potentially headed to a much tougher spot. Inflation improved last month but is still high and tariffs could push it higher. At the same time, ongoing tariff threats as well as sharp cuts to government spending and jobs have tanked consumer and business confidence, which could weigh on the economy and even push up unemployment.

The toxic combination of still-high inflation and a weak or stagnant economy is often referred to as “stagflation,” a term that haunts central bankers. It is what bedeviled the United States in the 1970s, when even deep recessions didn’t kill inflation. read more