Things To Do In SW Florida

Shawn Wen | (TNS) Bloomberg News

In 2012 a 15-year-old girl died in Berlin after being hit by a subway train. Her bereaved parents asked Facebook to turn over her private messages in hopes of understanding whether her death was a suicide or an accident.

Facebook refused. Her death had already been reported to the social media site, which then converted her profile to a “memorialized account.” According to the company’s policy at the time, no one could access memorialized accounts, even with a password. After years of lawsuits and appeals, Germany’s highest court in 2018 ordered Facebook to turn over the profile.

The “Afterlife of Data” (April 11, University of Chicago Press), a slim book by Carl Öhman, an assistant professor of political science at Uppsala University in Sweden, takes on the central question of whether Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., as well as companies such as Alphabet Inc. and Apple Inc., should have the power to decide what happens to our data after our deaths. read more

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWallet

Student loan forgiveness has a mixed track record. Last summer, the Supreme Court struck down a broad plan that would’ve erased up to $20,000 per borrower. Still, student loan forgiveness is more accessible now than ever before. A handful of existing federal student loan forgiveness programs have erased $143.6 billion in student debt for 3.96 million borrowers as of March 21, according to the Education Department, with more to come this year.

The White House is currently trying to push through a narrower forgiveness ‘Plan B’ version of its failed broad forgiveness plan. The proven paths to forgiveness, however, include programs that range from income-driven repayment (IDR) plans — which cap monthly bills at a percentage of your income and forgive your remaining balance after 10 to 25 years — to niche programs for borrowers with certain loan types, jobs or school circumstances.

Here’s how to get student loan forgiveness in 2024 — and what you need to know before pursuing this path. read more

Universal Orlando has released more details about Stella Nova and Terra Luna resorts, two of the hotels designed for the under-construction theme park Epic Universe. They’re all scheduled to open in 2025.

Thursday’s announcement centered primarily on food and beverage outlets and the continuation of the intergalactic theming of the resorts.

The lobby bars will be called Nova Bar at Stella Nova and Luna Bar at Terra Luna.

Cosmos Cafe and Market will be the quick-service restaurant at Stella Nova, while its companion eatery over at Terra Luna will be called Omega Cafe and Market. Both will be have “made-to-order American classic” fare and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Universal said. They’ll also have grab-and-go selections.

Each resort will have walk-up bars and grills. It’s Galaxy Bar and Galaxy Grill at Stella Nova, then Moonrise Bar and Moonrise Grill at Terra Luna. Menu items will include hamburgers, quesadillas and salads, Universal said.

Both will have swimming pools covering almost 10,000 square feet. Other resort amenities will include fitness centers, game rooms and recreation rooms. Both resorts will have stores selling merchandise and necessities. read more

TALLAHASSEE — Private insurers pulled more than 275,000 policies last year from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and have taken nearly 115,000 this year, with Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio saying he thinks “we’re coming through to the other side” after years of troubles in the market.

Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, ballooned during the past few years to become the largest insurer in the state as private carriers dropped customers and raised rates because of financial troubles.

But after the Legislature approved a series of changes to try to bolster the market, private insurers took 275,324 Citizens policies in 2023 through what is known as a “depopulation” program.

By comparison, private carriers took 16,408 policies in 2022, 2,814 policies in 2021 and 7,463 policies in 2020, according to data presented Wednesday during a meeting of the Citizens Board of Governors.

State leaders have long sought to minimize the number of policies in Citizens, at least in part because of financial risks if the state gets hit by a major hurricane or multiple hurricanes. read more

TALLAHASSEE — Florida State University is in line to receive up to nearly $98.5 million to construct aerospace and advanced manufacturing facilities in Panama City, under a contract approved Wednesday by the Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors.

In November, the board voted to negotiate terms and a contract for what’s known as the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE) project.

The facility, which supporters say could be a boon for North Florida’s economy, is slated to be located within or near a technology park called the Northwest Florida Beaches Airport and the Venture Crossings.

The seven-member board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a contract to pay for the project through a grant award agreement of up to $98.453,615. The money is part of the funds that came to the state through a settlement with BP oil company over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s intended to help Panhandle counties impacted by the oil spill. read more