Things To Do In SW Florida

By MARC LEVY

SPRING CITY, Pa. (AP) — Tech companies and developers looking to plunge billions of dollars into ever-bigger data centers to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing are increasingly losing fights in communities where people don’t want to live next to them, or even near them.

Communities across the United States are reading about — and learning from — each other’s battles against data center proposals that are fast multiplying in number and size to meet steep demand as developers branch out in search of faster connections to power sources.

In many cases, municipal boards are trying to figure out whether energy- and water-hungry data centers fit into their zoning framework. Some have entertained waivers or tried to write new ordinances. Some don’t have zoning.

But as more people hear about a data center coming to their community, once-sleepy municipal board meetings in farming towns and growing suburbs now feature crowded rooms of angry residents pressuring local officials to reject the requests. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Sprinkles Cupcakes, a company famous for selling sweet treats in vending machines known as “cupcake ATMs,” has shut down after 20 years of operation around the United States, according to its former owner.

“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go,” said Candace Nelson, who started the company after she lost her job in 2005. The closure was announced Dec. 30.

Nelson started Sprinkles Cupcakes in her own kitchen, and the first location was in a small Beverly Hills storefront that had previously been a sandwich shop. The brand would go on to ascend to national fame, and fans took to social media following the company’s announcement to lament the closure.

The company’s cupcake-dispensing machines in malls and airports briefly went viral on TikTok for the not-so-subtle “I love Sprinkles” jingle that played repeatedly while a mechanical arm delivered the dessert. read more

Orlando attorney John Morgan says he took on the Mouse and won.

Morgan’s law firm is running an ad incorporating an adaptation of the nearly century-old “Steamboat Willie” Disney cartoon, but it didn’t happen without some high-profile legal drama.

In a podcast interview, Morgan, 69, said his firm’s headline-generating lawsuit against Disney succeeded, and he was given a green light to proceed with the commercial based off the groundbreaking animated short.

“After a few months, Disney agreed that I could run this commercial,” Morgan told the PBD podcast last month.

The 1928 “Steamboat Willie” animated short, featuring the official debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, entered the public domain in 2024, but Disney still holds trademark rights as well as copyright protections for later, more modern versions of the characters.

Morgan & Morgan filed a federal lawsuit in September, seeking a ruling that the ad wouldn’t violate Disney’s intellectual property rights. The firm previously tried to get confirmation from Disney that it wouldn’t object, but the company’s lawyers declined to provide legal advice on the commercial, according to the suit. read more

In a recent monthly newsletter published by Ed Slott, Heather Schreiber, an expert on Social Security, discussed the impact of regulations in the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on taxes and Social Security benefits. She also discussed how Social Security benefits would be re-computed for individuals who continued to work under Social Security after they filed for a Social Security benefit. Below I will summarize some of the information from Schreiber’s article in a hypothetical Q&A.

Q. Can you summarize how the senior deduction for individuals who have reached age 65 works?

A. The new deduction for individuals who have reached age 65 is based solely on the individual’s age and income. Whether an individual is enrolled in Medicare is not relevant. The deduction is available to both individuals and families who use the standard deduction, as well as those who file an itemized tax return.

For those individuals who file as a single tax return, they are entitled to a full deduction of $6,000 if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is $75,000 or less. For those with MAGI between $75,000 and $175,000 the deduction is reduced by six cents for each dollar over the threshold amount. There is no deduction for MAGI above $175,000. read more