Things To Do In SW Florida

Only two of the original four members of SpaceX Crew-9’s mission to the International Space Station arrived to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, making room on their future ride home next year for the pair of NASA astronauts left behind by Boeing’s Starliner.

NASA astronaut and Space Force Col. Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov flew into KSC landing at the former space shuttle landing facility. They’re gearing up for a launch in the Crew Dragon Freedom atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 as early as Thursday — targeting liftoff at 2:05 p.m. with backup dates available Friday and Saturday.

https://www.youtube.com/live/O9mYwRlucZY?si=Ix05jwmhCdHRK46T

The duo will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until launch.

The launch from Canaveral will be the first for SLC-40 as all previous SpaceX human spaceflights have been from Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX built out a second crew access tower so it could use either pad, and KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A is being prepped for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission that will fly on a Falcon Heavy in October. read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis has pledged to provide relief before the end of the year to condo unit owners facing increased costs for required structural safety inspections and plans to fund reserves for upcoming repairs.

But leading members of the House and Senate aren’t endorsing a special session to enact changes, so the Dec. 31 deadline for compliance remains in effect statewide for condo buildings over two stories that turned 30 years old before July 1, 2022.

Condo associations are required to submit what’s called a Milestone Inspection report that determines whether buildings show signs of substantial structural deterioration. They must also obtain a separate report, called a Strategic Integrity Reserve Study. It estimates the remaining lifespans of such components as roofs, structural elements, fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, exterior painting and waterproofing and windows, and determines how much money associations must fund for future repairs or replacements.

Spokespersons for South Florida counties and cities say required inspection reports have been trickling in, and so far none have revealed safety issues that could force owners to evacuate their units. read more

Veteran space journalist Eric Berger’s first foray into the story of how Elon Musk and SpaceX became a success has become required reading for employees of at least one competing rocket company.

He now follows up 2021’s “Liftoff” with this year’s “Reentry” from Penguin Random House available Sept. 24 (Hardcover, $31.95).

Symbolic of the theme, the cover features a photo shot by Satellite Beach’s John Kraus of the Falcon 9 booster coming in for one of its fiery, yet controlled, landings at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1.

Now the senior space editor for Ars Technica, Berger has been covering the industry for two decades, including 17 years with the Houston Chronicle. In “Reentry,” similar to “Liftoff,” he again uncovers SpaceX’s highs and lows with touches of humor and strain that are part of the machine that Musk’s company has become.

Executives at startup Stoke Space, which aims to develop its own reusable rocket launching from Cape Canaveral, recently said “Liftoff” is required reading for all of their more than 100 employees. That story goes through SpaceX’s early days to reach success with its Falcon 1 rocket. read more

Many readers ask me if there are any advantages in naming a trust as an IRA beneficiary. Although the IRS made slight improvements in the SECURE Act regulations in July, using a trust as an IRA beneficiary is still not a good idea. After the final regulations were issued, Ed Slott pointed out the reasons why.

Ten-year rule: The SECURE Act specifies that only eligible designated beneficiaries (EDBs) qualify for the “stretch” option, which allows beneficiaries to withdraw IRA assets for a period longer than 10 years. Surviving spouses qualify as EDBs, but most beneficiaries do not. Minor children of a deceased IRA owner count as EDBs, but grandchildren do not. Other EDBs include disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries, as well as other non-spouse beneficiaries who are not more than 10 years younger than the deceased IRA owner.

Disadvantages of the trust as beneficiary: The two disadvantages are high taxes and less trust protection. The trust you designate as an IRA beneficiary will be one of two types: a conduit trust or a discretionary trust. With a conduit trust, all required minimum distributions (RMDs) pass through the trust and are paid to the beneficiaries. With a discretionary trust, Slott points out, the trustee has the flexibility to determine whether the RMDs will be “paid to the trust beneficiaries, retained in the trust for protection, or held for successor beneficiaries.” read more

By Robbie Sequeira | Stateline.org

When Minneapolis, then Oregon, then other local and state governments began stripping away exclusive single-family-home zoning over the past five years to allow the construction of multifamily housing, many development advocates predicted the start of a pro-YIMBY revolution.

But the “yes-in-my-backyard” movement has stumbled even before it’s really gotten started.

In court challenges around the country, opponents have cited spikes in traffic, strains to infrastructure, displacement of low-income residents, hits on property values and changes to neighborhood character. Multifamily zoning advocates, however, counter that opponents are resisting changes that will yield broader societal benefits.

The debates are challenging elected leaders, planning specialists, homebuilders and advocates, pitting long-established homeowners against a system desperate to get a handle on the nation’s growing crisis of housing affordability and homelessness.

“People want to maintain their neighborhood character, but it should be about ensuring quality of life for everyone,” said Natali Fani-Gonzalez, a Democratic member of the Montgomery County Council in Maryland who has endorsed changes to zoning laws. “You’re part of a community … you don’t own it. We need to evolve with society.” read more