Things To Do In SW Florida

Florida’s preschoolers can get free admission to SeaWorld Orlando theme park and Aquatica Orlando water park for all of 2025. It’s available to the 5-year-old and younger set, but there is a process that must be completed soon.

Registration is made at seaworld.com/orlando, and the deadline to sign up is Feb. 3. The offer is available only online, not at the front gates of the attractions. And Preschool Card holders must visit SeaWorld or Aquatica by Feb. 28. (Valid admission is required for accompanying parents and family members.)

A valid form of ID (a copy of a certified birth certificate or passport) to verify age before entry. School IDs or children security IDs are not accepted, according to SeaWorld’s website. Parents and guardians should have photo IDs with proof of their Florida residential address.

The card remains valid through Dec. 31.

A similar free offer is also available for sister attractions Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island on the Gulf Coast but requires separate registration. read more

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sunday signed into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and in other public service jobs.

Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it will also put strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.

The bill rescinds two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that limit Social Security benefits for recipients if they get retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programs from a state or local government.

“The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity — that’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system,” Biden said during a signing ceremony in the White House East Room. read more

Give Kids the World is replacing CEO Pamela Landwirth, the nonprofit organization has announced. She has been leader of the group since 1995.

“Words cannot fully express our gratitude to Pamela for her leadership over these past 30 years,” GKTW Chairman John Nichols said in a news release.

The organization’s mission centers on providing terminally ill children and their families with free vacations based out of Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee. It was founded by Henri Landwirth, who died in 2018 and was the former husband of Pamela Landwirth.

“Pamela has made an indelible impact on the Village as she carried Henri’s vision forward,” Nichols said.

The organization’s board of directors named Jordan Lomas, who joined the board last year, as interim CEO. He had a 17-year career with Darden Restaurants, where he was senior vice president of information technology. He will lead the executive search process.

“Our succession plan is designed to not only maintain the continuity of the Village’s operations, but to also identify an individual who will exceed expectations in service to our most important stakeholders — the children and families who rely on GKTW for a sense of hope and to experience the joy of a dream vacation together,” Nichols said. read more

René Bennett | (TNS) Bankrate.com

Saving for your grandchildren can help to minimize the financial burdens they may encounter as they mature. Whether it’s paying for college, buying a first home or providing a safety net in an uncertain job market, these funds can make a significant difference.

Those stabilized home insurance costs that industry leaders and state insurance regulators touted over most of 2024?

It looks like premiums might be heading up again.

That’s what a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis of insurance market share data from the third quarter of 2024 shows.

The statewide average premium paid for an all-perils single-family home policy in Florida increased by 3.1% between the second and third quarters, the data shows. That follows two straight quarters that saw increases of 1.3%, a reduced rate that experts attributed to a decrease in lawsuits, a mild 2023 hurricane season and lower hikes in the cost of reinsurance.

In 2022, Florida’s Legislature required that insurers release the statewide data to the public as part of a series of insurance reforms that imposed restrictions on what insurers described as runaway litigation. Prior to the mid-2010s, county-level data was publicly available through the Office of Insurance Regulation until State Farm Florida won a lawsuit that sought to shield it as a “trade secret.” read more