Florida's Latest News

Personnel note: Karla Fortuny joins Capital City Consulting’s Miami office

'Karla is a natural in our business ... '

Capital City Consulting’s Miami office is welcoming aboard Karla Fortuny, a government affairs professional with a strong background in public policy, advocacy, and strategic communications.

Before joining Capital City Consulting’s Miami office, Fortuny served as the Director of Local Government and Community Affairs at Florida International University, where she worked closely with local governments, community leaders, and key stakeholders to advance the university’s mission and priorities.

Fortuny’s career spans both the public and private sectors, with experience in government affairs, public relations, and sports communication. She previously served as Chief of Staff for Miami’s City Commission, where she oversaw a large team, supported policy development, managed constituent services, and served as the office’s spokesperson. Additionally, she has worked with organizations such as the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee, Inter Miami CF, the Miami Open, and the Florida Panthers Hockey Club, gaining valuable experience in event operations, communications, and community outreach.

DeSantis wants property tax reform, end to business rent levy

Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered his annual State of the State speech in Tallahassee, praising lawmakers for passing immigration legislation and asking them to work on possibly reforming property taxes and eliminating the state’s business rent tax.

DeSantis praised lawmakers for devoting more time and effort to addressing insurance reforms, saying automobile insurance rates are going down between 6% and 10.5% for the state’s three largest providers. He also said a new property insurer has entered the state’s market and also said last year that Florida had the lowest increase in rates nationally. He also urged them to appropriate additional money for the My Safe Florida Home, which helps homeowners make their houses more storm-ready and receive property insurance relief.

The second-term Republican governor even got in a dig on a Canadian boycott of the Sunshine State over President Donald Trump’s immigration and tariff policies.

“We continue to set tourism records. 2024 saw more than 142 million visitors to our state,” DeSantis said. “This includes 3.3 million visitors from Canada. Not much of a boycott. Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team (the Florida Panthers) looks like.”

Florida House speaker orders hearings into insurance report, profits

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez announced Tuesday that he was ordering a committee to hold hearings into property insurance companies moving billions of dollars to affiliate companies while claiming losses, following reporting by the Times/Herald.

In his opening remarks for the legislative session, which began Tuesday, the Miami Republican said that insurance companies might have been using “creative accounting” to “hide” profits.

“A couple of years ago, the insurance industry came to the Legislature and said without sweeping reforms, companies could not compete in Florida,” Perez told lawmakers.

“We have since learned of reports — in existence at that time but not disclosed to the Legislature — that may suggest some insurance companies were using accounting tricks to hide substantial profits while telling us they were in a crisis."

The Times/Herald last month revealed that a never-before-seen state report found that insurance companies claimed to lose millions at the start of the state’s insurance crisis while their affiliate companies made billions.

SpaceX Announces Florida Expansion

SpaceX announced on Monday that it is expanding its Starship production and launch operations to Florida with the construction of an integration facility, Gigabay, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the continued development of the Starship launch pad at Launch Complex 39A.

The company is also evaluating Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for potential Starship operations, pending environmental assessments.

“SpaceX was founded with the ultimate mission of making humanity multiplanetary, and Starship is the vehicle that will enable us to become a spacefaring civilization,” said Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s Vice President of Launch. “Through this significant expansion of Starship production and launch capabilities in Florida, we’re taking a big step toward achieving this goal, and we are grateful to our partners across the State for their ongoing support.”

Gigabay, located near SpaceX’s HangarX facility at Kennedy Space Center, will stand 380 feet tall and encompass 815,000 square feet of workspace. The facility will include 24 work cells and cranes capable of lifting up to 400 tons. Site preparations have begun, with completion targeted for late 2026. A similar Gigabay facility is under construction at Starbase, Texas, adjacent to the company’s Starfactory manufacturing complex.