Things To Do In SW Florida

Easter isn’t until April, but the hunt is on for eggs.

As a devastating outbreak of bird flu thins chicken populations and market forces drive grocery prices up, the breakfast and baking staple has become pricier and harder to find.

The average price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled since last year and hit a record high of $4.95 in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Price tags are even heftier in some places or if you want jumbo, organic or free-range varieties that have prices that top $6 or even $9 a dozen.

The spike has contributed to an overall rise in grocery prices, which increased half a percent last month, the Labor Department’s consumer price index report released this week found.

Some grocery chains, including Trader Joe’s and Kroger, have placed limits on the amount of eggs shoppers can purchase in an attempt to address the shortage.

Why are egg prices so high?

The primary factor behind the jump in egg prices is an avian flu epidemic, which has led to the deaths of more than 21 million chickens, including 13 million in December alone. read more

A political titan has filed a provocative bill he says will reduce insurance costs in Florida — and the insurance industry doesn’t like his proposals.

One provision would roll back recent restrictions on fees that attorneys can collect when they sue insurers. Another provision would require insurers to publicly disclose their companies’ subsidiaries and affiliates and all of the ways their executives benefit from them.

The proposals are in similar bills filed in the state House and Senate this week. The House bill was filed by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola.

The Senate bill was filed by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Crestview, a longtime heavyweight in Florida politics and father of former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Don Gaetz was reelected to the state Senate last fall after an eight-year absence. Last year, he campaigned on promises to fix an insurance system that has continued to raise costs for homeowners while saving significant money avoiding legal costs.

“Floridians pay far more for property insurance than anyone anywhere else in the nation,” the two lawmakers were quoted in a news release as saying. “Admittedly, Florida is a high-risk market, but we believe there are steps the Legislature can take to improve how rates are set and how individual claims can be processed faster and fairer.” read more

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI says its board of directors has unanimously rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid by Elon Musk.

“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” said a statement Friday from Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI’s board.

OpenAI attorney William Savitt in a letter to Musk’s attorney Friday said the proposal “is not in the best interests of OAI’s mission and is rejected.”

By Jeff Ostrowski, Bankrate.com

For borrowers in today’s expensive housing market, getting approved for a mortgage can be a challenge. Mortgage rates have soared from pandemic-era lows, home values are near record highs and home price appreciation is outpacing wage growth.

All of that means there’s no guarantee a lender will approve your mortgage application. Here’s a look at how lenders decide to extend credit, and some common reasons why mortgage applications get rejected.

How does mortgage underwriting work?

Mortgage underwriting is the process of verifying and analyzing the financial information you provide your lender — all with the goal of giving you an answer of yes, no or maybe. As part of the application, you hand over bank statements, W-2s and other tax documents, recent pay stubs and any additional documentation the lender requires.

Dispense with any stereotypes about the old days of lending or the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”, when a banker determined your creditworthiness by the firmness of your handshake and the crispness of your shirt. In most cases, a loan officer or mortgage broker will collect your information and submit it to an underwriting software system. Loans that will be sold to Fannie Mae, for example, use Desktop Underwriter (DU), while loans sold to Freddie Mac leverage Loan Product Advisor (LPA). read more

CORAL GABLES — When an armed shooter enters a store, there is little time to react.

But a virtual reality program that mimics actual workplaces is training employees to think quickly and save lives.

The founding director of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Jeremy Bailenson, discussed the applications of virtual and augmented technology as keynote speaker for the University of Miami’s first Miami XR conference  last Friday.

“The (active shooter) simulation allows them to practice decision-making, hiding, escaping, or responding to threats in a safe, controlled setting,” Bailenson said. “By interacting with the scenario in real time, they develop muscle memory and situational awareness, improving their ability to react under stress.”

Bailenson co-founded the company Strivr to implement VR training in the workplace. His product Armed Attack has been used by hundreds of thousands of people at companies such as Verizon, Bank of America and Walmart. Most corporations are involved in developing a custom simulation, modeling the digital backdrops after real locations. read more