Panama City officials expand St. Andrews CRA boundary
The CRA boundary is currently along Beck Ave. and part of 15th St., but will soon extend west from Beck Ave. on 15th St. to the Hathaway Bridge, and east along 15th St. over to Lisenby Ave.
A study found conditions of 'slum' and 'blight' in both areas that qualify them to be included in the CRA.
Officials say the purpose is to clear blight and enhance the area coming into the city and near downtown.
The county will retain 26% of the incremental revenue generated by the parcels in the expanded area.
'Some of us remember when there was this wonderful fishing village down in the heart of Beck Avenue, and it went into a state of decline. There were some unwanted businesses, there was blight and, and over the years as the, the taxes built up into a fund that could be reinvested by property owners, we saw then upgrades to property, new businesses come into the area and we're looking to see the same thing east and west along the business 98 corridor,' Panama City commissioner Janice Lucas said.
The city will decide how the new CRA funds will be dispersed at a later date.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Upturn
an hour ago
- Business Upturn
Coursera Appoints Ashutosh Gupta as Managing Director for India and Asia Pacific
Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR), a leading online learning platform, today announced the appointment of Ashutosh Gupta as Managing Director for India and Asia Pacific. In this role, he will lead Coursera's enterprise business across the region, working closely with companies, campuses, and governments to equip students, citizens, and employees with skills for the digital economy. Business Wire India Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR), a leading online learning platform, today announced the appointment of Ashutosh Gupta as Managing Director for India and Asia Pacific. In this role, he will lead Coursera's enterprise business across the region, working closely with companies, campuses, and governments to equip students, citizens, and employees with skills for the digital economy. 'Ashutosh's deep experience in the region and his work with mission-driven organizations make him an ideal leader to drive Coursera's next phase of growth in Asia Pacific,' said Karine Allouche, General Manager, Enterprise, Coursera. 'His understanding of public-private partnerships, and track record of scaling regional businesses will be critical as we help institutions across the region navigate rapid change and prepare their communities for an AI-driven future.' Ashutosh brings more than two decades of leadership experience across India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on business growth, digital innovation, and scaling operations. Most recently, he served as an Operating Partner at Avataar Ventures, advising SaaS companies on go-to-market strategy and revenue acceleration across India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Prior to that, he was the Country Manager for LinkedIn India and led LinkedIn Marketing Solutions' mid-market and SMB business across APAC. During his tenure, he led localization efforts to broaden platform accessibility and drove strong regional revenue growth. He has also held senior roles at Google, Cognizant, and Infosys, leading global transformation programs and managing strategic client relationships. 'I'm thrilled to join Coursera at such a pivotal time for the region,' said Gupta. 'Asia Pacific, with its large and young population, is at the heart of AI-led transformation. Having worked closely with institutions across the region, I've seen the value of trusted, flexible, and job-relevant learning first-hand. I'm excited to build on Coursera's mission and help more learners unlock opportunity at scale.' Ashutosh holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow and a from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT BHU) Varanasi. His appointment comes at a critical time as Coursera deepens its presence in Asia Pacific, where demand for industry-aligned micro-credentials, AI-powered tools, and credit pathways is accelerating. With some of the world's most forward-looking education and AI policies and strong government support, the region is primed for transformation. Coursera, with more than 59 million learners and hundreds of enterprise customers across Asia Pacific, is well-positioned to help campuses, governments, and businesses build a more skilled, adaptable, and future-ready talent pool. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. Business Upturn take no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Hamilton Spectator
11 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Want to invest but need ready access to cash? A TFSA might be your best bet — but there are rules
Looking for an investment vehicle flexible enough to get your hands on your money quickly? A tax-free savings account might just be the answer. But experts warn there are mistakes you need to avoid to steer clear of penalties. A common gaffe is accidentally over-contributing to your TFSA, says Jason Heath, managing director at Objective Financial Partners in Toronto. The TFSA annual limit for 2025 is $7,000. If you've never contributed to a TFSA before and turned 18 before 2009, you would have a maximum lifetime TFSA contribution of $102,000 as of Jan. 1, 2025. Over-contributions are subject to a one per cent penalty for every month the excess amount remains in your TFSA. The CRA tracks your TFSA contributions across institutions and updates your contribution limit in the first few months of every calendar year. While the CRA had some issues with their TFSA reporting this year, Heath says the agency's reporting is generally reliable. 'Be careful about taking withdrawals and then contributing in the same year, especially using the TFSA like a savings account,' says Heath. When you withdraw from your TFSA, you regain your contribution room — but not until the following January. For example, if you withdrew $1,000 from your TFSA in March 2025, that additional $1,000 in contribution room will not be applied to your TFSA until January 2026. You can also accidentally overcontribute when transferring a TFSA from one financial institution to another, specifically by liquidating the funds and then recontributing them yourself, says Aldo Lopez-Gil, a Toronto-based financial adviser with Edward Jones. While it's true that you can choose what you put in your TFSA — ETFs, GICs, stocks, bonds and cash — and withdraw it tax-free, there are exceptions. For instance, U.S. stocks that pay out dividends in your TFSA are typically subject to a 15 per cent non-resident withholding tax, points out Lopez-Gil. For investors who want to be strategic, Lopez-Gil says it's usually more favourable to hold a U.S. stock in an RRSP, where it won't be subject to the withholding tax. That said, Heath points out that the withholding tax alone isn't a reason to exclude U.S. stocks from your TFSA. The dividend yield for the S&P 500 is about 1.3 per cent, so a 15 per cent withholding tax amounts to a mere one-third of a per cent, he points out. ' Sometimes there's a small cost to a potential benefit.' One of the main advantages of a TFSA is that any interest, dividends and capital gains earned in your TFSA can grow tax-free. Sometimes TFSAs are marketed as savings accounts, offering promotional rates to customers, points out Lopez-Gil. 'Bank-branch advisers are limited to bank-branded mutual funds, GICs or savings accounts as TFSA investments. A frequent road tripper and financial planner points to credit card offers, loyalty programs and For this reason, people may miss out on investing the assets in the TFSAs in stocks, bonds and ETFs, which are investment vehicles that tend to have higher growth opportunity.' At the same time, be careful about investing in an 'overly speculative fashion,' says Heath. 'Obviously, you want to earn high returns, and a tax-free environment is good for that. But if you're taking risks and you lose money, that's not good either because you don't get that TFSA room back.' 'If you lose $10,000 in a TFSA, that $10,000 is gone forever.'
