Things To Do In SW Florida

LAKE BUENA VISTA — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism oversight board hired a new administrator Wednesday to run the district that oversees Walt Disney World, giving him a pay bump to $400,000 in part because of the federal lawsuit the company has filed in the escalating feud.

The board also created a code enforcement system that could issue fines to Walt Disney World, which is known for meticulous care of its grounds.

The board also gave “pretty awesome powers” to a special magistrate it will appoint themselves, said author Rick Foglesong.

That official, who will decide code enforcement appeals, could be “weaponized” against the resort, said Foglesong, who wrote “Married to the Mouse,” a history of Disney World’s creation.

He or she could possibly shut down rides or other attractions for code violations, for example. “Will this board push back against DeSantis if DeSantis tells them to do something like [that]?” Fogelsong asked.

Foglesong said it was unclear if there were provisions in place “that would prevent the kind of hanky panky I’ve been fearful of. … But you’d think [Disney] would see a threat here.” read more

Inflation in April continued its steady cooldown, but its slow pace shows it’s still resilient, too, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index report released Wednesday. Here’s what else you need to know.

1. Inflation has slowed for 10 months straight

April marked the 10th month in a row of overall inflation decreases.

The consumer price index for all items rose 4.9% for the past 12 months throughout April, down from 5% in March. It’s a small decline, but it makes April the lowest annual increase since April 2021. That includes the peak for overall CPI at 9.1% in June 2022.

The month-to-month increase was up slightly: 0.4% for April compared with 0.1% in March.

2. Core inflation is now higher than overall inflation

Annual core CPI, which excludes food and energy, decreased from 5.6% in March to 5.5% in April. But for the second time in nine months, the core CPI is higher than the overall CPI rate, on an annual basis.

Why would core inflation overpower overall inflation? When you remove food and energy, services remain elevated. The index for services is still up 6.8% over the last 12 months, including shelter, transportation and medical care. read more

Two months ago, I wrote a column telling the story of an older woman, a widow recovering from heart surgery, who was being harassed by the Social Security Administration demanding a “clawback” of more than $88,000 in benefits she had received over the years — all because the agency had made a mistake in calculating her benefits. Social Security threatened to stop paying future benefits until that huge amount was recouped!

Now, the eminent economist Laurence Kotlikoff, creator of the MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com calculator and co-author of the best-selling “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security,” and I have created the Social Security Horror Story project.

We have been swamped with similar stories, and are now soliciting more. (Read some on the link on my home page at TerrySavage.com.) It’s a big undertaking, given that the Social Security annual report lists some $8.6 billion in “receivables” it claims are owed by Social Security and disability beneficiaries. read more