Things To Do In SW Florida

Pulte Homes and partner Sun Terra Communities have paid $90 million for 549 acres of residential land in Wellness Way, making it the most expensive land deal ever in Lake County, according to Lake Property Appraiser Carey Baker.

The Atlanta-based homebuilder closed its purchase of the residential portion of the 840-acre Schofield master-planned community in two transactions. It purchased a future Del Webb community for $37.5 million and partnered with Sun Terra on a $52.5 million deal to landbank the rest of the property, which will be home to an all-ages residential community, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

Max Perlman, Pulte Vice President of Land Acquisition, told GrowthSpotter the goal is to break ground before the end of the year with sales to begin in late 2025. The nation’s third largest homebuilder hasn’t named the all-ages community yet, but Perlman said it will be different from Pulte’s nearby Parkside Trails community on Wellness Way Boulevard.

“Both the Del Webb and primary offerings at Schofield will have lifestyle centered around Lake Adain, which will offer kayaking, paddle boarding and a lakefront lifestyle, which will be unique to other new home communities in the area,” he said. “Both the Webb and Pulte branded communities will have amenity buildings on Lake Adain that add to this lifestyle as well as offering lakefront homesites, which will not be offered at Parkside Trails.” read more

Not everyone will be happy when the Federal Reserve begins lowering interest rates after it declares victory over inflation.

Remember, there is a large but low-profile flock of folks with money who like to profit in a very old-fashioned way – savings accounts.

For almost two years, these investors enjoyed the highest rates on these zero-risk bets since the turn of the century. But now it seems the “bull market” for no-brainer savings may be coming to an end.

So for fans of these less-than-sexy investments, it may be time to get busy locking in some longer-term deals with certificates of deposit. And I wish I could end this column right here and tell you to simply go to your neighborhood banking institution and load up on attractive CD rates.

But unfortunately, finding decent deals is not very simple. So let me walk you through the CD maze.

First a history lesson

Before the Fed’s war on inflation began in 2022 with rising rates, the post-Great Recession era was painful for savers. Yields crumbled to near zilch as the Fed used cheap money to ease the financial woes. Then they repeated the tactic to soothe the pandemic’s business challenges. read more

Not everyone will be happy when the Federal Reserve begins lowering interest rates after it declares victory over inflation.

Remember, there is a large but low-profile flock of folks with money who like to profit in a very old-fashioned way – savings accounts.

For almost two years, these investors enjoyed the highest rates on these zero-risk bets since the turn of the century. But now it seems the “bull market” for no-brainer savings may be coming to an end.

So for fans of these less-than-sexy investments, it may be time to get busy locking in some longer-term deals with certificates of deposit. And I wish I could end this column right here and tell you to simply go to your neighborhood banking institution and load up on attractive CD rates.

But unfortunately, finding decent deals is not very simple. So let me walk you through the CD maze.

First a history lesson

Before the Fed’s war on inflation began in 2022 with rising rates, the post-Great Recession era was painful for savers. Yields crumbled to near zilch as the Fed used cheap money to ease the financial woes. Then they repeated the tactic to soothe the pandemic’s business challenges. read more

Faith E. Pinho | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania almost immediately gave rise to internet conspiracy theories that experts say will influence how the nation deals with the shocking act of political violence.

The Trump attack marks the first time in decades someone had tried to take a presidential candidate’s life. While previous assassinations — notably the killing of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 — have brought conspiracy theories, the rise of partisan social media allows such claims to spread rapidly and in unexpected ways.

The Trump shooting claims typically came from random social media users — the writers casting aspersions or seeking to affix blame based on their place in the nation’s intensely polarized political landscape.

The conspiracies formed two now familiar camps — one blaming the “deep state” for what happened, the other claiming without evidence that the shooting was not what it seemed. read more

CAPE CANAVERAL — Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago, and suspect there are hundreds more that could house future astronauts.

An Italian-led team reported Monday that there’s evidence for a sizable cave accessible from the deepest known pit on the moon. It’s located at the Sea of Tranquility, just 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Apollo 11’s landing site.

The pit, like the more than 200 others discovered up there, was created by the collapse of a lava tube.

Researchers analyzed radar measurements by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and compared the results with lava tubes on Earth. Their findings appeared in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The radar data reveals only the initial part of the underground cavity, according to the scientists. They estimate it’s at least 130 feet (40 meters) wide and tens of yards (meters) long, probably more.

“Lunar caves have remained a mystery for over 50 years. So it was exciting to be able to finally prove the existence” of one, Leonardo Carrer and Lorenzo Bruzzone of the University of Trento, wrote in an email. read more