Things To Do In SW Florida

The last time SpaceX launched its Starship and Super Heavy rocket, the upper stage disintegrated spectacularly over the Atlantic. Two months later, SpaceX is set to try again today with less explosive results.

A Monday attempt, though, was scrubbed, but the company could try as soon as Tuesday.

Live webcast of Starship’s eighth flight test starts now https://t.co/Q9HTUSYmtf

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2025

The Jan. 16 launch saw a successful catch of the Super Heavy booster back at the Texas launch site, but the Starship spacecraft blew up after passing over the Gulf of Mexico with scenes of the streaking debris posted to social media from places like the Turks & Caicos.

NEW: INCREDIBLE views of Starship 7 breaking up over Turks and Caicos tonight

Imagine seeing this over your house pic.twitter.com/ndyDETK4wC

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 16, 2025

The event grounded the in-development rocket, but the Federal Aviation Administration cleared it to launch again as of Feb. 26. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled Monday and wiped out even more of their gains since President Donald Trump ’s election in November, after he said that tariffs announced earlier on Canada and Mexico would take effect within hours.

By ZEKE MILLER, JOSH BOAK and ROB GILLIES, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday, sparking renewed fears of a North American trade war that already showed signs of pushing up inflation and hindering growth.

I’ll never forget the water-filled light bulbs.

Weeks after Hurricane Floyd flooded the North Carolina towns of Princeville and Tarboro in 1999, I made a reporting trip there to find out how residents were coping. A man escorted me inside his single-story house, which had been submerged for days under water the height of a basketball hoop. As we stood under the kitchen chandelier (his table had floated into the living room), he reached up to tap the light fixture’s flame-shaped bulbs. Water had displaced the gas inside.

The man was happy to salvage his framed, water-stained army discharge certificate. But as for the ruined house, he doubted his insurance would pay the full cost of rebuilding.

Being underinsured still happens more often than you think. In fact, there’s a good chance you have insufficient homeowners insurance coverage. You can fix that, and protect yourself financially, by shopping for home insurance carefully and making a few phone calls. Here’s how.

Beware undercoverage

The core of your home insurance policy is dwelling coverage: the part of the policy that will pay to repair or rebuild your home. The policy specifies the maximum amount it will pay. Watch out, because your dwelling coverage limit could be too low. read more

Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, is seeking a nearly $9 billion hike to customers’ base rates over four years, a sum that affordability advocates said represents the largest rate hike request in U.S. history.

Base rates are a major component of electricity bills that also include other charges for things like hurricane repairs and fuel. Above that $9 billion, the company would also be able to add more hikes for solar and battery facilities it constructs during the period.

As part of the request, which was filed to state regulators Friday, the company is seeking a rate of shareholder profit with a midpoint of 11.9% — well above the national average. It’s also higher than the profit rate sought by Tampa Electric last year, which the Legislature-appointed public advocate called “egregious” and “crushing” to customers.

“Rather than finding a fair balance between the needs of customers and their own operations, FPL has chosen to prioritize profit margins,” said Zayne Smith, senior director of advocacy at AARP Florida, which represents residents over 50. “This decision threatens to place undue financial strain on households already grappling with rising living costs.” read more