Things To Do In SW Florida

Visit Orlando announced today the donation of $352,218 to Orange County charities supporting families experiencing hardship in Central Florida from funds raised through the tourism association’s Magical Dining program, a record-breaking total and a 30 percent increase over 2023.

“As we close the 19th year of Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining, we’re proud to see the growth of Orlando’s culinary scene and the support it gives our local businesses,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando.

“This was a record-setting year in more ways than one,” said Matej. “Not only did we have 150 participating restaurants, but we also raised more than $350,000 for The Mustard Seed of Central Florida and Orange County charities in our six commissioned districts.”

Conceived nearly 20 years ago as a way to boost business during traditionally slow months, Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining has since grown to not only incorporate a charity element but lean hard into celebrating what is Central Florida’s increasingly vibrant dining scene — and encourage locals to step out of their bubbles and try new venues. read more

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls.

Last month’s hiring growth was up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October. The government also revised up its estimate of job growth in September and October by a combined 56,000.

Friday’s report from the Labor Department report showed that the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% in October to a still-low 4.2%. Hourly wages rose 0.4% from October to November and 4% from a year earlier — both solid figures and slightly higher than forecasters had expected.

The November employment report provided the latest evidence that the U.S. job market remains durable even though it has lost significant momentum from the 2021-2023 hiring boom, when the economy was rebounding from the pandemic recession. The job market’s gradual slowdown is, in part, a result of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in its drive to tame inflation. read more

By HALELUYA HADERO, AP Business Writer

A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment.

“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”

TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. read more

A historic launch pad is undergoing a renovation that will bolster its current role at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The Gantry at LC-39 will be an interactive experience will feature an immersive theater show, a simulation of a test fire beneath a full-scale rocket engine, a rocket-build area and educational, gamified exhibits.  The area also will feature a shaded courtyard with animal-inspired play sculptures and an outside dining area adjacent to the Crawlerway.

“This new attraction brings the stories around NASA’s research to monitor our planet and innovative interactives to offer a deeper connection to the space program through a unique and dramatic lens,” Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of the attraction, said in a news release.

The attraction, set to open in early 2025, is designed to showcase LC-39’s location inside a national wildlife refuge and the significant technological achievements accomplished there.

Launch Complex 39 includes three launch pads — 39A, 39B, 39C — as well as the formidable Vehicle Assembly Building, the Launch Control Center and the famed countdown clock.  The Saturn, Apollo and space shuttles missions blasted off from this area. read more

Three prominent investor-judges from “Shark Tank,” television’s high court of American entrepreneurship, descended on Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton to hear pitches from hopeful local innovators in search of financial backing.

The visiting judges for the so-called “CrocTank” event, sponsored by Noble Capital Markets of Boca Raton, included Canadian venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, a.k.a “Mr. Wonderful,” FUBU apparel founder Daymond John, and cyber-tech entrepreneur Robert Herjavec, also from Canada. The contest was a wrap-up event of a two-day financial investment conference called NobleCon, which drew some 200 executives from around the country to Boca Raton.

Only one of four competitors chosen from a pool of more than 100 applicants scored a deal at the Wednesday on-stage event, which took place in a student union auditorium on the FAU campus in Boca Raton and drew nearly 2,000 ticketholders. The local competitors were selected, according to the College of Business, from the university’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, Tech Runway and the Research Park at FAU. read more