AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJan 13, 2021 at 5:38 pmFlorida won’t be the home of the United States Space Command after all. Instead, it’ll be Huntsville, Alabama.Dale Ketcham, vice president of Space Florida, which had lobbied hard for Brevard County to get the headquarters of America’s new military branch, told the Orlando Sentinel the news was a “genuine disappointment.” But he said he believed the state is well-positioned to lure other projects, pointing to the growing footprints of SpaceX, Blue Origin and Boeing on the Space Coast.Advertisement“It is what it is,” Ketcham said. “It’s...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJan 13, 2021 at 5:38 pmFlorida won’t be the home of the United States Space Command after all. Instead, it’ll be Huntsville, Alabama.Dale Ketcham, vice president of Space Florida, which had lobbied hard for Brevard County to get the headquarters of America’s new military branch, told the Orlando Sentinel the news was a “genuine disappointment.” But he said he believed the state is well-positioned to lure other projects, pointing to the growing footprints of SpaceX, Blue Origin and Boeing on the Space Coast.Advertisement“It is what it is,” Ketcham said. “It’s...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelOct 12, 2020 at 5:30 amCheered on by business lobbyists, the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 voted to make it harder for out-of-work Floridians to get unemployment insurance — and cut payments for those who qualify.Nine years later, as a global pandemic devastated the U.S. economy, those changes have added to the misery of hundreds of thousands of people who suddenly found themselves out of a job and short on state benefits. Now, the is being used by Democrats against their Republican opponents in legislative races across Central Florida — including...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelOct 12, 2020 at 5:30 amCheered on by business lobbyists, the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 voted to make it harder for out-of-work Floridians to get unemployment insurance — and cut payments for those who qualify.Nine years later, as a global pandemic devastated the U.S. economy, those changes have added to the misery of hundreds of thousands of people who suddenly found themselves out of a job and short on state benefits. Now, the is being used by Democrats against their Republican opponents in legislative races across Central Florida — including...WW…

In the spring, as the new coronavirus began to spread throughout Central Florida, companies began shedding employees and Congress rushed in to provide some short-term relief. Not knowing how severe the outbreak would become and how long its grip on the tourism-dependent region would last, executives hoped things would go back to normal soon. But the layoffs haven’t stopped, and the calls to Congress for more help for the jobless and for the hotels, theme parks and other businesses that employed them have gone unanswered. It’s further evidence of the stark message Florida’s chief economist,...…In the spring, as the new coronavirus began to spread throughout Central Florida, companies began shedding employees and Congress rushed in to provide some short-term relief. Not knowing how severe the outbreak would become and how long its grip on the tourism-dependent region would last, executives hoped things would go back to normal soon. But the layoffs haven’t stopped, and the calls to Congress for more help for the jobless and for the hotels, theme parks and other businesses that employed them have gone unanswered. It’s further evidence of the stark message Florida’s chief economist,...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJul 24, 2020 at 5:30 amA federal judge last week ordered a group of Orlando businesses to halt what investigators claim is a “bogus” credit card debt reduction scheme, one that has gone on for more than six years and potentially stolen millions of dollars from unknowing Americans.As far back as 2014, the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody allege that Gino and Grace De Paz and Shabana Khublal, operators of the three businesses involved in the operation, deceived people into paying for services that promised to help them pay off...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJul 24, 2020 at 5:30 amA federal judge last week ordered a group of Orlando businesses to halt what investigators claim is a “bogus” credit card debt reduction scheme, one that has gone on for more than six years and potentially stolen millions of dollars from unknowing Americans.As far back as 2014, the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody allege that Gino and Grace De Paz and Shabana Khublal, operators of the three businesses involved in the operation, deceived people into paying for services that promised to help them pay off...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJul 06, 2020 at 8:13 amIn cutting $1 billion from Florida’s budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ red pen also wiped out funding for one of the state’s decades-old affordable housing programs.The entire $225 million previously allocated by the Legislature for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, also known as SHIP, was vetoed, moving the money back into the Sadowski trust fund until legislators convene again.AdvertisementMitchell Glasser, manager of Orange County’s housing and community development division, said the county was expecting $11.7 million in SHIP...