Things To Do In SW Florida

Overcoming hurricane threats, inflation worries and forecasts of a softer domestic travel market, Orange County’s tourist-tax collections finished the fiscal year higher than ever, according to figures released Tuesday morning by Comptroller Phil Diamond.

Receipts in September totaled $25.7 million, about $1.1 million better than September 2023 — and the most ever for the month, capping a fiscal-year record for Tourist Development Tax, or TDT, the 6% surcharge added to the cost of a hotel room or other short-term lodging.

Diamond said 2023-24 ended at $359,464,600, about $140,000 better than last fiscal year.

“Since last year’s collections were the highest on record to date, this year’s are now the highest,” he said.

A year ago, Diamond urged Orange County commissioners to “stick to the fiscal playbook” when they considered how to spend uncommitted, future tourist-tax revenues. His advice was based on his forecast that TDT revenues might dip slightly over the coming year.

He has not yet offered a forecast for 2024-25. read more

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: In late 2018, I booked three flights on Air France for a trip in 2019 through American Express. I had to cancel the flights and received a one-year ticket credit. I rebooked a flight to Europe for 2020 through KLM, an Air France partner. But in June 2020, at the height of the pandemic, KLM canceled the flight.

Air France’s website clearly states that if tickets were purchased through a travel agent, passengers should contact their travel agency. Amex submitted refund claims with Air France on our behalf. At the time, I thought our vouchers would be extended beyond the original 12-month validity date, given the unprecedented COVID restrictions.

They weren’t. Air France denied our claim because the tickets were purchased through Amex, and it said we needed to contact Amex for a refund.

Now Air France says that our ticket credits have expired, and Amex says it can’t do anything because it must follow Air France’s rules. Can you help me get my money back?

— Gilda Souza, San Leandro, California read more

Dario Cecchini loves animals, even though his job entails their ultimate demise.

“I cook, but I’m not a chef. I’m a butcher,” he said in his native Italian, speaking alongside his wife and translator Kimberly Wicks on board Princess Cruises’ newest ship, the Sun Princess, during a media sailing in October, while discussing his new restaurant The Butcher’s Block by Dario.

“That means that I have a responsibility that a chef does not have because I’m working with killing animals,” he said. “When they have been killed on my behalf, I take responsibility for their death, and this is something that no chef feels on their shoulders. It’s my responsibility as a butcher.”

It’s a mentality that has brought him success and fame, starting with a small butcher shop called Antica Macelleria Cecchini in Panzano, Italy. The Tuscan venue has allowed him to pursue a mission to take care of the animals, which he does on nearby farmland, even though they will ultimately be the source of food for his customers. read more

By Taryn Phaneuf, NerdWallet

Barring sudden changes, the national average price of gas looks like it could soon drop below $3 per gallon for the first time since May 2021. It’s an arbitrary threshold but it feels significant. 2021 prices? That’s practically pre-pandemic!

As prices fall, drivers are regaining some buying power at the gas pump. To show how much, let’s say you have $20 to spend on fuel, and you’re paying the national average for regular gas (as of Oct. 28).

• At the current U.S. average price of $3.13 per gallon, you could buy about six gallons for $20, filling roughly half a tank. (Gas tanks typically hold between 12 and 15 gallons of fuel, according to JD Power.)
• Compare that to a year ago: Gas cost $3.50 on average, meaning you could buy a little more than 5.5 gallons for $20.
• In June 2022, when the national average peaked at $5.02 per gallon, $20 would get you just four gallons — roughly a third of a tank.

Gas prices vary widely by state. In fact, 20 states already pay less than $3 per gallon for regular gas, while it’s still above $4 per gallon in three states. Here’s what $20 will get you in the states where gas is priced highest and lowest:

• Highest: California. 4.35 gallons at an average price of $4.60.
• Lowest: Texas. 7.5 gallons at an average price of $2.67.

The table below shows how far $20 goes where you live.

Is $3 per gallon cheap now?

After two years of high inflation, your reaction to $3 gas (or your state’s equivalent) might be complicated. Falling prices might bring relief to your budget. But you also might scoff at the hoopla over a price that’s still a far cry from what you’d consider “cheap gas.” read more

By DAVID KOENIG, LINDSEY WASSON and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

SEATTLE (AP) — Factory workers at Boeing voted to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash.

Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer and the third put to a vote. The deal includes a 38% wage increase over four years, and ratification and productivity bonuses.

However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demand to restore a company pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.

The contract’s ratification on the eve of Election Day cleared the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that the walkout idled for 53 days.

Bank of America analysts estimated last month that Boeing was losing about $50 million a day during the now-ended strike, which did not affect a nonunion plant in South Carolina where the company makes 787s. read more