Things To Do In SW Florida

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin told employees Thursday it would lay off about 10% of its workforce.

The company has more than 10,000 employees, with a major presence on the Space Coast at its rocket factory adjacent Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it constructs its New Glenn rocket. The rocket had a successful debut launch last month.

The number of positions that would be affected in Florida was not announced, but it also has major operations in Alabama, Texas and Washington where the company is headquartered.

In a letter to employees sent by company CEO Dave Limp obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, he said much of the workforce reduction was due to excessive management built up over the last few years.

“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Limp wrote.

That would include more buildup of its New Glenn rockets that launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, but also its smaller suborbital New Shepard rocket from Texas. The company also designs and will build its new Blue Moon lunar lander at its Brevard County facilities. read more

Chapter 7

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

Metamorphosis Mental Health Family Center LLC, 28019 U.S. Highway 27, Suite C, Dundee. Filed: Feb. 1. Assets: $0-$50,000. Liabilities: $500,001-$1 million. Major creditors: Not available. Creditors meeting: March 6.

Poston Minerals LLC also known as The Poston Mineral Rights Trust, 8526 Granada Blvd., Orlando. Filed: Feb. 6. Assets: $0-$50,000. Liabilities: $0-$50,000. Major creditors: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, New Orleans, unknown; Burlington Resources Offshore Inc., Houston, unknown; Chevron Production Co., Houston, unknown. Creditors meeting: March 6.

Chapter 11

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for reorganization and protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

Stoneybrook Family Dentistry doing business as Wholistic Dental doing business as Stoneybrook Dental, 14835 W. Colonial Drive, Winter Garden. Filed: Jan. 31. Assets: $2,573,305. Liabilities: $2,911,683. Major creditors: Huntington National Bank, Naples, $288,000; United Community Bank, Greenville, S.C., $220,130; Regions Bank, Birmingham, Ala., $90,821. Creditors meeting: March 3. read more

The Associated Press

Elon Musk says he will abandon his $97.4 billion offer to buy the nonprofit behind OpenAI if the ChatGPT maker drops its plan to convert into a for-profit company.

“If OpenAI, Inc.’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid,” lawyers for the billionaire said in a filing to a California court on Wednesday.

“Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”

Musk and a group of investors made their offer earlier this week, in the latest twist to a dispute with the artificial intelligence company that he helped found a decade ago.

OpenAI is controlled by a nonprofit board bound to its original mission of safely building better-than-human AI for public benefit. Now a fast-growing business, it unveiled plans last year to formally change its corporate structure.

Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to acquire the nonprofit’s controlling stake in the for-profit OpenAI subsidiary. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased for the fourth week in a row, an encouraging sign for prospective home shoppers as the spring homebuying season gets underway.

The average rate fell to 6.87% from 6.89% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.77%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, rose this week. The average rate increased to 6.09% from 6.05% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.12%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly fell to a 2-year low last September, but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year. That’s more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago.

Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Igloo is recalling more than 1 million of its coolers sold across the U.S., Mexico and Canada due to a handle hazard that has resulted in a handful of fingertip injuries, including some amputations.

The now-recalled “Igloo 90 Qt. Flip & Tow Rolling Coolers” have a tow handle can pinch users’ fingertips against the product — posing potential amputation and other crushing risks, according to a Thursday recall notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Igloo has received 12 injury reports in the U.S., the CPSC notes, which include fingertip amputations, bone fractures, and lacerations. There are no known injuries in Canada or Mexico.

Consumers in possession of the coolers are urged to stop using them immediately — and contact Igloo for a free replacement handle.

The now-recalled coolers were sold at major retailers like Costco, Target, Dick’s and Amazon between 2019 and January 2025 for between $80 and $140. About 1.06 million were purchased in the U.S., in addition to 47,000 in Canada and another 23,000 in Mexico. read more