Yearly Archives: 2016

The Florida Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) Division of Investigative and Forensic Services announced today the recent arrest of George Garcia, 69, following his alleged unlicensed insurance activity that resulted in the theft of at least $48,507 in escrow payments from 10 unsuspecting South Florida homeowners

Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices and fewer all-cash sales in October, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Shortfalls in inventory continued to impact sales statewide: Single-family home sales totaled 20,194, down 5.3% from October 2015, while townhouse-condo sales totaled 7,955, down 12.3 percent compared to a year ago

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement today after the passage of H.R. 6297, the Iran Sanctions Extension Act

A new AARP report issued today details the out-of-pocket costs for caregivers in the United States – on average, family caregivers are spending 20 percent of their total income on caregiving expenses. This builds on last year’s AARP family caregiving report, which revealed the number of family caregivers in the United States – about 40 million, with Florida home to nearly 2.7 million of these caregivers.

The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) is a federal program managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide housing assistance and supportive services for low-income people living with AIDS. HUD provides funding for this program in the form of grants, and grantees include cities, nongovernmental organizations, and other entities.

Mid-market Miami single-family homes posted increased sales in the third quarter as 17 Miami neighborhoods registered year-over-year home sales gains and median prices rose for the 19^th consecutive quarter, according to a new report by the 44,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) and the local Multiple Listing Service systems.

All offices of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners, Clerk of Courts, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections and Tax Collector will be closed Friday, Nov. 11 in honor of Veterans Day

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, was today recognized with the Change Maker Award by the Homeless Trust. Diaz-Balart, who has served in this role since 2014, has worked with his colleagues to provide additional opportunities for Broward, Collier, Hendry, and Miami-Dade Counties to compete for federal grants. Diaz-Balart has prioritized housing programs that serve the most vulnerable in our community, including homeless and voucher programs.

Florida’s housing market reported rising median prices, more new listings and fewer days to a sales contract during the third quarter of 2016, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 71,857 in 3Q 2016, almost the same level (down 0.4 percent) as during 3Q 2015

Polls conducted this past week indicate a sharp momentum shift on the anti-solar Amendment 1 ballot initiative in Florida. As public backlash mounts, the electric utility interests funding the deceptively worded amendment have doubled down, reportedly spending another $3.5 million to continue to deceive Floridians

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced that the Florida Division of Unclaimed Property, which operates under the direction of the CFO and the Department of Financial Services, completed another record-breaking month of returns in October. During October, the Division processed and paid more than $33 million in claims. Nearly 58,000 claims were processed and the resulting funds were returned back to the rightful owners. The previous highest month on record with $32.1 million returned was February 2016.

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners will present its State of the County program at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in the County Commission Chambers of the Lake County Administration Building, located at 315 W. Main St., Tavares.

Mid-market Miami single-family home sales increased as prices for all properties continued their upward trend in September, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system

Florida’s housing market reported more new listings, increased median prices and fewer all-cash closed sales in September, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the statement below following the reported deceptive strategy behind Florida’s solar amendment. “I represent the State of Florida on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and have a bird’s-eye view of energy policy across America.

This month, the Florida Department of Children and Families' Office of Homelessness completed its annual State Emergency Solutions Grant ("ESG"), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ("TANF") Prevention Assistance, Challenge Grant awards for Fiscal Year 2017. Broward County's "A Way Home" Continuum of Care has been awarded $200,000 in ESG funds; $31,500 in TANF Prevention funds; and $205,500 in Challenge Grant funds for a total of $437,000 in new funding to our community

U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) called on the Army Corps and FEMA to work together to repair damage to Florida's beaches following Hurricane Matthew to protect the coastline and mitigate future damage. Strong shorelines and dunes provide vital barriers to protect lives and property from storm surges and beach restoration is found to have a high return on investment