Things To Do In SW Florida

Tim Henderson | Stateline.org (TNS)

Black homeowners’ property values are on the rise across the country, with some of the biggest upswings in Midwestern and Southern states. The boon to Black homeowners, after decades of lagging property values, could help them close a racial wealth gap that has kept the American dream out of reach.

Home values increased on average 84% in majority-Black ZIP codes between 2016 and 2023, outpacing growth in white ZIP codes, where values grew 69%, according to a Stateline analysis of federal housing and census data.

A hot market during the COVID-19 pandemic, an intensifying housing shortage, and new state and federal efforts to fight appraisal bias may finally be moving Black homeowners a bit toward property value parity.

Morgan Williams, an attorney for the National Fair Housing Alliance, an advocacy group, cautioned that the push for more fair housing appraisals remains in the early stages. And he noted that even unbiased appraisals can perpetuate undervalued housing by using past sales as a benchmark. read more

SpaceX’s plans to build a Starship launch complex at Kennedy Space Center are moving closer to reality even as it potentially takes over a launch site from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was beginning an Environmental Impact Statement for Starship launches from KSC’s Launch Complex 39-A. SpaceX had already built the beginning of a Starship launch tower adjacent to its existing pad that supports Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

Noticeable work on that new launch tower stopped in late 2022 as SpaceX shifted focus to develop its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from its Texas test launch site where it has managed three flights with varying degrees of success. The powerful rocket produces more than 16 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, nearly double that of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for its Artemis program.

SpaceX’s 3rd Starship launch makes it to space without exploding, but breaks up on reentry

The most recent launch in March saw the Starship upper stage finally achieve orbit before it burned up on reentry over the Indian Ocean while the Super Heavy booster crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The previous two launch attempts both ended explosively. SpaceX is currently preparing for its fourth test flight. read more

It’s hard to fathom for a layman. But from garage to air it took the electric-powered Doroni Aerospace H1-X, a.k.a. “flying car,” just minutes to offer spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, PortMiami, Miami Beach and downtown Miami several hundred feet below.

Looming not far off to the northwest: the Seminole Hard Rock’s massive Guitar Hotel in Hollywood. Suddenly, it was easy to decide where to conclude this brief experiential trip.

With a few nudges of a joystick, the two-seat eVTOL descended gently and safely onto the roof, some 450 feet up.

Well, that was according to the flight simulator at Doroni’s headquarters in Pompano Beach.

Decades after The Jetsons, the animated TV sitcom that featured flying cars in the 1960s, developer-entrepreneurs are edging American commercial aviation toward the day when electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft will roll out of suburban garages for work commutes to downtowns, or shopping trips and dinner-and-movie dates in the suburbs.

Last year, Doroni founder and CEO Doron Merdinger made headlines when he became the first person to pilot a two-seat personal eVTOL in the U.S. He did it with a brief in-house liftoff of a predecessor prototype of the H1-X. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO (AP Retail Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — Target confirmed Friday that it won’t carry Pride Month merchandise at all stories this spring after the discount retailer experienced a backlash and lower sales over its collection honoring LGBTQ+ communities.

Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult apparel, home goods, foods and beverages would be based on “guest insights and consumer research.”

A Target spokesperson declined to disclose the number of stores where the merchandise will not be available, but the company said its online shop would offer a full assortment. The moves were first reported by Bloomberg.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round,” Target said in an emailed statement. “Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target.” read more

Q. Can you explain the regulations regarding successor beneficiaries of IRAs?

A. A successor beneficiary is the named beneficiary of an individual who has inherited an IRA. It’s important, if you are the beneficiary of an IRA, that you name a beneficiary of your inherited IRA immediately to avoid probate.

Successor beneficiaries must use the 10-year rule. If the original beneficiary has been using the 10-year rule, the successor beneficiary must continue to use the 10-year rule using the life expectancy of the original beneficiary.

For example, suppose your brother, Thomas, inherited an IRA from his mother three years ago who was taking yearly RMDs. He used the 10-year rule and had taken required minimum distributions (RMDs) for three years. You would be required to continue taking RMDs for seven years using Thomas’ single-life expectancy. At the end of seven years, you would have to distribute the remaining assets in the IRA.

If you inherited an IRA from someone who, as a beneficiary was withdrawing distributions on his life expectancy, (not the 10-year rule), you would be allowed to establish a 10-year rule for yourself and use the single life table based on the original beneficiary’s age. read more