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City Hall is keeping a close watch on its neighbors across the street as several bills this legislative session threaten to deplete Tallahassee's breadwinning source of revenue.Commissioners and staff are scheduled to meet for a budget hearing this week, and on the docket to discuss are five bills that could limit "the local government's ability to generate revenue to fund critical services."With Gov. Ron DeSantis focused on eliminating property taxes in the state of Florida, the City of Tallahassee could be facing a budget overhaul in the years to come,...

Joshua Fechter and Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune  |  Wichita Falls Times Record NewsProperty tax cuts aren’t free. In fact, they’re costing Texas a fortune.The Texas House is considering a budget that would shell out $51 billion — 15% of the state's total two-year spending plan — to maintain and provide new property tax cuts. That number, more than the state allocates to transportation or higher education, is making even some Republicans nervous about the state’s ability to afford the tax relief if there’s an economic downturn.If it were its...

Some industry participants call this the policy that the National Association of Realtors should have put out.Protect yourself from these common real estate scamsReal estate scams are on the rise. Here’s how to protect your home and your wallet from the most common cons.A battle over how homeowners list their properties for sale is shaking up the housing industry, with big implications for sellers and buyers.On April 10, the massive real estate company Zillow announced it would not accept any listings that have been previously offered for sale in a...

Donna Marie Elkins, 59, was charged with assault and imprisonment after drawing a weapon on teens she said were fishing on her Florida property. The incident raised questions about property rights.Melbourne woman charged with holding teens at gunpointBrevard County Sheriff's deputies say Donna Marie Elkins, 59, drew a weapon on two teens she believed were fishing on her property.It was a sight that left Mike Jones sick to his stomach.There, live on his phone, was his son lying in the grass as a woman clutching a long pellet gun screamed,...

Stock market uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s tariffs has even casual investors anxiously watching the VIX, commonly called Wall Street’s panic index or fear gauge.The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index – known as VIX – measures market expectations of stock price changes over the next 30 days, according to Cboe Global Markets, which manages the index.Investors use it to anticipate how stocks will react in stressful economic times, including those caused by tariffs. If VIX activity goes up, the stock market will probably go down.On April 7, the index...

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun speaks during rally for property tax reform at Indiana StatehouseIndiana Gov. Mike Braun speaks during a rally for property tax reform Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Indiana Statehouse.(Correction: This story was updated to reflect that the 10% property tax credit is off of a homeowner's bill, not their assessed value.)The Indiana House on Thursday passed its version of the signature property tax relief bill that has grown to also include reforms of local government finance.  The complex tax proposal in Senate Bill 1, which passed the...

Greg Bensinger and Deborah Mary Sophia  |  ReutersAmazon Alexa now wants you to go hands-free in a carColumnist Marc Saltzman reviews one of the hands-free driving options, Alexa in a car.Marc Saltzman, Special for USA TODAYAmazon AMZN.O chief executive Andy Jassy on Thursday justified the company's billions of dollars in outlays for artificial intelligence development, saying the investment was necessary to remain competitive."If your mission is to make customers' lives better and easier every day, and you believe every customer experience will be reinvented by AI, you're going to invest deeply and...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to more than 75 U.S. trading partners except for China, whose tariff rate he said will increase to 125%, effective immediately.U.S. markets reacted favorably, surging higher in afternoon trading. The Dow gained nearly 3,000 points and the S&P 500 rose 474. The Nasdaq rose more than 1,800.Trump's decision is the latest is a series of market-wrenching moves that have taken place since the president announced a series of tariffs on April 2. Stock market declines and a...

Maurie Backman  |  The Motley FoolUS stocks suffer worst quarter since 2022 amid tariffs fearsTwo major US stock indexes ended their worst quarter in over two years, with the S&P 500 dropping 4.5% and the Nasdaq dipping 10.4%.The Dow Jones dropped 1.3%, marking its first consecutive monthly loss since October 2023, as the broader market faces uncertainty ahead of Trump's new tariffs.unbranded - NewsworthyA tumbling stock market has many Americans worried about their retirement portfolios. And if you feel similarly, that's quite understandable.Even if you've been through a stock market...

Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman on Drayk Bowen's leadershipNotre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman praises the leadership qualites of third-year linebacker Drayk Bowen, the former Indiana Mr. Football at Andrean High School.SOUTH BEND — It hasn’t been that long since Josh Lugg and Tommy Kraemer completed their Notre Dame football careers as starting offensive linemen.Yet they are proving just as effective as budding entrepreneurs in real estate management.South Bend-based Golden Legacy Partners, with Lugg and Kraemer as co-founders, announced Wednesday the strategic acquisition of ESC Property Services, which serves...