Chicago Tribune
14 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Valpo Council approves new Midwood Terrace annexation despite concerns
The Valparaiso City Council approved annexation for an 80-acre parcel in rural Center Township as part of a project led by Lake Acquisitions, Inc. and Prairie Development, LLC. The council passed the annexation 5-2, with councilmen Jack Pupillo, 4th district, and Peter Anderson, 5th district, voting in opposition. The area is currently zoned Medium Density Single-Family (R2) in this unincorporated area of fields in Porter County, and the petitioners have also been granted their request to change the zoning for the property as Urban Residential (UR) and General Residential (GR) which will allow for multi-family townhouse structures. But that rezone has current homeowners in adjacent neighborhoods concerned about additional traffic and an oversaturation of addresses. The Porter County Plan Commission previously approved the new subdivision primary plat by developer Olthof Homes. The approximately 80-acre property is made up of four parcels located in the northwest corner of CR 175 West and CR 500 North. The annexation vote and discussion started last month at the Valparaiso City Council's June 9 meeting with a first reading, discussion and public input and continued with a second public hearing and final vote of Resolution No. 6 and Ordinance No. 11 at the June 23 meeting. Valparaiso City Planner Bob Thompson and Kevin Pauzer, an architect and project representative with Olthof Homes, gave a detailed presentation at both of the meetings. Following concerns raised by both council members and members of the public on June 9 about the housing density planned for the development, Olthof Homes scaled back some of the structures to allow for more parking and green space. The revised project will have 147 single-family homes, an additional 18 larger single-family home units, and 126 townhouses. 'The developer has already reached out to Valparaiso Superintendent Dr. (Jim) McCall about this planned community and the impact and need for schools, and the superintendent does not have a problem with any of it, and just asked to be kept informed,' Thompson said. Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas said he too spoke to McCall and the new community did not present any problems. However, McCall said it is likely in the future a new elementary school would likely be built in the same area to parallel population growth. Phil Page, who lives near the proposed development, spoke at the June 23 meeting about 'too much traffic along 500 North.' 'I like to jog in that area and it's already dangerous with the amount of traffic flow,' Page said. 'Even with the concessions made by the developer for few homes, this is still too urban for that area. I understand that Olthof Homes wants to make money by selling as many homes as possible. The single-family homes are fine, but not the townhouses.' Mike Pratscher, who also lives in the area, said he is worried about Olthof's history in other communities for creating developments with poor drainage. 'I share the concerns of others about drainage problems after I discovered Olthof has paid more than 100 fines to the town of Chesterton from October 2020 to March 2022 because of poor stormwater management for the Springdale subdivision,' Pratcher said. 'I'm also (worried) that some of these townhomes will eventually become rentals which leads to increased crime rate.' Valparaiso City Council Member Barbara Domer (D-3) said this development is needed to give more residents more choices of houses. 'In my review process, I looked at the higher density concerns and based on what a previous housing consultant to the city advised, looking at census and data resources, there are roughly 1,000 households in our city that are looking within the city to advance their household needs,' Domer said. 'I refer to this as 'our missing middle,' for affordable housing for those ready to move within our city for a new type of housing for their growing needs.' Pupillo and Anderson countered that the inclusion of townhouses in the development make the planned neighborhood too dense 'without enough concessions being made, besides dropping the five units in the revised plan.' Costas said he recognized 'change is hard' and 'our borders are growing.' 'Having a variety of housing options with our expanding borders of Valparaiso is a good thing,' Costas said. 'I've seen with my experiences over the years, the quality of life still remains and we work through the issues. For many of you speaking here tonight, I can recall when your subdivisions were proposed and there were those who spoke out against it. Had we listened, you wouldn't be living where you are now. In this area, there are very large lots and various size spaces in developments like Peppercreek. We need to make sure we have housing for everyone.'
