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Monday, March 3, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States. William D. Moseley was elected the first governor.

One of America's favorite grocery stores and the world's fourth-best beach are in our state. You can read more about both in today's Top Stories.

Expect an email from us soon on behalf of our partner, American Hartford Gold, with insights on protecting your retirement savings. We hope you find their message useful!

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Florida Power & Light Seeks $9B Rate Hike

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, proposed raising electric bills by nearly $9 billion over the next four years due to growth and a need to build more solar energy facilities.

The base-rate proposal would include an increase of $1.5 billion in 2026 and $927 million in 2027. Typical residential customers would pay $12 more monthly for their base rates next year. Rates would continue rising each year for four years.

FPL would pass along costs to customers in 2028 and 2029 for solar energy and battery-storage projects. The company seeks a shareholder profit rate with a midpoint of 11.9%, well above the national average.

Publix Ties as Favorite Grocery Store

Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets and Trader Joe's, based in California, tied for the title of the most popular grocery store in America in a survey by The American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the nation, operates more than 1,300 locations across the Southeastern U.S., with 872 stores in The Sunshine State.

Publix tied for the top spot last year with Costco and Texas-based H-E-B. Costco saw the biggest dip in customer satisfaction in this year's survey. You can see 2025's Top 10 here.

Florida Home to World's Fourth-Best Beach

Siesta Beach in Siesta Key was named the best beach in the U.S. and the fourth best in the world by TripAdvisor. You can see the list of the best beaches here.

The white sand beach received an average of 4.5 stars from more than 8,500 reviewers. Last year, Siesta Beach ranked second in the U.S. and ninth in the world.

Siesta Beach was the only Florida beach among the best in the world. Eight Florida beaches ranked among the top 20 best beaches in the U.S., including Clearwater Beach (No. 6) and Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key (No. 9).

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➤ South Florida: Commuter train operator Tri-Rail asked Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties to pay $10 million each to cover an annual deficit. (More)

➤ Fort Lauderdale: Influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who deny charges of human trafficking in Romania, arrived Thursday after authorities lifted travel restrictions. Gov. Ron DeSantis said they are not welcome. (More)

➤ Central Florida: The state began using dynamic tolling on I-4 express lanes, with prices fluctuating based on traffic congestion. (See Video)

➤ South Florida: Billy Cypress, former longtime chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe, died. He was 74. (More)

➤ Clay County: The sheriff's office closed the entrance to the Florida Strawberry Festival after attendees experienced massive traffic delays. (See Video)

➤ St. Johns County: The $12 million Mill Creek Park opened this weekend in St. Augustine after more than a decade of planning. (See Video)

➤ Orlando Magic star Jalen Suggs has been ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury. (More)

➤ The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will reinstate Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden into the team's Ring of Honor. (More)

➤ The Florida Panthers placed star forward Matthew Tkachuk on injured reserve with a groin injury suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off. (More)

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➤ Florida ranked as the top state in the nation for business relocations for the 30th year in 2023, according to the Florida Chamber Foundation. (More)

➤ Valspar, the paint brand owned by Sherwin-Williams Co., will continue as the title sponsor of the Pinellas County PGA golf tournament for five more years. (See Video)

➤ State Sen. Jason Pizzo plans to build a 12-story office complex within the shadow of the 22-story state Capitol in Tallahassee. (See Details)

➤ 11 Things Smart Americans Are Wasting Money On. You're smart about saving money, like shopping clearance racks, limiting eating out, and choosing affordable streaming services. However, there are still some cost-cutting tips you might not know yet. Once you discover these, you could quickly find extra cash in your pocket. (See It Here)

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➤ Universal's theme park company, part of Comcast Corp., pledged $2 million for the Sunshine Corridor development and environmental rail study. (More)

➤ Mia's Italian Kitchen in Orlando (No. 14) and Noble Crust in St. Petersburg (No. 18) are among the most-photographed pizza spots on the review website Yelp. (More)

➤ Williston held a parade for hometown Super Bowl champion Quinyon Mitchell, a rookie cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles. (See Photo)

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