Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate held for a sixth consecutive month, but a key state economist said Friday “it’s still too soon to tell” how a trio of hurricanes could affect the state’s jobless figures.

The state Department of Commerce on Friday estimated 368,000 Floridians were qualified as out-of-work in September, a figure unchanged from August. The state’s work force of 11.04 million shrank by 6,000 workers in the same period as retirements continue to outpace efforts to grow the labor force.

The latest figures keep Florida’s unemployment rate at 3.3 percent, while the national mark in September was 4.1 percent.

Across the state, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area had the lowest regional unemployment rate, at 2.9 percent, falling from 3.4 percent in August. The Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area was at 3.2 percent, while Panama City was at 3.3 percent.

The Jacksonville and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford areas were at 3.4 percent. Pensacola was at 3.5 percent, the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area was at 3.6 percent and the Naples and Sarasota regions were both at 3.7 percent. read more

Health savings accounts have many advantages, but you could expose yourself to potential penalties if you are not careful.

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are personal investment accounts from which people can pay for qualified medical and dental expenses on a pretax basis. If you make a withdrawal for expenses that are not “qualified,” you may be subject to a penalty of up to 20%. Qualified medical expenses are defined in IRS Publication 502.

One of the advantages of HSAs is that you can name your spouse as the beneficiary. This allows a surviving spouse to continue to use withdrawals for qualified medical expenses without incurring penalties. As long as the beneficiary is a spouse, the earnings of the investments in the account will continue to be tax-deferred. A surviving spouse can use the HSA with any type of healthcare plan. If they have an HSA eligible insurance plan, they can continue to make contributions to the plan.

If you name someone other than a spouse as the beneficiary, then the individual who inherits the account will immediately be subject to income taxes on the balance of the account. The account then is no longer an HSA. Since any beneficiary other than a spouse will be immediately subject to income tax, you may want to consider the tax bracket of any potential beneficiaries. read more

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is shelling out billions of dollars for clean energy and approving major offshore wind projects as officials race to secure major climate initiatives before President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end.

Biden wants to establish a legacy for climate action that includes locking in a trajectory for reducing the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill and stop offshore wind development if he returns to the White House in January.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped from the race this summer, has said she will pursue a climate agenda similar to Biden’s, focused on reducing emissions, deploying renewables and creating clean energy jobs.

Announcements of major environmental grants and project approvals have speeded up in recent months as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian said Biden is “sprinting to the finish” and delivering on promises to promote clean energy and slow climate change: read more