Things To Do In SW Florida

WASHINGTON  — The Treasury Department is warning that state laws –  including one in Florida – that restrict banks from considering environmental, social and governance factors could harm efforts to address money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter sent Thursday to lawmakers. The letter singled out a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May that says it would be an “unsafe and unsound practice” for banks to consider non-financial factors when doing business. The letter concludes that “such laws create uncertainty and may inhibit” national security efforts.

Conservative Republicans such as DeSantis have sought to block environmental and socially conscious standards for investing, saying that such initiatives can lead to unfair discrimination based on political beliefs and harm legitimate businesses. They say that considering environmental, social and corporate-governance issues, or ESG, before deciding whether to invest is woke behavior gone amok. read more

By Sally French | NerdWallet

Hawaii isn’t known as a cheap destination, but if you’re set on visiting the Aloha state, choosing the right island can make a big difference in the cost of your trip. If you’re looking to save on a trip to Hawaii, head to the island of Oahu.

Of the four main Hawaiian islands for tourism — Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island — Oahu is the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit by multiple metrics. Oahu has the lowest daily average hotel room rate of the islands and the lowest average daily spending per tourist, according to May 2024 data from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

The cost of hotel rooms on Oahu

Though the average room rate in May 2024 across all of Hawaii was $342, Oahu hotel rooms average about 21% less, coming in at $272. That translates to about $70 per night less than the average.

In a breakdown of average daily room rates in May 2024 by island, Oahu shines.

One reason for Oahu’s lowest average room rate? The island also has the biggest supply. In fact, Oahu had more than double the number of hotel room nights than Maui, the next closest contender. read more

The biggest piece of the puzzle to send humans on a trip around the moon for the first time in more than half a century is on its way to Kennedy Space Center.

The Boeing-built core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket was loaded onto NASA’s Pegasus barge from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans earlier this week, and is now taking the 900-mile trip to Florida set to arrive early next week.

The @NASAArtemis II core stage is currently on its way to @NASAKennedy from the Michoud Assembly Facility! Exploration Ground Systems’ move director Stefan Nicolas explains how teams will move the massive core stage once it arrives. pic.twitter.com/N3mAPFrRMA

— NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) July 18, 2024

The flight hardware that includes the four RS-25 engines made by Aerojet Rocketdyne from the space shuttle era will then be taken to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be turned upright standing 212 feet tall. It will be married to other components of the SLS rocket including two solid rocket boosters from Northrop Grumman that when combined produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff. read more

SpaceX is looking for a quick return to flying its grounded Falcon 9 rocket while it works on an investigation for the Federal Aviation Administration about a partial failure of its workhorse hardware from a California launch last week.

Elon Musk’s company requested a public safety determination from the FAA on Monday that, if approved, would set up a return to launches, including several lined up from the Space Coast this month while the mishap investigation continues into the failed mission.

The FAA said in an emailed statement it was reviewing the request and it would be  “guided by data and safety at every step of the process.”

At issue is the failure of the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink satellite launch on July 11 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first stage lifted off as planned and made a successful recovery landing. The second stage, though, failed to relight its Merlin vacuum engine to put the 20 Starlink satellites into the intended orbit. read more

A Rhode Island man was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison for falsely accusing his girlfriend of bringing a bomb onto their flight out of Orlando, according to court records.

Evan Sims, 41, agreed to plead guilty to one count of false information or threats concerning aircraft as part of a March deal with prosecutors. He will also pay the airline $25,000, according to a press release. He was sentenced In Jacksonville where he’s remained in custody since his arrest.

Sims was traveling Dec. 5 on a Breeze Airways flight from Orlando International Airport to Providence, Rhode Island with his girlfriend. Passengers heard the two arguing on the plane before takeoff.

Sims was saying he’d never heard of the airline before and was hoping the plane wouldn’t “go down” and that they’d be “gone with the wind,” according to court records. The girlfriend repeatedly told him that she was breaking up with him and to leave her alone. She later stated that Sims poured a drink on her and cursed at her. read more