Things To Do In SW Florida

The sounds of Christmas are coming from deep inside Gaylord Palms. Chainsaws, ice picks and heavy machinery are revved up to turn huge blocks of colorful ice in “Ice,” the very, very, very cool — make that downright frigid — holiday sculpture display at the Kissimmee resort.

In some ways, this year’s attraction will be familiar. It’s a walk-through with elaborate ice sculptures based on a movie in a 9-degree atmosphere. (Ponchos are provided, though veterans will recommend bringing coats, caps, scarves and other layers.) As usual, the carving is done by artisans from Harbin, China, known for its annual elaborate ice-sculpturing festival.

But Gaylord is rolling out a new movie as its theme this year. The “Ice” displays will represent scenes from “Elf,” the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell as the lead character Buddy with Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and Edward Asner. Workers are currently crafting iconic “Elf” moments, including the snowball fight scene.

Here are a few takeaways from a recent “Ice” preview for members of the media. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — No one knows how Tuesday’s presidential election will turn out, but the Federal Reserve’s move two days later is much easier to predict: With inflation continuing to cool, the Fed is set to cut interest rates for a second time this year.

The presidential contest might still be unresolved when the Fed ends its two-day meeting Thursday afternoon, yet that uncertainty would have no effect on its decision to further reduce its benchmark rate. The Fed’s future actions, though, will become more unsettled once a new president and Congress take office in January, particularly if Donald Trump were to win the White House again.

Trump’s proposals to impose high tariffs on all imports and launch mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants and his threat to intrude on the Fed’s normally independent rate decisions could send inflation surging, economists have said. Higher inflation would, in turn, compel the Fed to slow or stop its rate cuts.

On Thursday, the Fed’s policymakers, led by Chair Jerome Powell, are on track to cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point, to about 4.6%, after having implemented a half-point reduction in September. Economists expect another quarter-point rate cut in December and possibly additional such moves next year. Over time, rate cuts tend to lower the costs of borrowing for consumers and businesses. read more

By Erin El Issa, NerdWallet

It’s nearly the end of the year and a majority of Americans have regrets about their money moves, or lack thereof, in 2024. Whether they set New Year’s resolutions that didn’t work out, or just thought they’d be further ahead than they are now, a new NerdWallet survey, conducted in Oct. 2024 by The Harris Poll, finds that 69% of Americans have financial regrets for 2024.

The youngest adult generation — Gen Z (ages 18-27) — is most likely to be remorseful about money this year. Nearly 9 in 10 Gen Zers (89%) say they have financial regrets for 2024, compared to 80% of millennials (ages 28-43), 73% of Gen Xers (ages 44-59) and just 46% of baby boomers (ages 60-78).

Among the top regrets are not saving, overspending and not working on credit score improvement.

If you count yourself among those with regrets, here are some actions you can take starting today to avoid such remorse next year and beyond.

Regret: Not saving for emergencies and financial goals

Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (29%) regret not saving for emergencies and 27% regret not saving enough for their financial goals, like retirement or a down payment on a home, this year. read more

Jeremy Cooper lost his custodial job at a Sanford commercial bakery because of illness, then spent three years looking for decent-paying work to support his wife and their five children.

But he had limited skills and limited luck.

“I was applying for any job that would allow me to have some income,” Cooper said.

At a job fair in Orlando, he learned about Second Harvest Food Bank’s Culinary Training Program.

“I could see he wanted the next thing, but didn’t necessarily know how to get there,” said Keonna Yearwood, manager of the nonprofit’s culinary program, which trains about 35 people a year to work in professional kitchens.

Cooper said the program wasn’t easy, but he got through it, graduated and now works as a line cook at a sports bar at Hilton Orlando on International Drive, which touts its “all-American eats” menu that includes burgers, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.

“It feels so good that you can work with these different types of people every single day just for one goal, to get the service done and make sure people are happy,” Cooper said. “And then you get to go home and come back and do it all again the next day.” read more

One would think that less than a month before Thanksgiving, and two months before the Christmas-New Year’s holiday season, this is not an ideal time for news pages to be filled with reports about an airline’s possible bankruptcy filing, or renewed takeover talk by an old suitor, or a spate of layoffs looming in January.

But the public discussion is one of the realities facing South Florida-based Spirit Airlines as the carrier’s management labors to raise cash and plot a course to return to profitability amid fierce industry competition.

Travelers have choices when they book trips for the year’s busiest travel seasons. As Spirit alters its route network, sells airplanes, cuts capacity and arranges hundreds of furloughs as part of an $80 million cost-cutting program, customers would like to know whether they will be facing changes in their plans.

“I think Spirit is going to do everything possible to minimize disruptions to its customers for the holidays,” said Henry Hartveldt, founder and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an industry consultancy in San Francisco. “One challenge Spirit faces is unfortunately there is a lot of bad news swarming around the airline, and that inspires concern among travelers.” read more