Things To Do In SW Florida

With hopes of capitalizing on pickleball’s growing popularity, a developer has submitted plans for a 44-court complex in Ocoee that could host large tournaments,  according to a GrowthSpotter report.

The proposed facility would include a mixture of indoor and outdoor courts, with a site plan indicating that 20 would be indoor, with the remainder outside. The outdoor courts would be covered, featuring a roof that shields players from the elements and ceiling fans that can cool visitors.

Additionally, the center would have a 14,000-square-foot, two-story pro shop and cafe.

It calls for about 150,000 square feet of space on six acres at 1000 Jacob Nathan Blvd. in Ocoee. Property records indicate that the property’s owner, Vasant Sports LLC, purchased the land last October for just more than $2.7 million.

Representatives from Vasant Sports LLC couldn’t be reached for comment.

Plans submitted to Ocoee show a proposed “championship” court, which indicates that the facility could hold large pickleball tournaments. A staff analysis from the city says the owner plans to incorporate “real-time technology” that will notify players when they should arrive at the facility and when their designated court is available for play. read more

Q: Lately, some of the renters in our townhome community have been disruptive. There have been noise disturbances, domestic violence, unleashed pets, and even open drug use. When some homeowners raised their concerns, the association said their ability to address the problem was limited, and changing rental bylaws was almost impossible. What can we do to make our neighborhood safe and peaceful again? — Brian

A: Dealing with unruly neighbors can be difficult, and even a single disruptive neighbor can ruin the other homeowners’ enjoyment of their neighborhood. Unfortunately, I have seen this issue occur many times in my law practice.

You seem to have taken the first step in alerting your homeowner association board to the problem. However, rather than addressing the problem directly, they seem to be trying to stop renting altogether, which is quite an undertaking. In most associations, it will require most, if not all, owners to agree to ban renting outright. This is unlikely to occur since some owners are already renting their units. read more

Tony Leys | (TNS) KFF Health News

GRINNELL, Iowa — A for-profit company has proposed turning a boarded-up former nursing home here into a psychiatric hospital, joining a national trend toward having such hospitals owned by investors instead of by state governments or nonprofit health systems.

The companies see a business opportunity in the shortage of inpatient beds for people with severe mental illness.

The scarcity of inpatient psychiatric care is evident nationwide, especially in rural areas. People in crisis often are held for days or weeks in emergency rooms or jails, then transported far from their hometowns when a bed opens in a distant hospital.

Eight nonprofit Iowa hospitals have shuttered their psychiatric units since 2007, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Iowa closed two of its four mental health institutions in 2015.

The state now ranks last in the nation for access to state-run psychiatric hospitals, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center. The national group, which promotes improving care for people with severe mental illness, recommends states have at least 50 state-run psychiatric beds per 100,000 people. Iowa has just two such beds per 100,000 residents, the group said. read more

By Rosalie Murphy | NerdWallet

When Kaustubh Deo, president of Washington-based Blooma Tree Experts, bought the company from its retiring owner, he inherited a weekly payroll system and quickly learned to appreciate shorter pay periods.

“If you give somebody a raise, they feel that [increase] like three days after you tell them about it,” Deo says. And payroll errors can be corrected faster, too: “It’s one thing if it’s to wait two weeks or four weeks for that to get resolved, but if it’s next week, employees aren’t that worried about it.”

The bulk (63%) of American workers are paid biweekly or twice a month, according to a February 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey. But around 27% of workers said they were paid weekly. And technologies like earned wage access are giving more workers the option to draw on their wages between paydays.

For employees, less time between paychecks can increase feelings of financial security, says Karen Burke, a knowledge advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management. read more

Q: I am approaching 65, and have to make some decisions regarding enrolling in Medicare. I will be working after age 65. My employer is willing to continue some health-care coverage after 65. My employer has fewer than 20 employees. Do I have to enroll in Medicare Part B?

A. If your employer has fewer than 20 employees, then it is mandatory for employees to sign up for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) when they reach age 65 to avoid penalties.

Some employers with fewer than 20 employees do offer health benefits to employees older than 65, and some partly subsidize Part B premiums for employees who continue to work.

These employees are required to enroll in Part B during the initial enrollment period (during the seven-month period that straddles the month they turn 65).

Those who fail to enroll during this period may be penalized when they do sign up for Part B. Monthly Part B premiums may increase up to 10% for each full 12 months in the period that employees could have enrolled in Part B but did not. read more