Things To Do In SW Florida

Homes in Partnership, an affordable housing nonprofit based in Lake County, started last week on the latest phase of their affordable home community in Zellwood, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The nonprofit had already completed construction on 62 homes in previous phases of the Holly Creek community at 7375 Holly Creek Road in Zellwood. The third phase includes an additional 29 homes ranging in size from about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet, bringing the total to 91.

The homes, which will be complete next year, will be available for qualifying applicants for about $250,000, made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development loan program. The monthly mortgage on the homes, which will be set aside for very-low and low-income individuals and families, will be $1,200 or less, including taxes and insurance.

The median sales price for a single-family home in the Orlando metro area was $472,500 in February, a 17.7% year-over-year increase, data from Redfin shows. read more

TALLAHASSEE — A persistently contentious debate about regulating vacation rentals has escalated into a clash between two powerful industry groups after the Florida Legislature passed a measure that would significantly restrict how local governments can oversee such properties.

The bill has drawn intense opposition from vacation rental management companies, coastal community leaders and Florida Realtors, an influential industry group urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the measure.

“The bill fails to strike a fair balance between the rights of private property owners to rent their property on a short-term basis and the ability of local governments to regulate these rentals,” a website set up by Florida Realtors says. The website allows visitors to submit emails detailing complaints about the bill directly to the governor’s office.

Meanwhile, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, also a politically prominent industry group, has enlisted its members and is appealing to the governor to sign the bill (SB 280). read more

The Port Canaveral-based Carnival Freedom just received its new funnel less than six months ago, but it has suffered more damage because of another fire on board this past weekend as it was sailing in the Bahamas.

Carnival reported the port side of the ship’s exhaust funnel was damaged in a fire at 3:15 p.m. Saturday as it was about 20 miles off the coast of Eleuthera Island, Bahamas as it was heading to Freeport. The ship had skipped over a port of call at Princess Cay because of bad weather.

Carnival Freedom cruise ship having some minor issues pic.twitter.com/PDdZ89K6KE

— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) March 25, 2024

“The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames,” according to an update on X by the cruise line. “Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike and that is being investigated.”

This is the same ship that had its funnel burn away in 2022 to the point the ship had to sail without the iconic “whale tail” shape until it went in for a replacement last October during a dry dock in Spain. read more