Volvo bulks up hybrid lineup as it delays electric-only switch
Volvo has backed away from a goal of going all-electric by 2030, but it still has five EVs in the works including a low-slung ES90 sedan and the EX60 midsize crossover.
Toyota dealer gathering to focus on partnership, products, says brand head Dave Christ
Toyota dealers will gather for their national dealer meeting in Las Vegas on Sept. 10-11 to discuss the Japanese brand’s upcoming products and strategy, while dealers may want to question the brand about a spate of embarrassing recalls.
Nutrition programs for older adults face service cuts
Jessie Hellmann | (TNS) CQ-Roll Call
WASHINGTON — Programs that feed older, homebound adults are instituting waiting lists amid budget crunches, rising costs of food, growing demand for their services and funding cuts from the government.
Combined with the end of COVID-19 era aid, local groups are finding that they can no longer serve the same number of people, resulting in difficult decisions about next steps.
“This is a huge challenge for our network,” said Josh Protas, chief advocacy and policy officer at Meals on Wheels America, a national organization that supports local organizations delivering meals to homebound individuals, mainly older adults.
Meals on Wheels is among the groups pushing for funding increases through the appropriations process for programs funded under the Older Americans Act, a decades-old law first signed by President Lyndon Johnson to support adults as they age in their communities.
One in three Meals on Wheels programs has a wait list, with an average wait time of three months.
Column: Digital retailing transformation means some will lose, disappear as efficiencies grow
St. Charles Toyota is all in on Toyota’s SmartPath digital retailing system, and it’s transforming the dealership’s relations with outside vendors.
Orange County tourist-tax revenues flat in July, but still on near-record pace
Tourist-tax revenues in July were down from June and flat compared to July 2023, but collections for the year to date remain nearly on par with the historically high levels from a year ago.
July receipts totaled $26.6 million, down $3.9 million from June and about $600,000 less than July 2023.
Revenues for fiscal year 2023-24 are about $1 million behind the pace of fiscal year 2022-23, which pulled in a record $359 million, said Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond, whose office tracks collection and spending of Tourist Development Tax (TDT) funds. That should give the county some additional money to funnel toward construction projects, since Diamond had forecast a down year and revenues are ahead of his projected pace by about $35 million.
Fiscal year 2023-24 ends Sept. 30.
TDT is a 6% surcharge on the cost of a hotel room, an Airbnb or other short-term lodging rental.
The tax, first assessed in 1986, has generated more than $5.2 billion over the decades with more than half the total proceeds going to build, expand, update and operate the Orange County Convention Center. The tourist tax also provides most of the funding to operate Visit Orlando, which promotes Central Florida’s attractions to the U.S. and the world. By contract, Visit Orlando gets 30 cents of every dollar collected.