Florida's Latest News

Executives open up about Disney and Universal theme park attendance highs and lows in Orlando

Disney and Comcast executives weighed in on the theme parks’ attendance — the good and the bad — when they both sat down for fireside chats during an investor’s conference.

Attendance at Disney World and Disneyland jumped 3% over the Summer, the Walt Disney Co. disclosed last month during its quarterly earnings. Comcast Corp. leaders said in July attendance dipped at Universal Orlando for the second quarter. 

“There was a belief going into Q3 earnings that, in fact, we were going to be challenged in Orlando,” Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said during a Q&A in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference. “And in fact, the numbers were quite the opposite. They were rather strong. And that’s a lot about our (intellectual property).”

The theme parks are building new attractions across their properties and Disney Cruise Line is also adding more ships to set sail.

Netflix becomes latest in stream of Florida AG tech targets

Florida officials on Wednesday sued streaming giant Netflix, alleging it misleads parents about how it collects data on minors and harms children with features that lead to “binge watching” content.

The lawsuit, led by GOP Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, is the latest instance of how Florida has emerged as one of the most aggressive red-leaning states against Big Tech, particularly in the era of artificial intelligence. Uthmeier this year also sued OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, as well as TikTok. He recently kept Florida out of receiving a multi-state settlement against Meta, saying the $17 billion agreed to was “not enough to punish” the company over allegations it failed to adequately protect minors.

The newest move takes direct aim at Netflix’s subscription plan that comes with ads — which launched in 2022 — to accuse the company of going back on how it billed itself repeatedly over the years as one unmotivated by surveilling customers’ viewing habits. The company in earnings calls presented its approach as distinctly different from other major tech giants that didn’t charge for their products yet collected user data for advertising.

Florida considers $30 million Clearwater land deal

Florida is considering purchasing nearly 28 acres at Mandalay Point, at the northern tip of Clearwater Beach, through its Florida Forever program. The property sits across Dunedin Pass from Caladesi Island State Park and includes beach, dunes, coastal grassland and mangroves.

The owners proposed selling the land outright to the state, according to a preliminary evaluation prepared for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Florida’s Acquisition and Restoration Council began considering the proposal in December and has since advanced it through the state’s acquisition process.

“Acquisition of this site would protect some of the few remaining undeveloped coastal habitats in the region,” state environmental reviewers wrote.

The approximately 27.9-acre property extends about six-tenths of a mile along the coast. Preserving it would add to a nearly 18-mile stretch of protected barrier islands that includes Caladesi Island, Honeymoon Island and Anclote Key Preserve state parks.

University of Florida opens LaVilla campus focused on AI, cybersecurity and health sciences 

The University of Florida officially opened a new graduate campus in the heart of downtown Jacksonville, bringing programs in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, engineering and health sciences to 801 West Bay Street.

University, city and state leaders cut the ribbon on the new facility, which features modern classrooms, collaborative workspaces and high-tech labs designed to support graduate-level education and research.

UF Jacksonville is offering graduate degrees that include an MBA, a Master of Science in Management and AI, computer science degrees and engineering management. University leaders say every program carries some element of data analytics, artificial intelligence or cybersecurity — skills they say students will need as careers grow more data-focused.

“We have programs like our MBA as well as our Master of Science in Management and AI and we have a couple computer science degrees as well and engineering management,” said Alexis Curry, Marketing and Communications Specialist for UF Jacksonville. “All of these degrees have some sort of data analytics or AI, cybersecurity business aspect to them where they can plan for the future and create future innovations and really plan for what future careers will look like for them as we kind of move into this more data-focused idea.”