Avalon Park Gazette
presents
New Beginnings: New Look
Volume II Issue I
In this Issue:
Welcome, AP Neighborhood Watch, Finance, AP Real Estate, Relay for Life, Special Event, and Pics of the Month
(Any neighbor in the 32828 zip code can contribute by sending their article to Publishing@apgazette.com for consideration)
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Welcome
written by Eddy Solon, Northwest Village
Realestate32828@gmail.com
Welcome neighbors. Happy New Year. What an exciting start for the year! Last month, we discussed having a Board
of Overseers that will help in the growth and integrity of this newsletter since then several neighbors have shown interest in participating. In Next month issue, we will introduce the community to neighbors and business associates that have accepted the nomination of being on the Board. As we expand, we will need input from you to help us to continue to grow into our shoes, a community centered newsletter. We encourage and welcome any Interest Group Organizers in East Orlando to submit their articles to publishing@apgazette.com by the third Thursday of the Month. With a subscriber base of close to a 1,000 plus residence and growing every day, we are committed to providing the most up to date events and life style oriented articles.
The theme embraced for 2013 is "New Beginnings." Last year, considering our launch, it was "Embarking on a Journey Together." We also refined our creed, "To build community one issue at a time through practical, informative, and lifestyle oriented articles in commitment with Integrity, Trust, Honesty and Good Will."
Lastly, please welcome our newest contributors, Dalia Cantor, Avalon Park Accounting, and Russ Mozier, Avalon Park Safety Advocate.
Avalon Park Neighborhood Watch: This Past Month
written by Brian Jones, Parkside Landing
Overall Neighborhood Watch Coordinator
brianj4u2@gmail.com
Welcome to 2013! The Avalon Park Neighborhood Watch team is excited to move forward into 2013. We are confident
this new year will bring the opportunity to meet our overall goals of the program. In our upcoming annual meeting to be held at 9am on Saturday 1/26/13, we will outline what is in store for 2013.
Our team is growing! Over the past month, we’ve added four new block captains and one village coordinator. Overall participation is also on the rise with increased request to join the APNW FB group. Many block captains have been going door to door and have found more interest in the program. Our Business Watch program will be launched at our Annual Meeting. Jeniffer Ingram-Housewright owner of Soho has accepted the Business Watch coordinator position. Jennifer is a business owner in the heart of our community and is happy to help launch this program.
SAVE THE DATE: Annual Meeting – Saturday January 26th, 9am. Location: South Village Clubhouse.
This past month the incidents reported on Avalon Park Neighborhood Watch website by neighbors were:
January 2013 Statistics
| Number | Incident Reported | Disposition by Off duties/ Update |
| 1 | 12/24/2012. Tires slashed on vehicle, located on Tanja King Blvd. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 2 | 12/26/12 – resident on Abey Blanco drive in the NW village found their vehicle parked on street was egged while out of town. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 3 | 1/3/13 – Tires slashed a second time on business vehicle parked in lot off Tanja King Blvd. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 4 | 1/7/13 – exterior garage door opener vandalized at residence on Sour Orange Dr. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 5 | 1/7/13 - Exterior garage door opener vandalized at residence on Honey Locust Dr. | Reported to off duty deputy |
| 6 | 1/9/13 – Resident on Silver River Trail in the Parkside Landing Village found their vehicle parked on the street was egged. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 7 | 1/9/13 – resident on Royal Fern Drive in the Parkside Landing Village found their vehicle parked on the street was egged. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 8 | 1/9/13 – Resident on Homosassa Lane in the Parkside Landing Village found their vehicle parked on the street was egged. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 9 | 1/9/13 – resident on Rainbow Springs Lane in the Parkside Landing Village found their vehicle parked on the street was egged. | Reported to off duty deputy. |
| 10 | 1/9/13 – While running/exercising (on Cassia, Peppervine, Tanja King) noticed suspicious vehicle (red Mercedes) following close behind her through the neighborhood. | Reported to off duty deputy |
This month and every month after, we will report a summary of incidents and any updates from our off duty deputies in a table like above.
