Things To Do In SW Florida

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Billionaire Jared Isaacman hasn’t been to space in 1,066 days. He has to wait at least seven more for his return, but this time he hopes to perform the first commercial spacewalk in history.

The man who spearheaded the first all-commercial crew on the Inspiraiton4 mission in September 2021 was back at Kennedy Space Center on Monday with three new crewmates for the private Polaris Dawn mission, a five-day orbital trip. It’s the first of three flights Isaacman plans with SpaceX as part of the Polaris Program he announced in 2022.

How the costs are being shared between Polaris and SpaceX has not been disclosed.

The four crew members will climb aboard the same spacecraft that took Isaacman to obit the first time, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience, and launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A in just under a week. They’re targeting a 3:38 a.m. liftoff during a 3:33-7:15 a.m. launch window on Monday, Aug. 26.

Isaacman, who made his fortune as the founder and CEO of credit-card-processing company Shift4 payments, again takes the commander role for the mission. In the pilot seat is friend Scott Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and demonstration pilot who flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds. The two mission specialists on the flight are both SpaceX employees: Sarah Gillis, who will join Isaacman on the spacewalk, and medical officer Anna Menon. read more

By Anna Helhoski | NerdWallet

When electioneering, the best pledges are catchy enough to get stuck in a voter’s head. During this election, “no tax on tips” seems to be the phrase fitting that bill.

Both presidential candidates are embracing the promise to exempt workers from paying taxes on their tips. But the problem with no-tax-on-tips proposals, experts say, is that they’re clearly a bid for votes rather than a substantive solution to address the fundamental needs of tipped workers.

“This wouldn’t help very many workers, and it could actually be very harmful to millions more, with the real benefits of this policy change going to employers and the wealthy at the expense of working people,” says David Cooper, researcher from EPI Action, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization.

How a no-tax-on-tips promise entered the election

On June 9, former President Donald Trump made a promise to end taxes on tips in front of service workers in Las Vegas. Last weekend, in Las Vegas, Vice President Kamala Harris made a similar pledge. It’s no coincidence that both candidates made the announcement in Las Vegas — leisure and hospitality is the dominant industry in the metro area, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. read more

In 1996, Staples ran a back-to-school advertisement, using the classic 1963 Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”  My children are now in their 20s and 30s, but I still smile when I hear that song.

As a parent, I am reminiscent of the time when summer was over, and the new school year was about to begin. I loved our time off, but I also looked forward to the end of summer. The days would fall back into a routine, filled with structure and planned activities.

In May 2024, Deloitte surveyed about 1,200 parents of school-aged children to learn about their back-to-school shopping plans. The parents surveyed estimated that on average, they will spend $586 per child on school supplies and clothing. Additionally, the same parents estimated they will spend another $582 on extracurricular activities per child.

As a financial planner, I used back-to-school shopping as a learning opportunity for our children.

During the summer, we would establish a budget, identify what needed to be purchased, and estimate the cost for each item. read more