Things To Do In SW Florida

Dori Zinn | Bankrate.com (TNS)

Need-based financial aid is money that’s awarded to you based on your family’s income and finances. If you need additional funds to pay for school and can demonstrate financial need, you may qualify for different types of need-based federal aid, like work-study and Direct Subsidized Loans. To check your eligibility, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Types of need-based financial aid

Several types of need-based financial aid exists, including:

—Pell Grants. Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who display strong financial need. How much you get depends on your course load and cost of attendance. Not all students who get a Pell Grant will get the same amount, but you can get up to $7,395 for the 2023-24 award year.

—Work-study. Work-study programs are part-time jobs available to students to earn money to pay for school. Jobs can be on or off campus, and you’ll earn at least the federal minimum wage. Your total work-study award depends on when you apply, your need and your school’s funding level. Unlike with Pell Grants and loans, which go straight to your school, work-study usually pays you directly. It’s also worth noting that unlike regular part-time jobs, work-study doesn’t count toward your expected family contribution, so your financial aid won’t be negatively impacted by it. read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that blocked a new law aimed at prohibiting children from attending drag shows.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office on Tuesday filed a notice that is a first step in appealing a preliminary injunction issued last week by U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell of Orlando in a lawsuit filed by the Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s.

Lawyers in Moody’s office on Wednesday filed a motion seeking a stay, which would allow the state to enforce the law except against Hamburger Mary’s. If granted by Presnell, the stay would remain in effect while the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers the case.

The motion said the “injunction also sweeps beyond plaintiff (Hamburger Mary’s) to nonparties who may wish to expose children to live obscene performances in violation of the statute. The portion of the injunction that applies to nonparties threatens Florida, and the children Florida enacted the law to protect, with irreparable harm, and is beyond the court’s remedial authority.” read more

Last week I bought a refrigerator. What was once a fairly easy buying decision can now be a lot more complicated thanks to feature creep and the inability to see many models on showroom floors.

The one I bought has Wi-Fi, but as it turns out, that wasn’t part of my buying decision once I realized how little utility is actually added.

For me, shopping involved visiting a couple of small appliance stores and a couple of big box stores, including Home Depot and Costco. The small stores and Home Depot had several models on display while Costco had very few. But the models at the other stores didn’t even begin to represent the range of options. When I asked a salesperson at Home Depot about things that mattered to me, he took me over to his computer and showed me options from the same website that I could visit from home.

One of the smaller stores I visited had a GE Profile 27.9 Cu. Ft. Smart Fingerprint Resistant 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator with Door In Door for $3,000. And that was the “sale price.” The full price, according to GE’s website is $4,200. We didn’t care about the “door in door” feature (which lets you open a door to access a couple of bins without having to open up one of the main doors) and, despite my being a techie, I wasn’t impressed with their “smart” features. Still, we liked the refrigerator but didn’t want to pay that much. read more

Theresa Braine | New York Daily News

National Geographic has laid off all its staff writers, leaving the venerable, award-winning magazine to be pieced together by editors and freelancers.

In all, 19 editorial staffers were cut, including the small audio department at the magazine. They had been notified in April that the ax would fall, The Washington Post reported. The layoffs are the latest in a slew of cuts at tech and media publications this year.

The writers themselves tweeted out the news, focusing on the great run they’d had.

“My new National Geographic just arrived, which includes my latest feature — my 16th, and my last as a senior writer,” wrote Craig Welch, whose award-winning work has graced many a cover and shed light on urgent environmental issues. “NatGeo is laying off all of its staff writers. I’ve been so lucky. I got to work (with) incredible journalists and tell important, global stories. It’s been an honor.”

“National Geographic is laying off its staff writers, including me,” he wrote on Twitter. “It’s been a wonderful five years — an honor and a joy. Very proud of the work that my colleagues and I have done here.” read more

Augusta Saraiva | Bloomberg News (TNS)

U.S. pending home sales in May fell to the lowest level this year as high mortgage rates and inventory constraints continue to impact sales.

The National Association of Realtors’ index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes dropped 2.7% to 76.5 last month, according to data released Thursday. The decrease was bigger than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The resale market continues to face headwinds as high borrowing costs and low supply weigh on sales. Many homeowners who locked in lowers mortgage rates in the past are reluctant to move, adding to inventory constraints that are pushing many buyers into the new-home market and helping keep existing-home sales subdued.

“The lack of housing inventory continues to prevent housing demand from being fully realized,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. “It is encouraging that homebuilders have ramped up production, but the supply from new construction takes time and remains insufficient.” read more