Things To Do In SW Florida

United Launch Alliance is footing the bill for the second ever launch of its Vulcan Centaur rocket, so it can finally see the payouts for the backlog of $3.1 billion worth of national security missions, something ULA cannot do until the Space Force signs off on it.

For that, Vulcan needs two successful flights.

The mission dubbed Certifcation-2 follows the successful debut launch last January of the replacement for ULA’s family of Atlas and Delta rockets.

It’s set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 now targeting 6:30 a.m. during a three-hour window that opened at 6 a.m. Friday, and backup opportunities during the same window on Saturday.

The delay from the original 6 a.m. target came after the launch vehicle experienced a data dropout, which caused ground systems to shut down propellant flow to the rocket, but teams reconfigured the system to resume flow.

“It has literally one primary objective, which is to go fly a second time and have another success,” said ULA CEO Tory Bruno on Wednesday. read more

Construction

Dan Fitzpatrick was promoted to Florida regional president at Ashton Woods. Fitzpatrick, currently president of Ashton Woods’ Orlando Division, will now oversee operations across Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.

Real estate

Joshua A. Harris was appointed senior vice president at Winter Park-based CrossMarc Services LLC.

Jeff Miller has joined Maury L. Carter & Associates Inc., Orlando, as a sales associate.

Robert Bass has joined Maury L. Carter & Associates Inc., Orlando, as a sales associate.

Awards

Georgia Turner, executive director of the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority received the 2024 Roger Pynn Great Communicator award. This is the top honor of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.

By MAE ANDERSON and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down this week when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.

Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts.

A shutdown that lasts more than a few weeks has the potential to raise prices and create shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

There have been some signs of movement in the talks, with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, saying that both sides have moved from their initial wage offers. But on Wednesday, the alliance called on the International Longshoremen’s Union to come to the bargaining table. “We cannot agree to preconditions to return to bargaining, but we remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” the group said in a statement.

Late Wednesday night, the ILA said that Harold Daggett, its president, and other union officers, had received death threats since the strike began. The union said the threats were reported to police. read more

By HALELUYA HADERO

Retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday season, but fewer seasonal employees are expected to be taken on this year to help customers in stores and assemble online orders in warehouses.

E-commerce giant Amazon said Thursday it will hire 250,000 full, part-time and seasonal workers for the crucial shopping period, rounding out a series of announcements made in recent weeks by the country’s top retailers.

Amazon is hiring the same number of employees it did last year, similar to Bath & Body Works and Target, which said in September it planned to bring in roughly 100,000 seasonal employees and offer current employees the option to work extra hours during the holiday shopping period.

Meanwhile, the department store Kohl’s encouraged people to apply for positions but stayed mum on its plans, mirroring Walmart, which said it’s been hiring store associates throughout the year and will tap into its own staff when needed during the busy season.

Others have indicated they will scale back their holiday hiring. Macy’s said it would add more than 31,500 seasonal positions this year across its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, as well as its distribution centers. Last year, the company added 38,000. read more

Chapter 7

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

Courageous Painting LLC, 2518 Ainsworth Ave., Deltona. Filed: Sept. 30. Assets: $42,800. Liabilities: $137,910. Major creditors: NorGUARD Insurance Co., Wilkes Barre, Pa., $73,902; Home Depot, St. Louis, Mo., $4,324; Sherwin Williams Paint Store, Orlando, $3,601. Creditors meeting: Nov. 19.

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:

Moore Medical Group Inc., 1355 S. International Parkway, #1481, Lake Mary. Filed: Sept. 24. Assets: $100,001-$500,000. Liabilities: $1,000,001-$10 million. Major creditors: BayFirst National Bank NA, St. Petersburg, $2,000.000; Vox Funding LLC, New York City, $223,129; Bizfund LLC, Brooklyn, N.Y., $167,136. Creditors meeting: Oct. 28.

Parramore City Towers LLC, 333 S. Garland Ave., Floor 13, Suite 11, Orlando. Filed: Sept. 25. Assets: $100,001-$500,000. Liabilities: $500,001-$1 million. Major creditors: Not  available. Creditors meeting: Oct. 28. read more