Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT OTT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. Analysts were expecting a decline to a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet.

The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2.

It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. However, the proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported.

“Consumers’ optimism about future income — which had held up quite strongly in the past few months — largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board. read more

Central Florida has another roller coaster on tap. Legoland Florida will add an indoor thrill ride at the Winter Haven theme park in 2026.

Neither a name nor a theme was announced for the new attraction, although the Legoland news release perhaps hints with its wording “truly out of this world.”

“As we prepare to unveil this exciting new attraction designed, co-created and imagined by the amazing creative team at the Lego Group and the unmatched talent of our Merlin Magic Makers, we hope the mystery and anticipation adds to awesome thrills to come,” Fiona Eastwood, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, said in the news release.

The coaster will operate from the Lego City location where Flying School, an inverted coaster, stood until it was closed in 2023.

The ride also will be built at Legoland California theme park in Carlsbad, California. Both parks are owned by Britain-based Merlin. It said it is investing $90 million in the project, the largest singular in-park investment for Legoland parks. read more

Eric McCullough spent months looking for an affordable place of his own but then moved into an apartment with his daughter, his only option to make ends meet.

McCullough, 59, lives on disability insurance and said he could not find apartments or houses for rent that he could afford on those payments alone.

“The magic question, to me, is what do people consider affordable?” he asked. “Who do they make these affordable houses for when the people who need it most can’t afford them?”

Nearly 900,000 Floridians struggle with the same issue, and many end up spending too much on rent, meaning more than 30% of their monthly income goes to housing costs, according to a recent report from the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies. And the latest studies indicate that, despite extensive efforts from the public and nonprofit sectors, the number of affordable units in Central Florida has been falling.

Paying too much in rent limits what they can spend on food, health care and other bills and foils plans to save for a down payment on a house, the center said. read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a lot of information (and money) on the table during tax season. That also makes it a prime time for scams.

TALLAHASSEE — In a case stemming from a fiery, fatal crash after an 18-year-old motorist drove 116 mph, a federal appeals court Friday sided with Tesla, Inc. in a dispute about the design of the car’s battery system.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district-court decision in the lawsuit filed by the father of Barrett Riley, who lost control of the 2014 Tesla Model S in May 2018 on Florida A1A in Fort Lauderdale. After crashing, the car caught fire, with Riley and a passenger, Edgar Monserratt Martinez, dying.

The lawsuit, in part, centered on a decision in March 2018 by Riley’s parents to have Tesla mechanics activate a speed “limiter” that would have prevented the car from going more than 85 mph, according to Friday’s ruling. But the younger Riley returned to the mechanic a few weeks later and had the limiter removed.

A jury in 2022 found Tesla negligent on that issue and awarded $10.5 million in damages. But under what is known as “comparative fault,” it said Tesla was only 1 percent responsible — and should pay $105,000. read more