Assignment 5A - Identifying Local Opportunities
“Florida
housing: $1 condos for sale in Palm Beach County? It’s true”
By Mike
Diamond Special to The Post
In this article, written on January 15th 2020, the author talks about the
unique situation of the housing markets in the form of giveaway condos at
Hunter’s Run and Boca West.
One such buyer of one of these giveaway condos bought it for $1500, but
it came with full furniture and a free one-year membership to the golf course. Condos in these Palm Beach area golf courses
are sold so cheaply for a number of reasons.
These include steep buy in fees that can exceed $80,000, annual dues as
high as $30,000, and a large market of sellers for a limited amount of buyers. Many former residents have decided to move
out to larger homes or retirement communities and want to sell their old place. Residents are also encouraged to sell since
they get 30% to 40% of their original buy-in fee refunded back to them (usually
around $30,000 or so). All of these
factors contribute to a market where the lowest condo listings go from between
$1 to under $5,000
The problem presented is one of economic value. Due to items such as high buy in fees and
annual dues, it no longer makes sense for some residents to continue living in
these condos on the Hunter’s Run golf course.
Since demand is much lower than supply, sellers have been forced to
lower their asks to dirt cheap prices to be able to get the condos off their
hands.
The people affected by the problem are the current and previous owners of
the condos who are forced to pay large fees in order to continue living
there. Over time, these exorbitant fees
and the substantial refund of buy in costs when selling have made it so that it’s
not worth it to the residents to keep their condos. Prospective buyers also have to deal with the
high buy in prices associated with the area.
“‘Unifying’ art replaces mural that featured
Confederate flag”
By Bobby Caina
Calvan, The Associated Press
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200114/unifying-art-replaces-mural-that-featured-confederate-flag
In this article, written on January 14th 2020, the author talks about the
Florida Senate’s unveiling of a new art piece to replace a mural that had the
Confederate flag featured on it.
The new art piece, a wood Florida-shaped carving, was commissioned to replace
the old “Five Flags” mural, which featured the Confederate flag. In recent years, monuments and depictions of
the Confederacy have attracted controversy, and this is the Florida Senate’s
effort to deal with it. Confederate
imagery, particularly the Confederate flag, has long been associated with
slavery and antiquated ideals. The KKK,
a white supremacy group, has long used the flag in its demonstrations and
activities.
The problem presented is one of controversial past history. The Confederate flag carries a stigma of
racism and oppression in the minds of many.
Although it was purely in a historical context, the Florida “Five Flags”
mural prominently depicted the Confederate flag. This problem was solved with the removal of
the mural in place of a large wooden artwork.
This new installation serves to exemplify the unyielding spirit of
Floridians.
The people affected by the problem are the common people, tourists, and
workers in the building. Since the mural
was in a prominent hallway adjacent to the Senate galleries where the public
can watch, the area got a lot of foot traffic.
People using the Senate floor chambers, including spectators and
politicians, would have to walk past this previous display for years. Visitors and tourists who came to the capital
would be affected as well.
“Florida
Buys Everglades Land to Prevent Oil Drilling”
By
Nathalia Ortiz and Andrew Quintana
In this article, written on January 15th 2020, the author talks about the
Everglades and a new 20,000-acre acquisition of land by the state of Florida
intended to prevent oil drilling in the area.
The Everglades is a large area
full of natural biodiversity, with many animals and plants that can’t be found
anywhere else. Due to its abundance of
natural resources, many projects to drill for oil have gotten underway,
threatening to greatly reduce the biodiversity for which the Everglades is
prized. This large 20,000-acre wetland acquisition
is the largest in a decade, and the land will be used for “restoration and
recreation”.
The problem presented is one of environmental impact. Oil drilling has profound negative impacts on
the land being mined. Companies such as
Kanter Real Estate (the seller of the land) drill oil wells that could
adversely impact the source of drinking water for millions of people. Mining of any type, especially for oil,
impacts the land in question in a variety of negative ways. This large acquisition of land helps protect
a portion of the Everglades from these effects.
The people affected by the problem are all Florida residents living near
the Everglades or depend on the Everglades in some way for natural resources. The new protection of this land helps
alleviate this issue of oil drilling. Potential
visitors to the Everglades would also have a new area to explore and
appreciate. The South Florida Water
Management District, which is paying for the land would be impacted to the tune
of $16.5 to $18 million when the purchase goes through.