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJul 06, 2020 at 8:13 amIn cutting $1 billion from Florida’s budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ red pen also wiped out funding for one of the state’s decades-old affordable housing programs.The entire $225 million previously allocated by the Legislature for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, also known as SHIP, was vetoed, moving the money back into the Sadowski trust fund until legislators convene again.AdvertisementMitchell Glasser, manager of Orange County’s housing and community development division, said the county was expecting $11.7 million in SHIP...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJun 25, 2020 at 4:06 pmWith more than 2,600 evictions waiting to be processed in courts across Florida, a harbinger of the waves of residents who could soon lose their homes, housing advocacy groups are demanding that the governor once again extend the statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium and provide funding for rental assistance programs.Veronica Lucha, an Orlando resident who spoke during a call with the Miami Workers Center, a progressive group that supports low-income people of color, said the moratorium should be extended until at least the end...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJun 25, 2020 at 4:06 pmWith more than 2,600 evictions waiting to be processed in courts across Florida, a harbinger of the waves of residents who could soon lose their homes, housing advocacy groups are demanding that the governor once again extend the statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium and provide funding for rental assistance programs.Veronica Lucha, an Orlando resident who spoke during a call with the Miami Workers Center, a progressive group that supports low-income people of color, said the moratorium should be extended until at least the end...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJun 08, 2020 at 5:13 pmTwo top-ranking U.S. senators on Monday called for a federal investigation into Florida’s “uniquely poor” response to the millions of workers who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus outbreak, accusing Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott of failing to fix the state’s hamstrung unemployment compensation system.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee from Oregon, sent a letter requesting that U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Scott Dahl...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelJun 08, 2020 at 5:13 pmTwo top-ranking U.S. senators on Monday called for a federal investigation into Florida’s “uniquely poor” response to the millions of workers who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus outbreak, accusing Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott of failing to fix the state’s hamstrung unemployment compensation system.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee from Oregon, sent a letter requesting that U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Scott Dahl...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelApr 21, 2020 at 7:05 amEvan Dimov lets out a heavy, defeated sigh thinking about the optimism he had when he applied for a $50,000 loan for his Orlando restaurant, Too Much Sauce.“I thought, ‘Maybe I have a chance here,” he said. “I thought, ‘This was designed for small businesses.’”AdvertisementBut the loan never materialized. He never even heard from the Small Business Development Center Network that handled applications.Mike Myhre, CEO of the Florida SBDC Network for the last decade, said the “unprecedented demand” quickly drained the $50 million program,...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelApr 21, 2020 at 7:05 amEvan Dimov lets out a heavy, defeated sigh thinking about the optimism he had when he applied for a $50,000 loan for his Orlando restaurant, Too Much Sauce.“I thought, ‘Maybe I have a chance here,” he said. “I thought, ‘This was designed for small businesses.’”AdvertisementBut the loan never materialized. He never even heard from the Small Business Development Center Network that handled applications.Mike Myhre, CEO of the Florida SBDC Network for the last decade, said the “unprecedented demand” quickly drained the $50 million program,...WW…

AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelApr 28, 2020 at 7:00 amIn a federal lawsuit filed in Orlando against the U.S. Small Business Administration, a group of Florida businesses alleges that the SBA, in charge of administering the federal government’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan, is not running the program as lawmakers intended.The more than 50 businesses represented in the suit, all clients of the Melbourne Widerman Malek law firm and mostly based in Florida, are among the countless who have applied to the program that’s usually reserved to help small businesses weather hurricanes, floods and...…AdvertisementBy Orlando SentinelApr 28, 2020 at 7:00 amIn a federal lawsuit filed in Orlando against the U.S. Small Business Administration, a group of Florida businesses alleges that the SBA, in charge of administering the federal government’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan, is not running the program as lawmakers intended.The more than 50 businesses represented in the suit, all clients of the Melbourne Widerman Malek law firm and mostly based in Florida, are among the countless who have applied to the program that’s usually reserved to help small businesses weather hurricanes, floods and...WW…