Things To Do In SW Florida

By Robbie Sequeira, Stateline.org

After nearly a month, the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that ravaged California have been contained. But for Southern California and state agencies, another challenge lies ahead: helping people find homes.

The wildfires levied significant long-term damage, with thousands of homes destroyed, billions in damages and a worsening of the state’s housing and homelessness crises. Even before the fires, California already had a shortage of 1.2 million affordable homes, with Los Angeles County alone facing a deficit of 500,000 units.

“This tragic loss will certainly make the housing crisis more acute in multiple ways,” said Ryan Finnigan, an associate research director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. “L.A. continues to need vastly more affordable housing, and people displaced from lost affordable units might need the most support to become stably housed again.”

Even those displaced from market-rate or high-end housing will face challenges in an already tight market, with thousands searching for housing at once — likely driving prices even higher for everyone. read more

Vanderbilt University, which hopes to raise $300 million to help fund a business school project in downtown West Palm Beach, served up a small portfolio of renderings Monday that shows how 7 acres of donated public land would be used for the project.

Last fall, commissioners for the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County each voted to grant the Nashville, Tennessee-based university 2 and 5 acres respectively that would be the South Florida home of Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management.

Now, Vanderbilt has embarked on a campaign to raise $300 million to help pay for the $520 million project, which has wide support from the private sector and local elected officials. The school’s release of the renderings “aims to generate awareness and excitement for community philanthropic investment in the project,” the university said in a statement Monday morning.

“The images show that we are planning a unique learning and research environment that nurtures collaboration and innovation and is sustainable in all senses,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. read more

Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, quarterback of the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles, is going to Disney World today.

Hurts and family will be part of a parade down Magic Kingdom’s Main Street around 2:30 p.m. Monday, Walt Disney World confirms. Hurts’ group will also interact with Disney characters and go to some attractions at the theme park. Paid admission to the park will be required to see the proceedings.

Hurts uttered the magic words — “I’m going to Disney World” — to the camera after his team defeated two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in New Orleans on Sunday. Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Nick Foles was the only previous Philadelphia Eagles player to go to Disney World after a Super Bowl victory. He visited in 2018 after quarterbacking the team to a 41-33 victory over the new England Patriots.

Hurts’ visit is the first time Magic Kingdom has hosted the post-Super Bowl festivities since 2021 when Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski represented the winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The past three celebrations have been at Disneyland. The location of the big game is a factor because of the overnight turnaround. read more

President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants has construction-industry watchers concerned about what enforcement operations might mean for the state’s workforce, laborer working conditions and housing prices.

Nationally, foreign-born workers, regardless of legal status, fill an estimated 30% of trade jobs like carpentry, plastering, masonry and electrical roles. The U.S. construction industry, meanwhile, employs an estimated 1.5 million undocumented workers — or 13% of its total workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.

While the Trump administration says it’s targeting undocumented individuals with criminal histories, industry professionals are bracing for what an expansion of the deportation criteria might mean for the sizable workforce here without legal papers.

A highly publicized raid in Denver and Aurora last week was billed as targeting members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but immigration advocates and witnesses said federal agents detained people who were not gang members or criminals. read more

By Jason Steele, Bankrate

For decades, one of the perks airline travelers have enjoyed most is the ability to earn frequent flyer miles and redeem them for an award flight or other rewards.

Whether you get them via a travel credit card, an airline loyalty program or both, earning frequent flyer miles can be a great way to fund one or more vacations each year.

But not all airline bookings earn miles, and it’s not always easy to know in advance which are eligible.

Here’s when you should expect to earn miles on your flight, when you won’t, and how the best rewards credit cards can help ensure you’re getting the best return for your spending.

When will you earn miles on a flight?

Not every ticket earns frequent flyer miles, but most do. To earn miles for your flight, you must fly on certain types of tickets and take steps to ensure you receive the mileage credits you’re entitled to.

When you use your frequent flyer account

Before you can earn any miles, you need to create a frequent flyer account with the airline you’re flying. Thankfully, nearly all airlines allow you to set this up for free. In fact, you can even create accounts for your minor children. read more