People coming to Florida from up north must also deal with the effects of recent storms and increasing insurance costs.

A tentative deal between the union and management calls for 1.3% wage increase; workers say that's not doable in costly Southwest Florida.

Of the nearly $1 billion saved in prescription drug costs during the first half of 2024 as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, $78.5 million represented savings to Floridians, according to White House Senior Advisor on Health Christen Linke Young, on a call with WGCU Wednesday. The data comes from the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. About 1.5 million seniors saved money because of the cap.The savings comes to seniors with Medicare Part D, whose out-of-pocket prescription drug costs are capped at around $3,500 this year. It affected 105,000 people in Florida, Young said. For 2025, prescription drug costs will be capped at $2,000. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that if that cap had been in effect this year, 4.6 million enrollees nationally would have hit it by June 30 and would not have had to pay any more out-of-pocket costs for the rest of the year.Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, there was not limit to the amount of out-of-pocket drug costs Medicare enrollees might pay for their medication. The Biden-Harris administration implemented the first cap on out-of-pocket drug costs on Jan. 1 of this year.

Florida gasoline supplies have stabilized and pump prices are holding steady.

The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately. The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and ports said in a joint statement.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said members of the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will go to ports where union longshoremen are on strike seeking higher pay.“At my direction, the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will be deployed to critical ports affected by the strike to maintain order and, where possible, resume operations,” DeSantis said in a post on the social-media platform X.

Four busy Florida ports will see direct impacts from an International Longshoremen’s Association strike for higher wages that began Tuesday.

A strike by dockworkers at 36 ports from Maine to Texas, the first in decades, could snarl supply chains and lead to shortages and higher prices if it stretches on for more than a few weeks.Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation even though progress had been reported in contract talks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently announced processing operations will remain at the Fort Myers postal facility.

Starbucks, struggling with fading sales and disgruntled investors, said Tuesday it’s replacing CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Brian Niccol, the chairman and CEO of Chipotle.Narasimhan, who spent a little more than a year leading Starbucks, will step down immediately, the Seattle coffee giant said. Niccol will become Starbucks’ chairman and CEO on Sept. 9. Chief Financial Officer Rachel Ruggeri will serve as interim CEO until that time.