Things To Do In SW Florida

By Alex Brown, Stateline.org

As climate change drastically increases the frequency and severity of wildfires, power companies say they’re facing growing risk for payouts that could bankrupt them or require massive rate hikes on customers.

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Across the West, electrical utilities are pushing state lawmakers to grant them legal immunity or limit damage payouts if their equipment sparks a blaze.

They’re backing bills, which have passed or been proposed in at least eight states over the past few years, that would require the utilities to follow plans to limit their risks of causing a fire, such as trimming trees or burying power lines. In exchange for taking those steps, lawmakers would give utilities protection from lawsuits that could expose them to billions of dollars in damage claims. read more

A new attraction is about to take off at SeaWorld Orlando. Its Expedition Odyssey, a “flying theater” type of ride will transport visitors, virtually, from Florida to a much cooler clime – the Arctic.

We won’t see T-shirts that say this, but we could nickname it Soarin’ (and Submergin’) in the Arctic a la the popular Epcot ride. The big-screen footage comes from several weeks of outings to spy wildlife and wondrous landscapes.

The official opening of Expedition Odyssey is May 9, but passholder previews are underway now.

The real world

Take a second to realize what this is not. It’s not CGI. Those are real animals in a real frozen environment.

“We’re SeaWorld, and those animals are – even more so in the motion – the most important thing for us. We really wanted to create those moments and that connection with the animals.” said Conner Carr, corporate vice president of rides and engineering for United Parks & Resorts, SeaWorld’s parent company.

When the polar bear makes eye contact with riders or whales appear on cue from underneath an ice slab, it’s luck plus keen editing. read more

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased again this week, modest relief for prospective home shoppers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

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The rate fell to 6.76% from 6.81% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.22%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate dropped to 5.92% from 5.94% last week. It’s down from 6.47% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions and bond market investors’ expectations for future inflation. read more

TALLAHASSEE — Saying they are responding to residents’ concerns about rising costs, the Florida Legislature on Wednesday signed off on proposed changes to condominium-safety laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside that killed 98 people.

The measure (HB 913), approved unanimously by the House and Senate, is now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made changing the condo laws one of his top priorities of this year’s legislative session.

The laws, passed in 2022 and tweaked in 2023, included requiring “milestone inspections” of older buildings and “structural integrity reserve studies” to determine how much money should be saved for future major repairs.

Milestone inspections were supposed to be completed by the end of 2024 for certain older buildings that are three stories or higher. Some condo associations hit owners with large assessments in the race to comply with the deadline. Assessments are in addition to homeowners’ regular association fees. read more

By MATT O’BRIEN

Artificial intelligence “agents” are supposed to be more than chatbots. The tech industry has spent months pitching AI personal assistants that know what you want and can do real work on your behalf.

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So far, they’re not doing much.

Visa hopes to change that by giving them your credit card. Set a budget and some preferences and these AI agents — successors to ChatGPT and its chatbot peers — could find and buy you a sweater, weekly groceries or an airplane ticket.

“We think this could be really important,” said Jack Forestell, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, in an interview. “Transformational, on the order of magnitude of the advent of e-commerce itself.” read more