Things To Do In SW Florida

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams watched the spacecraft that took them to the International Space Station leave them behind last week as the Boeing Starliner made its return trip to Earth without a crew.

“We’ve got lessons learned that we will go through. We will have discussions. We will be involved with those discussions, and things that need to change will change,” Wilmore said during a press conference Friday from the ISS. “Obviously, when you have an issues like we’ve had, there’s some changes that need to be made. Boeing is on board with that. We’re all on board with that.”

The NASA call to keep its two NASA astronauts safe because of concerns with Starliner’s suspect thrusters that had poor performance on the flight up to the station meant that Wilmore and Williams had to prep for a long stay on board the ISS that will continue into 2025.

They arrived to the station June 6 — one day after launching on Starliner from Cape Canaveral atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for what was supposed to be an eight-day visit. That will now be pushed to more than eight months. read more

Q: My son is disabled, and I plan to name him as a beneficiary of my IRAs. Will he be required to use the 10-year rule immediately after my passing, or are their options to enable him to lengthen the time he can make withdrawals?

A: Under the SECURE Act, beneficiaries with certain disabilities are allowed to lengthen the withdrawal time. They are considered “eligible designated beneficiaries,” meaning they can use their life expectancy to calculate yearly required minimum distributions (RMDs) rather than the 10-year option. The SECURE Act permits IRA owners to pass on retirement assets to a special needs trust, and I recommend that you touch base with an attorney familiar with this type of trust.

Q: I plan on distributing up to $200,000 to some relatives in order to help them pay for their education. Will the beneficiaries have to pay taxes on the gifts? What are the tax implications for me? How do I handle the gifts in order to minimize any income taxes?

A: In 2024, you are allowed to gift up to $18,000 per year to an individual without any tax consequences. If you are making the gifts from your spouse as well, the two of you can gift a combined $36,000 per year to one individual whether they are a relative or not. If you make a gift over these limits to one individual, you should file IRS Form 709. read more

Fun Spot has announced its plans for the Halloween season and introduced a new name for the family-friendly event: Funoween.

Fun Spot’s Orlando and Kissimmee locations will begin the celebration on Sept. 30 with fall decor and atmospheric, eerie music and selfie spots with monster motifs.

On Saturdays through October, Funoween activities will include a trick-or-treat trail for ages 12 and younger (4-6 p.m.) and the Monster Ganza Dance Party (6-9 p.m.). Weekend themes will include Ghoulish Game Nights, Scavenger Hunt  Saturday, Costume Party Chaos and Pretty Pumpkin Decorating.

Fun Spot will also have trick-or-treating on Oct. 31 from 4-6 p.m.

Specialty foods for the Funoween season — dubbed the Fright Bites — include items such as sidewinder snake fries (with white queso and bacon), ghostly gator bites and monster gourmet dipped apples.  Beverages with distinctive cups include the pumpkin head punch, Long Skulland Iced Tea and the “Who You Gonna Call” Green Slime Icee in a refillable yard-long sipper. read more