Things To Do In SW Florida

Orange County may be on the hook to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds if it inherits property from the soon-to-be dissolved onePulse Foundation, county commissioners were told Tuesday in the latest messy revelation from the struggling effort to memorialize the Pulse nightclub tragedy.

The organization is seeking to hand over a 1.7-acre property at 438 Kaley Street once intended for a museum honoring victims and telling the story of the 2016 massacre.

The onePulse Foundation bought the site on September 2019 with the help of a $10 million grant of hotel tax funds, also referred to as tourist development taxes or TDT. To date, Orange County has handed over about $6.5 million of those funds to the nonprofit for building a museum – $3.5 million to purchase land and $3 million on design costs. But plans for the museum have now been abandoned, though local leaders remain committed to some sort of permanent memorial.

County Attorney Whitney Evers revealed Tuesday that another significant source of revenue for the construction of a memorial and museum came through a separate agreement between onePulse and the state, involving a $500,000 restricted grant that would require the owner of the property to repay funds if a “cultural facility” is not built on the site within 10 years of the donation. read more

Rent hikes soared into the double-digits in mid-2021, but the Federal Reserve didn’t start raising interest rates until a year later.

Ed Coulson, director of the Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine, believes the Fed should have acted sooner. And because rent is now leveling off, he thinks the Fed should halt future interest rate hikes.

Rent inflation plays an outsized role in determining the overall rate of inflation, the housing economist said. And the government’s method for measuring it is off-kilter, causing the Fed to misinterpret an important metric in the Consumer Price Index.

We asked Coulson to explain his reasoning and to share other insights about the housing market. His comments have been edited for space.

Q: You believe the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ method of measuring rent inflation is flawed. Why is that, and why is it important?

A: The Fed’s policy is driven by their perceptions of inflation. And I argue with some co-authors that that perception is incorrect. And the reason it’s incorrect, ironically, has to do with the housing market. read more

By Craig Joseph | NerdWallet

Grab your wallet because the busiest time of the year for spending is upon us. Despite persistent inflation and dwindling household savings, shoppers are planning to drop up to an estimated $967 billion during this holiday season, a November 2023 study by the National Retail Federation shows.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a 2023 report, estimates that 74% of adults in the U.S. had a credit card account in their name as of the end of 2021. And a 2023 NerdWallet survey found that nearly 3 in 4 Americans (74%) are planning to use their card to pay for holiday expenses.

If you’re sitting on a stash of points or miles, you may be tempted to use them to offset holiday purchases. And when you’re trying to stick to a holiday budget, this can seem like a great idea. It may not provide an optimal value, but many people aren’t trying to wring the most out of every point. And that’s OK. If you’re responsible with your credit and using your rewards card wisely, you’re already ahead. read more