Things To Do In SW Florida

Lane Gillespie | Bankrate (TNS)

Nearly two in three U.S. adults have traveled or plan to travel for leisure this year, according to a new Bankrate survey. Of the 32% of U.S. adults who already have traveled for either leisure or business this year, something went wrong for many of them: 77% have run into a travel-related problem.

Those issues range from higher prices than they’re accustomed to (53%), long waits (25%), poor customer service (24%), canceled or disrupted plans (23%) and hard-to-find availability (23%).

After surging last year when COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, pent-up demand for travel still hasn’t slowed. But with that demand, travelers may have to combat higher prices, in part due to inflation and tighter availability when booking plane tickets, hotels and other travel essentials.

About two-thirds of Americans planning travel

Whether it’s renting a car for a quick road trip in-state or booking a flight for a luxury international getaway, 63% of U.S. adults plan to travel for leisure this year — 32% have already taken a trip by early June 2023 and 46% plan to travel before the end of the year (with some overlap between those two groups). read more

Cate Deventer | Bankrate.com (TNS)

While established trees may be a draw when house shopping, they can also cause damage to your property. Regular tree maintenance isn’t typically covered by home insurance, but damage from trees that occurs during a storm or other covered peril may be eligible for coverage. Our insurance editorial team breaks down the ins and outs of tree removal coverage to help you manage your property’s green space.

How can trees damage my property?

While having trees on your property can be aesthetically pleasing, trees do come with maintenance costs and can even cause damage to the home in a number of ways, including:

— Damage to roofs: Tree limbs that overhang your home can be knocked down during storms, damaging your roof and even falling into your house.

— Damage to siding: Limbs can also blow into your siding or repeatedly rub against your home and cause scratching or deeper damage.

— Interior water damage: If a tree limb or an entire tree has fallen onto or against your house during a storm, you may have rain coming inside, which can cause interior water damage. read more

The army of Earth’s orbiting satellites continues to swell, but the latest batch from NASA will have a leg up on the others. They won’t have to rely on humans to tell them what to do.

The set of four small satellites are part of NASA’s Starling mission, which mission managers out of Ames Research Center in California said are designed to work as a “swarm.” They made it to space on a Rocket Lab launch from New Zealand late Monday and were successfully deployed overnight.

Successful Launch?

Payloads deployed for @NASA, @SpireGlobal, & @SFL_SmallerSats?

Electron booster successfully recovered?

We call that MISSION SUCCESS for Electron’s 39th launch! pic.twitter.com/Fs44BS5sES

— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) July 18, 2023

Their goal is to test out technology for positioning, networking, maneuvering and decision-making without any input from mission control, according to NASA’s mission overview.

“Starling, and the capabilities it brings for autonomous command and control for swarms of small spacecraft, will enhance NASA’s abilities for future science and exploration missions,” said program manager Roger Hunter with NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program. read more

SeaWorld Orlando is offering a limited-time shark experience that includes behind-the-scenes access, some food and beverage, a Quik Queue ticket to Mako roller coaster and a souvenir. The Ultimate Shark Experience will be available July 21-28.

“SeaWorld is the only place in the world where you can touch a shark, move like a shark, feed a shark, dine like a shark, learn from the sharks and, importantly, help our ocean’s sharks at the same time,” Marisa Thalberg, chief marketing and communications officer of Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said in a news release.

SeaWorld says $25 of each ticket sold will go to shark-conservation efforts. SeaWorld’s website lists the admission ticket, which includes access to the theme park, as $199. Annual passholders can purchase the ticket for $99, the website says.

The experience will include a guided tour above the shark aquarium (beyond the enclosure of the Shark Encounter attraction), where shark curators will discuss the animals in SeaWorld’s care. There will also be a chance to feed sharks and touch small sharks in a group setting. These elements are scheduled at specific times, which are available on the SeaWorld Orlando website. read more

Some industry experts say Orange County is requiring too much parking near multifamily development projects, and local housing, transportation and environmental advocates are pushing for policy changes that place less of an emphasis on cars.

County officials are listening. They say they’re in the midst of reducing parking standards in denser areas, revisions that could be introduced by early next year, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

This comes more than a year after Orlando joined several other major cities in eliminating minimum parking requirements for a section of its downtown corridor. It’s a trend that proponents say frees up more land for housing, encourages more walkability, better protects the environment, and could make housing more affordable.

“Parking requirements are often based on outdated assumptions about car ownership and usage patterns,” Nicholas Julian, a senior program manager with the National Association of Homebuilders, told GrowthSpotter. “As cities evolve and transportation preferences shift, reducing or eliminating parking requirements can help create more affordable and sustainable housing options.” read more