Things To Do In SW Florida

Average home insurance premiums in Florida increased by 1.5% over the first eight months of 2025 — an improvement over previous years but not the reduction that cost-burdened policyholders have been waiting for since reforms were enacted in 2022 and 2023.

Will prices ever come down? Insurance insiders are divided over the prospect.

Experts interviewed for this report concur that the potential for meaningful cost decreases depends on what happens to costs of reinsurance — insurance that insurers buy — as well as competition among a growing list of carriers, rebuilding cost inflation, and whether Mother Nature will prevent major storms from hitting the state in coming years.

According to a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis of data released monthly by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the average cost to insure a single-family home increased from $3,691 in January to $3,747 in August.

Among 84 companies that reported data across all eight months, average premiums declined for policyholders of only 17 of them: read more

By ADRIANA MORGA, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As the end of 2025 approaches, a viral TikTok trend is helping people achieve their wellness goals: “The Great Lock In” encourages participants to finish the year strong by fully focusing on their life goals from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

Many people focus on exercise or eating healthier. But the trend can also help you achieve your financial goals.

There are no set rules for “The Great Lock In.” The phrase “lock in” is popular on social media and it means to focus intensely on a task.

“Something I like about this particular trend is that it’s like New Year’s resolutions’ little sister,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, financial therapist and founder of Mind Money Balance, a financial wellness podcast and blog.

For Julissa Mercedes, 28, one of her lock in goals is to build an $2,500 emergency savings fund.

“Having some liquid cash will make me feel a little bit safer,” said Mercedes, a San Diego resident who works in finance. Aside from building an emergency fund, Mercedes has three other goals: making a new friend, creating a morning routine, and picking up a new hobby. read more

Kissimmee could be facing a slider showdown with a new brand eyeing the W192 corridor for its first Central Florida franchise.

Representatives for Smalls Sliders held a pre-application meeting on Tuesday with Osceola County’s Development Review Committee to discuss plans to open a slider location at Lake Wilson Village. The new Smalls Sliders would be just down the street from Kissimmee’s first White Castle restaurant, scheduled to open early next year at Old Town.

Smalls Sliders is one of the fastest-growing brands in the restaurant industry, specializing exclusively in fresh, cooked-to-order cheeseburger sliders, waffle fries and milkshakes. Equipped with a streamlined drive-thru, walk-up window and unique modular buildout, the Atlanta-based brand is headed towards nationwide growth with locations opening across the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, and West Coast.

Smalls Sliders is the brainchild of restaurateur Brandon Landry, is led by industry veteran Maria Rivera, and is backed by 10 Point Capital and former NFL star Drew Brees as investors. In Florida, the company has opened franchise stores in Ocala, Pensacola and Clearwater. The Kissimmee location would be the company’s first in Central Florida. read more

Caroline Schumacher became president and CEO of Give Kids the World Inc. in June. But she’s both the newbie and the veteran at the Kissimmee-based nonprofit.

Her experience began with a volunteer shift while participating in the Disney College Program. After graduation in Ohio, she returned to Florida, eventually answering a newspaper ad that led her to a position that coordinated the volunteers for Give Kids the World.

After nearly 20 years, Schumacher became president and CEO of Orlando-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Six years later she returned to lead Give Kids the World, the 89-acre resort that hosts children with critical illnesses and their families free of charge. The nonprofit turns 40 next year.

Hotel owner and philanthropist Henri Landwirth helped found both Give Kids the World and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. He died in 2018. Schumacher is the successor to Pamela Landwirth, former wife of Henri Landwirth, who left the organization in January after three decades. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — With Halloween on the horizon, Chicago Costume is stuffed. Packaged costumes, including superheros and Japanese animation characters in both kid and adult sizes, dangle near colorful wigs and bottles of fake blood. Downstairs, vintage clothes from the 1970s beg for one more boogie night.

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The frightening possibilities mask the work that’s gone on behind the scenes to stock the family-owned shop and its sister store for the spooky season. Owner Courtland Hickey said he ordered 40% fewer costumes this year because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on products from China. read more