Things To Do In SW Florida

Florida’s tourism oversight district gave initial approval Wednesday to a proposed $17 billion Walt Disney World development plan, opening the door to a potential fifth theme park.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s board voted unanimously for the 15-year agreement, which outlines how Disney World will grow in the future. It will need a final vote on June 12 to take effect.

“The development agreement will enable us to continue to invest significantly in the district,” said Woody Rodriguez, director of external affairs for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Disney officials haven’t provided specifics on what is in the works, but the company says in the proposal it will invest up to $17 billion over the next 10 to 20 years. The agreement includes a commitment of $8 billion during the first 10 years.

District officials are committing to fund road and other infrastructure projects to support the new development.

In the deal, Disney also agrees to provide $10 million for affordable housing projects and a “buy local initiative” with at least half of construction goods and services going to Florida businesses. read more

By JAMEY KEATEN (Associated Press)

GENEVA (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called Wednesday for a “windfall” tax on profits of fossil fuel companies to help pay for the fight against global warming, calling them the “godfathers of climate chaos.”

Guterres spoke in a bid to revive the world’s focus on climate change at a time when elections, inflation and conflict in places like Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan have seized the spotlight.

In a speech timed for World Environment Day, the U.N. chief drew on new data and projections to make a case against Big Oil. The European Union’s Copernicus service, a global reference for tracking world temperatures, said that last month was the hottest May ever, marking the 12th straight monthly record high.

The service cited an average surface air temperature of 15.9 degrees Celsius (60.6 degrees Fahrenheit) last month — 1.52 degrees Celsius higher than the estimated May average before industrial times.

The burning of fossil fuels — oil, gas and coal — is the main contributor to global warming caused by human activity. read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — A pair of NASA astronauts have taken the ride back to the launch pad awaiting what they hope will be a historic ride this morning on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner making its first-ever human spaceflight.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams are back for a third time in a month once again taking a ride out to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 to climb on board the spacecraft sitting atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket aiming for liftoff at 10:52 a.m. to take the pair to the International Space Station.

“Third time’s the charm,” said NASA astronaut Mike Fincke during NASA’s live broadcast. “Beautiful day outside, the rocket’s ready the crew’s getting suited up. This is an awesome day.”

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 90% chance for good conditions.

The pair look to launch on the Crew Flight Test, a followup to two uncrewed test flights, the first of which came in 2019. That mission was a partial failure as it was not able to rendezvous with the International Space Station forcing a 2 1/2-year delay to Boeing’s program to remedy hardware, software and management issues. The second uncrewed test flight in 2022 made it to the ISS, but post-launch review and preparation for the CFT brought further delays with more hardware issues popping up. read more

SpaceX queued up another Starlink launch from the Space Coast on Tuesday night, this time carrying some satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 10:16 p.m, liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 with a payload is 20 Starlink satellites, 13 of which are designed to transmit directly to cell phones.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/Rk1bBe6rUW

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 5, 2024

This was the 20th flight of the first-stage booster that made a recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.

It marked the 42nd launch from the Space Coast this year, with all but two coming from SpaceX.

Boeing’s Starliner set up for 3rd shot at 1st human spaceflight

United Launch Alliance, which flew the other two, is set to fly its third of the year just over 12 hours later on Wednesday morning from neighboring Space Launch Complex 41. That launch is an Atlas V rocket on the Crew Flight Test launch of a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station. read more

By Holden Lewis | NerdWallet

If you sell your home after the middle of August, cheers: You could end up pocketing the money that previously would have gone to the buyer’s agent.

But before you celebrate, consider the downside of waiting until late summer to list your home for sale: House prices tend to fall after August. The price drop might surpass the money you save on commission.

New policies governing real estate commissions are set to go into effect Aug. 17 as a result of the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit. The amended policies give home sellers more room to negotiate what to do about the buyer’s commission — whether they want to use it to induce competitive bids or keep it to themselves entirely.

The choices complicate this season more than usual, for both buyers and sellers. Here’s what to know to help you and your agent come up with the best strategy for you.

What, exactly, is changing?

Starting Aug. 17, sellers will no longer set the commissions for real estate agents who represent buyers. Buyers will decide how much their agents will be paid. Even when sellers are willing to pay some or all of the commission for the buyer’s agent, the amount will no longer appear on the multiple listing service. read more