Things To Do In SW Florida

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Social Security Fairness Act, a bill intended to give relief to individuals who earned a pension from work outside Social Security and who also had also done other work where they paid FICA taxes and therefore earned benefits from Social Security.

In late December, the Senate followed the lead of the U.S. House of Representatives and passed the bill, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.

This means that, starting retroactively to January 2024, individuals who receive a pension from work outside Social Security and who also have at least 10 years of wages from work covered by Social Security will receive a significant increase in Social Security benefits.

The bill repeals two regulations which reduces benefits for many Social Security beneficiaries. The two provisions are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

As I indicated in my previous column, when an individual receives a pension from work outside Social Security, the Social Security Administration uses WEP to reduce their Social Security benefit. Now those individuals will receive a higher Social Security benefit. read more

Winter Park restaurant 310 Park South will be closing down after its New Year’s Eve service, according to a note posted to its social media on Saturday.

Joanne McMahon posted the note for her restaurant that opened 26 years ago adjacent her Partridge Tree Gift Shop that she had opened on Park Avenue after moving to Winter Park in the mid-1990s.

“This was the most welcoming community, which made it an easy fit,” she said. “After several years of being next to a empty restaurant I asked my landlord if I could put a family restaurant there.”

She said it was something needed at the time.

“Now, 26 years later, our incredible journey will end. This was my life. I love what I do. So when you know what needs to be done but really can’t do it, someone else will,” she wrote.

The letter said the restaurant, which serves “new American cuisine,” needed to be rejuvenated and rebranded into a new concept.

“I am so happy an amazing group is going to do that. This is going to be great for our community and I am very excited,” she said. read more

SpaceX knocked out a midnight launch from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, but has a midnight Monday launch on tap from Kennedy Space Center to cap off a record year for the Space Coast.

The Sunday launch saw a Falcon 9 lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 carrying communication satellites for Astranis Space Technologies Corp.

The mission was delayed from a Dec. 20 attempt that saw the booster shut down as the countdown clock reached 0. SpaceX ended up switching boosters for the mission.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/MzMFrW5gte

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 29, 2024

This one, flying for the seventh time, including this year’s Crew-8 and Polaris Dawn missions, made a recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.

It marked the 92nd launch from the Space Coast for 2024, already 20 more than the 72 seen from all providers in 2023, and one more to go.

SpaceX’s final launch of the year could come at midnight with another Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites set to lift off from KSC’s Pad 39-A during launch window that runs until 3:28 a.m. and backup opportunities on Dec. 31 during the same window. read more

Disney’s exclusive Golden Oak community dominated the high end of Central Florida’s luxury home market in 2024, a record-setting year that saw more home sales of over $10 million than ever before.

Golden Oak accounted for five of the top ten home sales this year, according to GrowthSpotter. All five of those transactions involved homes within the sought-after Four Seasons Private Residences in Golden Oak, and four of the homes were located on the same street — Summer Meadow Way.

Homes in Golden Oak are considered part of the Disney World Resort, and some incorporate Disney themes in the construction. Residents get free annual passes to Disney World parks when they move into the community. Homeowners are also granted membership to Golden Oak Club, which includes multiple restaurants, a pool, and a gym.

The Four Seasons Private Residences, of which there are currently just 31, are an even higher-end product because residents also have access to the adjacent Four Seasons Resort, which offers amenities such as a golf course, a spa, a water park, restaurants, and private tennis lessons. read more

By Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — The Facebook post seemed straightforward enough, offering up a newly built ADU rental in Burbank. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,000 square feet. A private yard. Finishes “you wouldn’t find in any other ADU.”

The price? $4,500 per month.

“Dam, ya’ll need to chill out!! $4,500 for an ADU??”

“Let the rich become richer having the poor paying their mortgage.”

“The greed is VERY REAL here.”

“No wonder there are no pictures. Unless the house is gold plated, it’s not worth it.”

People poured in with comments and emoji reactions ranging from laughing to angry. Before long, the post became a digital dogpile, with users tagging others to join in on the fun.

The doomed listing became another case of “rent shaming” — a modern, perhaps inevitable, phenomenon that’s sprouting up across Facebook housing groups and other platforms as rent continues to soar across Southern California.

Landlords see it as a headache, a needless trend of cyberbullying that exacerbates well-meaning efforts to find tenants. Renters see it as a higher calling — a form of resistance and a way to call out overpriced listings. read more