Things To Do In SW Florida

By RAF CASERT, Associated Press

BRUGES, Belgium (AP) — St. Valentine chocolates always seek to show how deep your love is. This year, it might just also show how deep your pockets are.

With the price of cocoa beans setting unprecedented records on the commodities market, it will certainly turn the gift of love into a bigger financial commitment than it once was. Turns out that if love is reputed to be eternal, a low price for cocoa, the essential ingredient in chocolate, is not.

No beans, no Valentine’s chocolate

“The price increase of cocoa is absolutely spectacular, now for 2, 2½ years,” said Philippe de Sellier, the head of both Leonidas and Belgian chocolate federation Choprabisco. When it stood at less than $2,000 a ton in the summer of 2022, it really took over early last year and peaked at well over $12,000 during the Christmas season and has been hovering around the $10,000 mark since.

“We are seeing unprecedented prices. They haven’t been this high for the last 50 years,” said Bart Van Besien, policy adviser of the Oxfam fair trade group. And the impact can be felt deep in chocolate gourmet country Belgium, where some of its 280 chocolate companies are left with a bleeding heart during Valentine’s week. read more

Health care

Pulmonary and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Francis Christian has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will care for patients at AdventHealth Waterman.

Vascular surgeon Dr. Mauricio Perez Martinez has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will care for patients at AdventHealth Waterman.

Lindsay Kist was promoted to vice president at the Winter Park Health Foundation.

Pest control

Rossani Nelson was promoted to resource specialist for Central Florida at Truly Nolen Pest Control. He will remain based at the company’s East Coast Operations Headquarters in Orlando.

Real estate

Jonathan Clayton has joined Maury L. Carter & Associates Inc., Orlando, as vice president.

Darren Pierce was promoted to chief executive officer at ZRS Management, Orlando.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major reversal, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said he will try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects.

In a video posted on X, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for a still-emerging “green bank” that is set to fund tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice.

The program, approved under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but is more commonly called the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion respectively, are intended to offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects with a focus on disadvantaged communities.

The program is a favorite of Democrats who passed President Joe Biden’s signature climate law without a single Republican vote, and former EPA Administrator Michael Regan frequently cited it as one of his major accomplishments. read more

By Rosie Cima, NerdWallet

Scraping together a down payment for a home is a challenge, especially in today’s housing market. But one persistent financial myth could be making it harder than it needs to be.

According to NerdWallet’s 2025 Home Buyer Report, 62% of Americans say that a 20% down payment is required to buy a home.

But that’s not the case. And since 33% of non-homeowners say that not having enough money for a down payment is holding them back from buying a home at this time, according to the survey, this misconception could be stopping them unnecessarily.

There are many reasons you might want to put down 20% or more of the purchase price when buying a home. But you don’t have to, and many options exist for lower-downpayment home loans. If you’re one of the 15% of Americans who the survey says plan on buying a home in the coming year, it could pay to know about them.

A surprisingly persistent myth

This myth prevails across the majority of age groups and educational levels. Even 60% of homeowners think a 20% down payment is required, according to the survey. This is surprising because the median down payment among all home buyers is under 20%, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors. read more

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin told employees Thursday it would lay off about 10% of its workforce.

The company has more than 10,000 employees, with a major presence on the Space Coast at its rocket factory adjacent Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it constructs its New Glenn rocket. The rocket had a successful debut launch last month.

The number of positions that would be affected in Florida was not announced, but it also has major operations in Alabama, Texas and Washington where the company is headquartered.

In a letter to employees sent by company CEO Dave Limp obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, he said much of the workforce reduction was due to excessive management built up over the last few years.

“Our primary focus in 2025 and beyond is to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness, and efficiency for our customers,” Limp wrote.

That would include more buildup of its New Glenn rockets that launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, but also its smaller suborbital New Shepard rocket from Texas. The company also designs and will build its new Blue Moon lunar lander at its Brevard County facilities. read more