Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major reversal, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said he will try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects.

In a video posted on X, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for a still-emerging “green bank” that is set to fund tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice.

The program, approved under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but is more commonly called the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion respectively, are intended to offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects with a focus on disadvantaged communities.

The program is a favorite of Democrats who passed President Joe Biden’s signature climate law without a single Republican vote, and former EPA Administrator Michael Regan frequently cited it as one of his major accomplishments. read more

By Rosie Cima, NerdWallet

Scraping together a down payment for a home is a challenge, especially in today’s housing market. But one persistent financial myth could be making it harder than it needs to be.

According to NerdWallet’s 2025 Home Buyer Report, 62% of Americans say that a 20% down payment is required to buy a home.

But that’s not the case. And since 33% of non-homeowners say that not having enough money for a down payment is holding them back from buying a home at this time, according to the survey, this misconception could be stopping them unnecessarily.

There are many reasons you might want to put down 20% or more of the purchase price when buying a home. But you don’t have to, and many options exist for lower-downpayment home loans. If you’re one of the 15% of Americans who the survey says plan on buying a home in the coming year, it could pay to know about them.

A surprisingly persistent myth

This myth prevails across the majority of age groups and educational levels. Even 60% of homeowners think a 20% down payment is required, according to the survey. This is surprising because the median down payment among all home buyers is under 20%, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors. read more

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin told employees Thursday it would lay off about 10% of its workforce.

The company has more than 10,000 employees, with a major presence on the Space Coast at its rocket factory adjacent Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it constructs its New Glenn rocket. The rocket had a successful debut launch last month.

The number of positions that would be affected in Florida was not announced, but it also has major operations in Alabama, Texas and Washington where the company is headquartered.

In a letter to employees sent by company CEO Dave Limp obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, he said much of the workforce reduction was due to excessive management built up over the last few years.

“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Limp wrote.

That would include more buildup of its New Glenn rockets that launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, but also its smaller suborbital New Shepard rocket from Texas. The company also designs and will build its new Blue Moon lunar lander at its Brevard County facilities. read more

Chapter 7

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

Metamorphosis Mental Health Family Center LLC, 28019 U.S. Highway 27, Suite C, Dundee. Filed: Feb. 1. Assets: $0-$50,000. Liabilities: $500,001-$1 million. Major creditors: Not available. Creditors meeting: March 6.

Poston Minerals LLC also known as The Poston Mineral Rights Trust, 8526 Granada Blvd., Orlando. Filed: Feb. 6. Assets: $0-$50,000. Liabilities: $0-$50,000. Major creditors: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, New Orleans, unknown; Burlington Resources Offshore Inc., Houston, unknown; Chevron Production Co., Houston, unknown. Creditors meeting: March 6.

Chapter 11

Central Florida individuals and businesses that have filed for reorganization and protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code include:

Stoneybrook Family Dentistry doing business as Wholistic Dental doing business as Stoneybrook Dental, 14835 W. Colonial Drive, Winter Garden. Filed: Jan. 31. Assets: $2,573,305. Liabilities: $2,911,683. Major creditors: Huntington National Bank, Naples, $288,000; United Community Bank, Greenville, S.C., $220,130; Regions Bank, Birmingham, Ala., $90,821. Creditors meeting: March 3. read more

The Associated Press

Elon Musk says he will abandon his $97.4 billion offer to buy the nonprofit behind OpenAI if the ChatGPT maker drops its plan to convert into a for-profit company.

“If OpenAI, Inc.’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid,” lawyers for the billionaire said in a filing to a California court on Wednesday.

“Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”

Musk and a group of investors made their offer earlier this week, in the latest twist to a dispute with the artificial intelligence company that he helped found a decade ago.

OpenAI is controlled by a nonprofit board bound to its original mission of safely building better-than-human AI for public benefit. Now a fast-growing business, it unveiled plans last year to formally change its corporate structure.

Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms want to acquire the nonprofit’s controlling stake in the for-profit OpenAI subsidiary. read more