Florida TaxWatch is bulking up its leadership and research bench.

The independent, nonpartisan government watchdog just announced four hires as former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp begins his tenure as President and CEO. The hires add operational, economic modeling and event-planning capacity to the Tallahassee organization.

Ray Monteleone, President of Paladin Global Partners and a longtime Florida TaxWatch Board member, will serve as Chief Operating Officer.

The group also hired Garrett Gouveia as a research economist, named Florida State University graduate student Rylan Clark as a Florida TaxWatch Research Fellow, and brought on Samantha Castaline, who previously worked for the organization as a consultant, as a full-time event marketing specialist.

Kottkamp said in a statement that Monteleone’s experience will help Florida TaxWatch “continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research” on issues affecting Florida.

“His depth and breadth of experience will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research into issues impacting the nation’s third largest state,” he said.

Kottkamp also pointed to the research additions as a boost to Florida TaxWatch’s data-driven work, saying Gouveia will help analyze and expand the group’s data and that Clark will support its research output.

Castaline’s move into a full-time role, Kottkamp continued, positions the organization well in growing its events footprint and statewide initiatives.

He also teased more staffing announcements as Florida TaxWatch aims to expand its reach.

“Stay tuned,” he said.

Monteleone is a CPA and consulting executive whose background includes strategic management, mergers and acquisitions, compensation consulting and executive mentoring, with clients spanning health care, technology, manufacturing, education, financial institutions and nonprofits.

His civic and professional involvement includes Leadership Florida, multiple advisory and audit roles, and past leadership in Broward County education and civic organizations.

Gouveia, from West Palm Beach, is tasked with building economic models and contributing research on forces shaping Florida’s economy. A Florida State University graduate, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied economics and has worked with tools including Python, SAS, Power BI and SQL.

His prior research includes work on education economics and environmental policy, including an award-winning master’s project examining the economic fallout from the oyster industry collapse in Apalachicola.

Castaline, a communications specialist and former event manager for cannabis giant Trulieve, will manage Florida TaxWatch’s events calendar and help develop new statewide initiatives.

San Antonio-based Chava Communications has sold Creative Loafing (CL) Tampa Bay to a group of current employees and two new partners.

It’s the first time in 18 years the local alt-weekly publication will be under local control. Chava Communications had owned it since 2023. Prior to that, it was owned by Cleveland-based Euclid Media Group from 2018 until 2023; SouthComm Inc., in Nashville, from 2011 to 2018; and the New York-based Atalaya hedge fund from 2009 until 2011.

The new owners include CL Tampa Bay Publisher James Howard, Editor-in-Chief Ray Roa, Senior Account Executive Anthony Carbone and Digital Editor Colin Wolf.

“We’re now our own overlords,” said Roa, who started at the publication in 2011 as a freelancer before being hired as music editor in 2016. “I’m really excited for the next chapter of a publication I’ve been reading for more than half of my life.”

Howard has been with the publication for 31 years, and Carbone has been there for 26. Wolf is returning to CL after a 10-month sabbatical.

“When this offer came in front of us, I knew we had the team to continue growing our publication, website, events, newsletters and audience for our readers and clients,” Howard said. “We’re proud of the journey we had with our past owners and grateful for this opportunity.”

The new partners include Tampa trial lawyer Mike Trentalange and John T. Fox, a public affairs consultant. Additional details about the deal were not disclosed.

Chava Communications will continue to operate the Orlando Weekly, San Antonio Current and the Local Culture Creative agency.

“We’re proud of the work accomplished at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay and excited to hand over the reins to a team that knows Tampa better than anyone. We look forward to continuing to collaborate on future projects,” Chava Communications co-owner Cassandra Wagner said.

The sale, announced late Thursday after the transaction closed, will not affect other CL staffers, including Creative Director Jack Spatafora, Marketing and Events Director Leigh Wilson and Managing Editor Selene San Felice.

The sale comes less than two months after the Tampa Bay Journalism Project launched. The project allows CL Tampa Bay and other community websites to collaborate to bring more news and information to readers across the Tampa Bay region without a paywall. The project is nonprofit and donor-driven.

A 70-year-old woman died after riding Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor roller coaster at Universal Studios, a state report said.

The incident happened Nov. 25. The woman, whose name was not given, passed away at the hospital, according to the quarterly theme park injury report released this week by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Universal did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Revenge of the Mummy ride is based on Universal’s “The Mummy” franchise starring Brendan Fraser.

The ride goes up to about 45 mph. Even though there are no loops or inversions, the ride has a few surprises, with mummies attacking and guests whizzing by in the darkness.

It’s not the first tragedy that’s occurred at the ride.

Months after Revenge of the Mummy opened in 2004, an Apopka man died after falling from the loading platform onto the tracks. The death was ruled as an accident, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.

The 70-year-old’s death is the second fatality for Universal within a span of a few months. A man with disabilities died in September, reportedly from multiple blunt head force trauma after riding Stardust Racers, a roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe. Universal later settled with the man’s family.

In total, 15 people had serious medical issues at Disney and Universal from this past October to December, a time when the holidays are in full swing and draw big crowds, the state injury report showed. Several visitors in their 70s ended up in the hospital for at least 24 hours after riding roller coasters.

Stardust Racers had two incidents in October where guests were hospitalized, according to the report. A 78-year-old man suffered chest pain Oct. 6, while a 61-year-old man went into cardiac arrest Oct. 14, the report said.

At Disney World, a 75-year-old man “had stroke-like symptoms” riding the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster in Hollywood Studios’ Toy Story Land.

A 72-year-old man became “disoriented” after riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at Epcot. The report said the man had “a pre-existing condition” but doesn’t give any more details.

A 42-year-old man had a seizure riding the spinning Mad Tea Party ride at the Magic Kingdom.

A 19-year-old woman had an “altered mental status” riding Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge at Epic Universe.

A 49-year-old woman felt chest pain riding Jurassic World: VelociCoaster in November at Universal Islands of Adventure.

A 35-year-old woman passed out in Epcot’s The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The report said the woman had “a pre-existing condition” but doesn’t provide more details.

The state’s theme park injury report is one of the only ways the public can find out when someone gets hurt at Florida’s biggest theme parks, though the report offers sparse details.