Things To Do In SW Florida

In a recent monthly column, Ed Slott reviewed the options of a young widow who is the beneficiary of an IRA. Following is a summary of the two main options available to a widow in this position.

The options are based on the assumption that the deceased spouse was not old enough to take required minimum distributions (RMDs).

Option 1: Rollover into spouse’s own IRA

Only a widowed spouse who was named a beneficiary of an IRA or retirement plan such as a 401(k) is allowed to roll over the inherited IRA into her own IRA. This option is irreversible. Because of this, it is critical to understand the likelihood of having to make withdrawals prior to reaching age 59 1/2. Any withdrawal prior to 59 1/2 is subject to an early withdrawal tax penalty of 10%.

For example, assume that the widow needs funds prior to age 59 1/2 and makes a withdrawal of $20,000 from the IRA. In this case, there would be a 10% early withdrawal penalty of $2,000. In addition, any withdrawal from a traditional IRA would also be subject to a federal income tax based tax computed based on the amount of the amount withdrawn multiplied by the marginal tax So, if her marginal tax rate was 22%, the additional federal tax would be $4,400 (22% multiplied by $20,000). read more

Almost 70 years ago, a Winter Park nursing home opened to help care for elderly Black residents who during segregation had no place to go. And for decades the institution fulfilled that mission.

But operators of the facility, known today as The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center, say it will close permanently in early December due to skyrocketing costs and stagnant Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

The board that operates the facility, long determined to provide top-quality care to low-income residents, realized in August that the end was near. Now efforts are underway to relocate residents of the 40-bed facility on Morse Avenue and then sell the 2-acre campus.

“The decision was painful and was not made lightly,” said Richard Baldwin Jr., chairman of the nonprofit’s board of trustees, who has been involved in the home since 2008.

The facility is one of only seven in the metro Orlando area to earn the highest rating — five stars — from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for quality of care and staffing. read more

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and AMANDA SEITZ

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s bipartisan support in Congress for extending tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. But the credits are in danger of expiring as Republicans and Democrats clash over how to do it.

Democrats are threatening to vote to shut down the government at the end of the month if Republicans don’t extend the subsidies, which were first put in place in 2021 and extended a year later when they controlled Congress and the White House. The tax credits, which are slated to expire at the end of the year, go to low- and middle-income people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Some Republicans who have opposed the health care law since it was enacted under President Barack Obama are suddenly open to keeping the tax credits. They acknowledge that many of their constituents could see steep hikes in coverage if the subsidies are allowed to lapse. read more

Many Florida homes have shutters for protection. One Bay Hill home uses them as a design statement, with the black, wood-grained panels altering the look of the house and the pattern of sunlight inside.

The home, which also features a nearly 100-foot-long marble swimming pool and many windows, won first place in this year’s annual Parade of Homes Orlando contest in the “custom home” category.

The 3,987-square-foot house is now on the market for nearly $4 million, according to GrowthSpotter.

“Depending on the time the day and how the sun’s rays hit the house, if you have some of the shutters closed, it creates a little light design of the sun’s rays coming through. It changes the atmosphere and the mood of the whole entire home,” said listing agent Mark Anthony with ROI Ave.

“People are calling it the 50 Shades of Grey House Orlando, and it has nothing to do with a movie, by the way,” Anthony explained with a laugh. Instead, it is about those shutters that can seem to “gray out” the house and the light from the windows. read more

President Trump and his new interim head of NASA Sean Duffy are pushing for a renewed effort to shuffle off the responsibility of running the International Space Station in favor of becoming a customer of a commercial space station provider instead.

NASA first doled out funds in 2021 for several groups to pursue private stations, including Blue Origin and Voyager Space, while also supporting Axiom Space to add modules to the ISS that would eventually detach to become its own freestanding station.

But little progress has been made toward realizing a commercial replacement.

Now NASA has asked for updated feedback from American companies as part of a draft Phase 2 Announcement for Partnership Proposals. The announcement made last week called on the updates to be submitted by Sept. 12.

The ISS, which will be celebrating 25 years of continuous human presence in November, is slated to be decommissioned after 2030, but Trump’s proposed budget for NASA’s fiscal 2026 signaled shutting down American support sooner. read more