Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Paul Renner said he won’t consider reinstating the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which lies at the heart of a feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co.

Renner, R-Palm Coast, said he supported changes last year that renamed the district as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and gave DeSantis power to appoint the district’s board.

“I think we’ve gone on the right path at least, I don’t want to go back,” Renner said.

The Democrat-dominated Orange County legislative delegation on Friday backed a bill that seeks another redo of the district. The measure faced a nearly impossible path through the Republican-dominated Legislature, even before Renner’s comments.

Disney and DeSantis began feuding in 2022 after the company criticized a state law that restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Reedy Creek district was created by the state in the 1960s and had authority over issues such as land use, fire protection and sewer services on land that includes Disney World theme parks and resorts. read more

Emma Nelson | Star Tribune (TNS)

For most of her career, Felicia Krick worked from the office every day, sometimes logging 80 hours a week as a public accountant.

Then the pandemic hit, the world shut down, and she caught a glimpse of a different life.

“Remote work, for me, really became a saving grace where I could continue to go after my career goals, but I could also be a little bit more present with my family,” the 36-year-old mother of four said. “And so just the rumblings of, ‘Hey, we’re going back to the office, and it’s going to be on average three days a week,’ that was very anxiety-provoking because I’d really gotten used to this kind of new normal.”

After leaving jobs in droves at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, women in their prime working years, especially those with young children, have led the post-pandemic labor market recovery. But as companies begin calling workers back to the office — and child care options dwindle — experts expect many women will exit the workforce again. read more

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWallet

Majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) isn’t the only way to land a job that makes college worth it.

A liberal arts degree can pay off, too — but you may need to put in more legwork than a STEM major would.

“Going to school and being a liberal arts major in and of itself is not going to give you the same outcomes as focusing on your career preparation in tandem with going through your college experience,” says Joshua Kahn, associate director of research and public policy at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

If you want to major in English, history, sociology or another nontechnical field, here are some expert-approved tips to help make your liberal arts degree pay off.

Do your research before choosing a program

Before deciding on a college or specific degree program, research your post-diploma employment and salary prospects.

“Check out the schools that have really good internship rates for liberal arts majors,” Kahn says. “Ask about resources at their career center, and what they’re specifically doing for liberal arts majors.” read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — A first stage of Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket became king of the road for a day making a trip from the factory to its launch complex on Wednesday.

Transported by a series of multiwheeled carriages and an arching structure, the 189-foot-tall first stage for what will be a 320-foot-tall rocket when fully assembled traveled horizontally on a 22-mile trip from the New Glenn factory in Merritt Island through Kennedy Space Center over to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station where Blue Origin has a hangar and launch pad at Launch Complex 36.

The slow-rolling caravan took up all lanes as it paused for several minutes before passing by the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC, drawing a crowd of curious onlookers.

Jeff Bezos late last year stated that he was optimistic New Glenn could still make its first-ever launch by the end of 2024.

The rocket uses seven of Blue Origin’s new BE-4 engines, which just made their first trip to space successfully launching United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur on its debut early Monday morning. Vulcan uses just a pair of BE-4s, and has up the five more Vulcan launches slated in 2024 as well. read more