Things To Do In SW Florida

By Rachel Christian, Bankrate.com (TNS)

If you’re retired or planning to retire soon, it’s important to have a plan for your retirement income. For most people, Social Security will play a significant role in this plan, so staying up to date on the latest benefits information is crucial.

The Social Security Administration recently announced several key changes to the program for 2025, including its annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). Here are some key changes to Social Security happening next year – and what you need to know.

Watch for these 5 changes to Social Security in 2024

More than 72.5 million people depend on one of Social Security’s benefit programs, so annual changes to the program and its payouts are always highly anticipated.

This year’s cost-of-living adjustment is lower than last year’s 3.2 percent increase. Still, any additional income is a welcome boost for beneficiaries who live on fixed incomes. (If you need help developing a plan for your retirement income, you may want to consider hiring a financial advisor.) read more

WASHINGTON — The breakthrough came last month, about 600 miles above Earth.

For the first time, the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency used lasers to more securely transmit data at light speed between military satellites, making it easier to track enemy missiles and if necessary shoot them down.

It was a milestone not only for the Pentagon. This was a defining moment for a certain up-and-coming military contractor that had built key parts of this new system: Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

SpaceX over the past year started to move in a big way into the business of building military and spy satellites, an industry that has long been dominated by major contractors like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as well as smaller players like York Space Systems.

This shift comes as the Pentagon and U.S. spy agencies are preparing to spend billions of dollars to build a series of new constellations of low-Earth-orbit satellites, much of it in response to recent moves by China to build its own space-based military systems. read more

With its manufacturing practices under scrutiny, its machinists on strike and losses piling up, Boeing is said to be considering selling parts of its fabled space business. But few industry analysts think Boeing will put its extensive El Segundo, California, satellite operations on the table.

New Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said during a recent earnings call that the aerospace giant was considering shedding assets outside of the company’s core commercial aviation and defense businesses, adding that Boeing was better off “doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well.”

That could mean that Boeing sees no future for its troubled Starliner spacecraft, which was developed to service the International Space Station. The Arlington, Virginia, aerospace giant also has been trying to exit its United Launch Alliance joint launch venture with Lockheed Martin. Both programs face stiff competition from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which recently announced it was moving its headquarters from Hawthorne to Brownsville, Texas. read more

Sure, your Halloween decorations haven’t started collecting cobwebs yet. But now we are all in for the November-December holiday season at Central Florida’s theme parks and attractions.

We’ve compiled a list of seasonal activities — arranged by start date — and thrown in a few not-so-holiday occasions for your planning purposes.

This list probably will grow once the sugar rush of Oct. 31 passes. So consider this a sampler, and stay tuned. (We didn’t try to wrangle New Year’s Eve events yet. They’re so 2025.)

• Nov. 2: Aquatica water park’s Beach Nights promotion features holiday movies on Saturday evenings through Dec. 21. (Included with regular admission.)

• Nov. 2: Jungle Cruise shifts into holiday mode and becomes Jingle Cruise at Magic Kingdom.

• Nov. 4: Blizzard Beach water park reopens at Walt Disney World.  (Typhoon Lagoon closes Nov. 3.)

• Nov. 8: SeaWorld Orlando’s Coasters After Dark – Christmas Edition, an after-hours, extra-ticket event, will happen six select nights through Dec. 13. Participants will have access to seven thrill rides amid holiday lighting. read more

Princess Cruises may have stepped up its ship game with the debut this year of Sun Princess now sailing out of Port Everglades, but the details within the massive vessel are what make it stand out.

The first in the line’s new Sphere class of ships arrived to its Fort Lauderdale winter home in October to begin seven-night Eastern  and Western Caribbean itineraries. The exterior notably shows off not one but two “spheres” in the form of a bulbous center of the ship that is home to the main atrium within, but also “The Dome” atop the vessel, which is home to the ship’s avant-garde aerialist performances.

The sphere-theme continues within at the main theater called The Arena, which can transform from a normal stage production to a theater-in-the-round experience.

It’s within these spaces and others on board the 177,882-gross-ton ship that can carry more than 4,300 passengers that the line has cooked up a bevy of new experiences that set it apart from the rest of the fleet. Here are 10 of the best. read more