“New road
closed in Miramar Beach due to ongoing U.S. Highway 98 project”
By Tony
Adame
In this article, written on January 7th 2020, the author talks about the
ongoing US Highway 98 project and new road closures in Miramar Beach as a
result of it.
US Highway 98 is currently
undergoing a large $42 million project of widening, expansion and improvement,
expected to be completed in early 2020.
This process has unfortunately caused an inconvenience and detour for
drivers using Mainsail Drive. Due to the
construction, they have to be rerouted to US 98 Eastbound and forced to turn
right.
The problem presented is one of expansion and its effects. The US Highway 98 project has caused road
closures in Miramar Beach, forcing drivers to be rerouted and take a detour. Westbound drivers have to make an additional
U-turn as well. Construction on the road
has inhibited normal everyday road use and inconvenienced drivers.
The people affected by the problem are the people that live around the
area or used the roads to get to their desired destination, usually local
residents. Even though those living in
residential homes on Mainsail Drive will still have normal access, those
traveling west will have to engage in extra steps to get there. Drivers who used Mainsail Road in any
capacity are impacted by the presence of this new detour.
“Teachers
rally, demand more money for schools”
By Hannah
Phillips Special to the Sun
In this article, written on January 13th 2020, the author talks about a
rally in Tallahassee staged by teachers to push for more pay and less state
testing.
Teachers across the state
gathered together to rally in Florida’s capital, holding signs demanding better
pay, less standardized testing and more school funding. They focused on bringing back arts and
physical education programs, ensuring a suitable number of school employees,
and investing in schools. Teachers at
the rally pushed for pay increases for all public-school staff, including
janitors and cafeteria staff.
The problem presented is one of inadequacy. The teachers attending the rally wish to make
change in the school system. Everybody
wants good quality education for children, but the school system has not been
given enough resources to be able to provide that. These teachers are speaking out with the
intent of getting those resources.
Governor DeSantis wants to increase minimum teacher salary to $47500 and
institute a bonus program for teachers and principals. However, this plan does not include other
essential school staff.
The people affected by the problem are school staff - teachers,
educators, and students. Teachers are
currently underpaid, overworked and would like to institute change, one of
their many reasons for rallying in Tallahassee.
Public schools as a whole are underfunded, leading to the cutting of
arts programs to try and stretch their budget as far as possible. Many teachers cannot work in this type of
environment and leave to find opportunities elsewhere. This creates a chain effect that impacts
students as well, who do not receive as high quality of an education as they
should.
Hello again Ulysses. Thanks for putting up with my responses. I'm enjoying much of your writing so far. Comments are split by story in the order that they're posted.
ReplyDelete1. I don't know what the term "high buy" technically means. I'm assuming that it simply refers to the excessive long term costs tied to the properties? I see high costs to the new owners as the problem. Was there any indiciation of a solution in the article?
2. Interesting second article. I see how the old mural was "problematic" to those who take offense to the flag's ties to historical racism. I wonder how that makes the artist of the original mural feel.
3. Do we know why their is such a wide spread on the sale price? Great example of a problem in this article Ulysses: impacts on drinking water.
4. You termed the problem in this article as expansion. True. It's interesting how progress can be detrimental in the short term. There's an analogy in there somewhere about personal development.
5. A base salary of 47.5 is a problem. These people pour their hearts and souls and their very life into the children of strangers, for what. $47,500, that's if they get this wage raise. Life is tough.
Great articles. Again you showed your audience the clarity of both your writing and thinking. Keep it up Ulysses.
Ulysses, you chose a nice variety of stories to cover, which I really enjoyed. The story that stood out to me the most and frankly made me happiest, was that Florida bought the Everglades land to prevent oil drilling. The Everglades are such an important part of Florida's ecosystem and already have so many human-caused issues, oil drilling would just be the tip of the iceberg. It is extremely important that we protect the Everglades as it affects the well- being of our entire state. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHello Ulysses,
ReplyDeleteI found your articles you chose to be interesting and varied, making it interesting to read. I found all your local problems presented to be interesting. You made it very clear who was facing the problem and why the problem existed and what had caused it. It is interesting to try and think how some of these problems or opportunities could be solved and fixed.