Things To Do In SW Florida

Blue Origin continued to prep for the maiden flight of its massive New Glenn rocket as it went vertical on the launch pad Thursday ahead of an upcoming hot fire test needed before a launch attempt that is targeting before the end of the year.

“Up we go! The steel launch table that New Glenn sits on weighs 1.7 million pounds (roughly 726 metric tons), including the clamps that connect to the vehicle’s aft ring,” the company posted on social media after the rocket was lifted into a vertical position at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 36.

The integrated first and second stage of the rocket were mated earlier this month and made the trip from the integration facility to the pad overnight Wednesday.

Gone vertical. pic.twitter.com/pDn29X5itN

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 22, 2024

“Another step towards launch,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp wrote on X. “The transport and lift operation relies on our Transporter Erector or TE, a structure that’s almost 300 feet long and 50 feet wide and weighs more than 4 million pounds.” read more

A homebuilder recently submitted plans to the city of Apopka for a subdivision of uniquely hurricane-hardy modular houses that can withstand 175 mph winds.

The plans, from Texas-based Onx Homes, went before the Apopka Development Review Committee on Wednesday, according to GrowthSpotter. The homebuilder wants to build 54 single-family, detached homes at 4101 Golden Gem Rd. on the south side of the Wyld Oaks master-planned community. While the location is attractive, Onx’s homebuilding technology and process that can deliver a solidly built home in as little as 30 days is also alluring.

Onx uses a patented technology called X+ Construction. The process starts in one of the builder’s multiple factories in Texas and Florida, including a recently opened 150,000-square-foot factory in Pompano Beach. All of the home elements and materials are built in these facilities, including kitchen and bathroom “pods” that are ready to be installed in the house as-is upon arrival.

The Lego-like pieces are then delivered to the construction site, where a streamlined process allows Onx to assemble an entire home much quicker than the average construction process of eight months. read more

The exhibit floor of IAAPA Expo is jammed-packed with vendors looking to sell everything from wee key chains to monster thrill rides, all in a wide-open atmosphere. Participants are surrounded by sights and sounds, by animatronics and aromas, by arcade games and famous names.

Plus there are the newbies and oddities, such as ice-free curling games, Mexico-bound roller coaster cars and giant inflatable chickens that double as bounce houses.

There are more than 1,100 vendors on the floor, each with a story. Here are five that caught our eye.

Boxing match

Near one entrance to the 545,000-square-foot exhibit floor is the booth for Rocky Mountain Construction, an Idaho-based ride manufacturer. Its home for IAAPA week is big, blue and made of CONEX shipping containers. The rest of the exhibit, such as furniture and other props, arrived in Orlando inside those containers.

“We wanted something eye-catching with some elevation,” says Steven Paquin, who works in business development for RMC.

The second level has a business meeting area and a large balcony with faux grass and seating. A video screen shows coaster highlights to passersby. On ground level is a space for ride-vehicle display, examples of coaster tracks and more seating. read more

The high percentage of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policies within Florida’s riskiest coastal regions is a major reason the company denies payment for half of all claims submitted compared to private-market insurers, a Citizens executive told the company’s Claims Committee on Thursday.

Jay Adams, Citizens’ chief insurance officer, spent several minutes responding to a news article from earlier this week based on findings by Weiss Ratings, a Palm Beach Gardens-based financial analysis firm.

The news article, which appeared in nearly all of Florida’s largest newspapers, reported Weiss’ findings that Citizens denied nearly 17,000 claims, or 50.4% of all claims submitted in 2023. The story reported that Weiss obtained its Citizens data from the company’s own annual report.

Weiss compared that data with percentages compiled for other Florida insurers and concluded that Citizens’ denial rate was higher than those of Florida-based subsidiaries State Farm or Allstate, which closed about 46% of claims without payment during the same period. read more

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to obtain records revealing how the agency intends to carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportation and detention plan.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, demands that ICE disclose contracts for commercial and charter flights as well as ground transportation and internal procedures necessary to deport noncitizen detainees, including those with unaccompanied children.

“The records sought, address a matter of great public concern,” the suit states. “Despite the critical role these flights play in the removal system — in many instances, serving as the mechanism for deportation — ICE Air remains shrouded in secrecy.”

The ACLU alleges that over the past few decades, the infrastructure of deportation flights has shifted from a government-run operation by the U.S. Marshals Service using federally owned planes to a “sprawling and opaque” network of flights on privately owned chartered aircraft. read more