Things To Do In SW Florida

By Taryn Phaneuf | NerdWallet

Average grocery prices rose slightly last month, according to the latest consumer price index, reversing a months-long trend of steady or falling prices.

Overall, food prices — which includes both food at home (groceries) and restaurant purchases — increased 0.2% from May to June, according to the CPI report released July 11 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI, which serves as a proxy for inflation, measures changes in average costs of items in a given period.

The report shows food prices are 2.2% higher than they were 12 months ago. By comparison, prices rose 5.7% over the previous one-year period in 2023. While inflation isn’t rising as fast as it once was, food still feels expensive. In fact, food prices have risen 26% since the start of 2020.

Here are the broad strokes on food prices found in the latest report:

Groceries: The index for food at home is 1.1% higher year-over-year. From May to June, grocery costs increased 0.1%.

Dining out: Restaurant patrons are still paying more (4.1%) for food than they did a year ago. And the price index rose 0.4% from May to June. Specifically: read more

PORT CANAVERAL — Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney and MSC Cruises may be competitors, but leaders from the cruise lines came together on board Royal’s newest cruise ship Utopia of the Seas this weekend to solve the collective problem of reducing carbon emissions.

Royal used the first shakedown sailing of Utopia of the Seas to bring together representatives from shipping and other maritime sectors to a Decarbonization Summit. The goal: to try and set the standards for how the industry will get to its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“We’re all locked in for 2 1/2 days. We can’t escape. We’re all going to be in here until the white smoke comes out,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, the CEO of Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, referencing the Catholic Church’s tradition for when a new pope is chosen.

He was part of the keynote address for the summit Friday ahead of a three-night cruise from Port Canaveral hosted by Royal Caribbean on board its ship that arrived to Port Canaveral this past Thursday, and is set to begin sailing with paying customers for the first time on Friday this week. read more

Unfortunately, many families don’t take advantage of the opportunity to make contributions to spousal IRAs when they can afford to do so.

In addition, I believe when you can do so you should favor Roth accounts. Following are the regulations related to contributing to spousal IRAs.

When a couple file a joint return, and as long as one of the spouses has earned income, contributions can be made to the IRA accounts of a nonworking spouse or a spouse whose earnings are below the level which allows maximum IRA contributions.

If you don’t take advantage of the opportunity to make the maximum contribution to the nonworking spouse in a year in which you don’t make the contribution, you can’t make a larger contribution in a subsequent year.

Making such contributions can make a significant difference when you approach retirement. Contributions you make to a spousal IRA account have the same advantages you have with your own IRA account. All dividends and increases in value grow on a tax-deferred basis. If you select a Roth option, all earnings and increases in value will be tax-free. read more

There was no discussion and no public comment, but on Tuesday Lake County became the first municipality in Central Florida to deny property tax exemptions for affordable housing developments that previously qualified for such incentives under a tough Florida pro-housing law.

It was an early salvo in what could be dozens of silent strikes from cities and counties across Florida on the so-called Live Local Act, a law meant to encourage more affordable workforce housing and prevent the types of double-digit rent spikes Florida has seen in recent years.

Winter Park’s City Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to do the same, and Maitland is expected to do so at its next meeting, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

And while local officials say they’re taking a stand against tax giveaways, housing advocates say the moves may push up rents at apartments targeted at low- and moderate-income Floridians.

In addition to encouraging the construction of new affordable housing by loosening zoning requirements, the Live Local law has provided tax incentives for new and recently completed apartment communities to help their owners keep rents attainable. So any project would be eligible for a 75% savings on its property tax bill if it’s less than five years old, has at least 70 units and offers rents considered affordable for tenants earning up to 120% of the area median income, or AMI, (around $90,000 for a two-person household) read more

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s citrus industry limped to the end of the 2023-2024 growing season, with farmers hoping newly planted and recovering trees can avoid hurricane damage this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday released a final report about the 2023-2024 season and slightly boosted estimates of orange production from a June report. Overall citrus numbers were up 11.4 percent from the 2022-2023 season — but 2022-2023 had the lowest production in nearly 100 years.

Matt Joyner, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, expressed optimism about the industry, while acknowledging the industry’s ongoing recovery from 2022’s Hurricane Ian requires “favorable weather conditions.”

“We just really need to make it through this year,” Joyner said. “Let these trees recover, and let’s get a good harvest and something we can start building some momentum on.”

The industry has been in a hyper-recovery mode since Hurricane Ian caused massive damage to groves as it swept across the state. Growers have expressed a need for two or three seasons for impacted trees to recover and new plantings to take hold. read more