Things To Do In SW Florida

By Katharine Wilson | kwilson@baltsun.com

Tariffs on China, which produces the vast majority of the world’s fireworks, aren’t expected to noticeably affect this year’s Fourth of July displays in Maryland. However, the companies behind the shows are already worried about supply — and even their own viability — as the U.S. prepares to mark its 250th birthday in 2026.

Before President Donald Trump began increasing tariffs on Chinese imports in February, Tim Jameson was looking to 2026 to be a “once in a lifetime hit” for his Maryland firework company, promising “the largest revenue stream we could possibly have.”

But now he says that his company of five full-time employees and 60 part-timers, Innovative Pyrotechnic Concepts, will be forced to close after exhausting its inventory on semiquincentennial displays, unless tariffs on China are lifted by late summer.

China manufactures about 90% of professional display fireworks and 99% of consumer fireworks used in the United States, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. Historically, fireworks imported from China have faced duties of about 5%. read more

By NADIA LATHAN,  Associated Press/Report for America

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Juneteenth celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Canceled federal grants and businesses moving away from so-called brand activism have hit the bottom line of parades and other events heading into Thursday’s federal holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The shrinking financial support coincides with many companies severing ties with LGBTQ celebrations for Pride this year and President Donald Trump’s efforts to squash DEI programs throughout the federal government.

In Denver, for example, more than a dozen companies backed out of supporting the Juneteenth Music Festival, which is one of the city’s biggest celebrations of the holiday, according to Norman Harris, executive director of JMF Corporation, which puts on the event.

“There were quite a few sponsors who pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year,” said Harris, who has overseen the event for more than a decade. read more

The IAAPA Expo plans to expand its footprint at Orange County Convention Center, a move that is said to reflect the health of the tourism industry and the boom in related economic activity.

The annual trade show will move into the convention center’s West Concourse for the first time in 2026. Previously it has been staged only in the North and South concourses.

“The industry is growing. We see that with the projects like Epic Universe, but we also see it with all the smaller attractions, which happen everywhere now — if it’s a Ripley’s Mirror Maze or if it’s a Puttshack or if it’s a PopStroke — all those little attractions are actually contributing to the success of the attraction industry,” said Jakob Wahl, president of the Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a k a IAAPA.

The expo is known for its vast, teeming trade floor that includes vendors of all manner of manufacturers and creative types, presenting everything from water-slide equipment to major roller coasters to plush animals for carnival games to theme park announcements. The assortment of participants has been diversifying, Wahl said. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Calm returned to Wall Street on Monday, and U.S. stocks rose, while oil prices gave back some of their initial spurts following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets at the end of last week.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to reclaim most of its drop from Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.5%. They joined a worldwide climb for stock prices, stretching from Asia to Europe.

Israel and Iran are continuing to attack each other, and a fear remains that a wider war could constrict the flow of Iran’s oil to its customers. That in turn could raise gasoline prices worldwide and keep them high.

But past conflicts in the region have seen spikes for crude prices last only briefly. They’ve receded after the fighting showed that it would not disrupt the flow of oil, either Iran’s or other countries’ through the narrow Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast.

Hopes that the fighting could remain similarly contained this time around helped send oil prices back toward $71 per barrel on Monday. read more

TALLAHASSEE — Florida would hold a sales-tax “holiday” each August for back-to-school items, while sales taxes would be eliminated on commercial leases and such things as hurricane supplies and sunscreen, under a tax package that House and Senate leaders released Friday evening.

The House and Senate will vote on the tax package early this week along with a state budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The tax package is projected to reduce state and local government revenue by about $1.3 billion next fiscal year.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, told reporters Friday nobody will “get rich and go have a European vacation” on the tax cuts.

“Will you save a ton of money because of what we do? Probably not,” he said. “But you will save some.”

House and Senate leaders had earlier said they planned to eliminate the 2 percent sales tax on commercial leases, a cut long sought by business lobbyists. The lease-tax elimination makes up an estimated $904.8 million of the projected cuts in the package. read more