Featured Stories

Effective January 1, 2015 the minimum wage will be $8.05 per hour, up from the current rate of $7.93. The Federal minimum wage rate is $7.25; however, employees must be paid the minimum wage rate set by the state for which they are employed. Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing the state minimum wage...

IR-2014-114, Dec. 10, 2014 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville Building Inspection Department is pleased to announce the availability of online building permits, effective Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. This enhanced service is available to all contractors and property owners who register with the city (state law does require applicants to initially register in person). Applicants will be able...

United Way of North Central Florida names Deborah Bowie as President and CEO GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2014) — Deborah Bowie has been named president and CEO of United Way of North Central Florida. The United Way board and staff members are extremely excited for Bowie to join the team. Dana Clayton, vice president of...

By Katina Prokos Happy New Year! Since the only constant in communications is change, this year it is more important than ever to look ahead and adapt public relations strategies accordingly. Keep the following trends in mind to give your brand an edge in 2015: Visual Storytelling: With audiences exposed to hundreds of marketing messages...

Justin Dennison, a teacher at Eastside High School, first heard there were students at the school interested in taking an AP computer science program two years ago. No such courses were being offered at the time because there were no teachers who would teach the course. Not expecting much, Dennison decided he would teach the...

University of Florida among those receiving $7 million to empower women farmers The University of Florida is part of a consortium led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) that has been awarded $7 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to increase global food security and support effective rural development....

America’s robust agriculture sector provides affordable food and fiber to the nation and still manages to export about a quarter of the food and fiber it produces, but “big, tough, critical issues” loom in the future, according to Nick Place, dean of University of Florida Extension and director of Florida Cooperative Extension. Addressing Alachua County’s...

2014: End Remarks By WJ Rossi, CFP®, ChFC Since the beginning of the calendar year, many economic trends have taken place. Long-term interest rates came down, but the US dollar strengthened as investors saw the United States as the best place to put their money. Slowdown in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in China and...

In the spirit of the holiday season, many individuals as well as businesses, make charitable gifts this time of year. And if you want to maximize on that gift from a tax perspective and claim a tax deduction for your gifts, you must itemize your deductions. There are several tax rules that you should know...