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Feb 21, 20213 min read
CA$H COWS: Tavistock, Disney and others save millions through tax break meant to help Florida farmer
At the Drive Shack golfing center in Lake Nona, golf balls struck from the three-story driving range roll to a stop not far from a few...
Nov 6, 20201 min read
Orlando airport leaders will review their lobbying rules following Sentinel report
The agency that runs Orlando International Airport will reexamine its lobbying rules, after the Orlando Sentinel reported that a...
Nov 6, 20201 min read
Prominent lobbyist didn’t disclose calls to Orlando airport board members, violating policy
In early July, a lobbyist at a firm run by a top fundraiser to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called four of the governor-appointed members on...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Muscle Mouse: Walt Disney World's political spending swells
Originally published July 26, 2019 Walt Disney World is enormous in almost every way imaginable. The resort, built across 40 square miles...
Oct 4, 20201 min read
Florida is about to give more than $500 million to big corporations
Originally published Aug. 15, 2019 Florida is about to give more than $500 million to some of its biggest corporations. That’s enough to...
Oct 4, 20201 min read
Leaders suggested their options were limited before $125 million Universal vote. They weren't.
Originally published Dec. 19, 2019 By Jason Garcia and Stephen Hudak Moments before they voted late Tuesday night to give $125 million to...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Orange County leaders approve $125 million road deal with Universal Orlando
Originally published Dec. 17, 2019 By Jason Garcia and Chabeli Carrazana In a late-night decision following hours of testimony, Orange...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Universal Orlando seeking $350 million in corporate tax breaks
Originally published Dec. 11, 2019 Universal Orlando is in line for nearly $350 million worth of state tax breaks to build a new...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Universal to get state money to build road to new Epic Universe park
Originally published Aug. 22, 2019 A few days before Christmas last year, after he was elected to the U.S. Senate but before he’d left...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Universal Orlando launches lobbying campaigns for $125 million in public money
Originally published Dec. 13, 2019 By Jason Garcia and Stephen Hudak As Orange County leaders prepare to vote on a controversial $125...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Universal Orlando’s new road deal with Orange County is lopsided, critics say
Originally published Oct. 3, 2019 Universal Orlando and Orange County are negotiating a final deal to split the tab for a new road to the...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Amid Florida’s budget shortfall, corporations lobby for more tax cuts
Originally published Aug. 27, 2020 This spring, PetMed Express Inc., a nationwide pet pharmacy that sells nearly $300 million a year...
Oct 4, 20201 min read
Investment company writes Florida incentive laws, then profits from them
Originally published Jan. 8, 2020 On a Thursday afternoon in the middle of last year’s legislative session, Sen. Bill Montford appeared...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Video-game company helps write Florida tax-incentive law, saves itself millions
Originally published Dec. 30, 2012 During the past three years, even as it has struggled with shrinking tax revenue, the Florida...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Large companies getting small-business loans want to spend less of the money paying workers
Originally published April 17, 2020 The Pennsylvania investment firm that owns the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami has applied for as...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Debt-ridden hotels lobby for taxpayer bailout
Originally published Aug. 13, 2020 In late 2018, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach completed a $1 billion mortgage refinancing. A year later,...
Oct 4, 20202 min read
Thriving companies getting hundreds of millions in federal coronavirus tax breaks
Originally published May 21, 2020 Corporations across America have booked more than $7 billion in savings using tax breaks that Congress...
Oct 1, 20201 min read
Orlando airport board, facing criticism, reverses course on no-bid lawyer contracts
Originally published Sept. 18, 2019 By Beth Kassab and Jason Garcia The board that controls Orlando International Airport backed down...
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