Things To Do In SW Florida

Have you filed your 2023 income tax return yet? Millions already have. The rest of us are now officially procrastinators. But we’ll get it done. Except for the 125,000 high-income earners who did not even file tax returns going back to 2017 — and who owe roughly $100 billion in back taxes.

It boggles the mind. How did the IRS even find these 100,000 people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million who failed to pay their taxes between 2017 and 2021? Were they part of the underground economy, dealing strictly in cash? Were they drug dealers or con men (and women) scamming your bank account?

Nope. The IRS finally got around to matching W-2 forms and 1099 forms filed by their employers or investment firms denoting interest or other payouts. So while you were scrambling to find your 1099-INT form, reporting the interest on your money market fund and fearing an audit if you omitted those few dollars from your reported income, some extremely wealthy people slipped through the clutches of the IRS. read more

Q: They have been building a house down the block for the last several months. Besides the trucks coming and going, the site is a mess, with debris in the yard and a porta-potty out along the street. While I understand the realities of construction, there is no reason for this ongoing eyesore. What should we do? — Alejandro

A: Constructing a new home can be lengthy and complex, involving different contractors working in stages. Some messiness and noise are unavoidable. That said, this does not mean that the builder can ignore the safety and aesthetic concerns of the neighbors. You have the right to expect that the construction site is kept as clean and orderly as possible and that the builder follows the local regulations.

The first step to resolving any issue with a construction site is to communicate with the builder directly. You should be able to find the builder’s contact information from the signs on the site or from the city’s building department.

Reach out and politely express your concerns and ask for cooperation in keeping the disturbance to a minimum. For example, you can request that they remove the debris, clean the porta-potty regularly, set it back from the street, and limit the hours of operation to avoid disturbing the neighbors. You should also ask for a project timeline. read more

As its 50th-anniversary season draws to a close and hot on the heels of its successful debut of a $3.6 million “Nutcracker,” Orlando Ballet is looking for a new executive director.

A statement provided to the Orlando Sentinel this week announced the company would not renew its contract with Cheryl Collins, who has led the organization as executive director since 2020.

Collins did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“After seven years with Orlando Ballet, Cheryl Collins will not be returning as executive director when her contract expires at the end of the 2023-2024 season,” the ballet’s statement read. The season’s last production, “Casanova,” runs May 16-19.

“Artistic director Jorden Morris will serve as interim executive director as the board moves forward activating a search committee in the weeks ahead,” the statement read. Morris joined the company in 2020 as choreographer in residence. When then-artistic director Robert Hill resigned in August 2021, Morris stepped into that position on an interim basis until being given the top artistic job officially in December. read more

By Alana Benson | NerdWallet

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

The passage of time feels like it creeps, then pounces: Suddenly, party conversation focuses on real estate, how we’re going to bed earlier and our realization that we have no idea what type of jeans to wear. For years, millennials have been the butt of financial jokes: “They spend all their money on lattes and avocado toast!” and “Why don’t they get a minimum wage job to pay for college like I did?” But the clichés got old quickly.

And now, as millennials move deeper into their 30s and 40s, there are some things to consider changing up. Most notably, our investments.

Your portfolio might need to chill

For those lucky enough to invest early on, the advice was pretty standard: Invest often, and invest in aggressive assets to take advantage of long-term growth. The target-date funds held in 401(k)s were typically calibrated to higher-risk investments. Maybe the most aggressive of us dipped our toes in crypto and meme stocks at some point. After all, you’ve got all the time in the world to ride out the highs and lows of the market when you’re 24. read more

Darius Tahir | (TNS) KFF Health News

Early in the morning of Feb. 21, Change Healthcare, a company unknown to most Americans that plays a huge role in the U.S. health system, issued a brief statement saying some of its applications were “currently unavailable.”

By the afternoon, the company described the situation as a “cyber security” problem.

Since then, it has rapidly blossomed into a crisis.

The company, recently purchased by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, reportedly suffered a cyberattack. The impact is wide and expected to grow. Change Healthcare’s business is maintaining health care’s pipelines — payments, requests for insurers to authorize care, and much more. Those pipes handle a big load: Change says on its website, “Our cloud-based network supports 14 billion clinical, financial, and operational transactions annually.”

Initial media reports have focused on the impact on pharmacies, but techies say that’s understating the issue. The American Hospital Association says many of its members aren’t getting paid and that doctors can’t check whether patients have coverage for care. read more