Emptiness is what people see today when they drive through the monogrammed iron gates of Lake Drawdy Reserve in east Orange County. There are paved cul-de-sacs, lakefront lots and fancy frosted-glass streetlights. But nobody lives there.
Thirty years from now, they will likely see 28 upscale homes occupied by young families, residents from abroad, refugees from coastal counties, in-migrants from other states and well-to-do retirees.
Sitting outside his lakefront mobile home, Lake County snowbird Dick Risch relishes the peacefulness around him.
Until recently, Risch's winter community was packed with seasonal residents. But while most part-time residents already have left, unusually chilly temperatures up North kept some snowbirds like Risch, 68, from joining the flock just yet.
For businesses that thrive on the spending of seasonal residents, these snowbird stragglers seeking to stay warm a bit longer are a welcome economic bonus.
If not for babies and immigrants, Metro Orlando would be shrinking. The latest U.S. Census estimates show that the growth of Orlando's families, together with its continued appeal to people from other countries, narrowly offset the loss of residents who left the state because of the recession.
The four-county metropolitan area grew an anemic 1 percent in 2009, adding 21,198 people. Two-thirds of the increase was the result of having nearly twice as many births than deaths.
TALLAHASSEE – Since World War II, Florida has beckoned retirees looking to spend their golden years in the sun. The steady stream has made Florida the oldest state in the nation. Now, Florida is headed for an even grayer future in the Baby Boomer retirement era, state economists and demographers predict. The consequences: worker shortages and severe strains on public pensions and government services.
Unemployment continues to rise in Lake and Sumter counties. Out-of-work residents flock to libraries and job fairs to apply for job openings. Employers are inundated with hundreds of job applications. With less disposable income, consumer confidence is dwindling. Here's a quick look at the state of unemployment, by the numbers.
13,055* -- The number of people in Lake County who were on unemployment benefits in January. Lake's unemployment rate rose by more than one percentage point to 9.7 percent in January. It's the highest jobless rate in Lake in more than 16 years.
TAVARES — Picture a population about the size of Tavares — unemployed.
Lake County's jobless count swelled to 13,055 during January, according to preliminary unemployment figures Workforce Central Florida released Friday. That's about the size of the county seat and the highest raw number of unemployed workers in Lake since at least 1990.
An unstable economy is forcing thousands of children to leave Florida's private schools for a public education or lessons taught by Mom and Dad at home.
About 14,000 students were taken out of private schools last school year -- part of an exodus of more than 46,000 kids since 2004, according to numbers released this week by the Florida Department of Education.