So what do you do when you see something suspicious? First, contact the non-emergency like at 407-836-HELP or 911 if needed. Secondly, submit an online incident report so neighbors who live in your area can be notified. You can submit an online incident report at http://www.avalonparkwatch.org/incident_report.htm Please only monitor and report suspicious activity....Do not engage any criminals or suspicious individuals.
Have a safety concern? Feel free to email our off duty deputiesSal.Saldano@ocfl.net He is very responsive! What does off duty mean? It really does not mean they are completely off duty. They are hired by funds set aside by our HOA dues, on their off duty hours, to help secure the safety of our Avalon Park community. We have four deputies, and Sal is the primary coordinator.
Finance: Tax Season
Dalia Cantor, Avalon Park Resident, Avalon Park Accounting
www.AvalonParkAccounting.com
The marginal income tax rate for high-income earners has been raised to 39.6% from 35%. For these purposes high-income earners,
with respect to those taxpayers who are married filing jointly, means those earning more than $450,000 and, with respect to single taxpayers, those earning more than $400,000. Thus the Bush era tax cuts are left intact for amounts earned up to $400,000 will pay to have the new rate. However, certain exemptions and deductions will be limited for those with income greater than $300,000 (married filing jointly) or $250,000 (single taxpayers).
The rates on qualifying dividends and capital gains have been raised to the rate of 20% from 15%. However, the increased rate would only affect high-income earners, as defined above.
The maximum gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax rates has been raised from 35%to 40%. However, the transfer tax exemption amounts of $5 million (indexed) have been made permanent.
The personal exemption, which is indexed annually, is $3,800 for 2012. For the past three years, it was not subject to a phase-out, but was subject to a phase-out previously for high-income earners. The personal exemption phase-out has been reinstated for those high-income earners. The Pease limitation on itemized deductions will also be reinstated for those high-income earners. The Pease limitation reduces most itemized deductions by 3% of the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds a specified threshold, up to a maximum reduction of 80% of itemized deductions. However, this limitation was repealed for 2010, 2011, and 2012, under the Bush tax cuts (as extended under the Obama presidency). This was a compromise, as Democrats initially set the threshold at $250,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers.
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will be patched permanently. The exemption amount under the AMT. is $78,750 for married individuals filing joint returns and $50,600 for unmarried individuals. It will be indexed for inflation, which is a welcomed change. Payroll tax cut was not extended, thus, the middle-class and all wage earners have been hit with a tax hike of 2%.
The tax was not affected on net investment income as part of the healthcare overhaul. Thus, the tax on high-income earners will increase to as high as 23.8%. It should be noted that, with respect to the tax on net investment income, the definition of “high-income” earners is different than under the Act, having a reduced threshold of $250,000 (married filing jointly) and $200,000 (single taxpayers). Corporate income tax rates were not affected. There has been much discussion by both parties in reducing the corporate income tax rates by reforming and simplifying the tax code ( e.g., by eliminating loopholes) in order to make the U.S. more competitive internationally.
References:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr8eas/pdf/BILLS-112hr8eas.pdf.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42485.pdf.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/press/press-resources-pease.cfm
AP Real Estate: New Townhomes
written by Brenda Kolbrich, Remax Avalon Park, Village Two
You may have noticed some new construction going up in Avalon with Three story townhomes in the heart of Avalon Park.
The project is called UptownAvalon (UptownAvalon.com coming soon) and is located on Sweet Birch Drive behind the YMCA. The first building is going up and completion is set for this March. Four units have already been sold. There will be a model in the first building as well. There will be a total of 35 townhomes on both sides of Sweet Birch Drive featuring optional elevators. The builder is Anchor Development. For information you may visit UptownAvalon.com or contact Brenda the Sales Manager Brenda@TopOrlandoHomes.com 407-963-6876.
From December 1, 2012 to January 16, 2013 there have been 21 properties sold & closed in Avalon ranging from $115,900 to $785,000. The inventory of homes is very low at 21 properties on the market for sale and there are 41 properties pending in the MLS. Home prices are rising and selling quickly.
Relay for Life: Avalon Park Residents Fighting Cancer Together!
Submitted by Courtney Tomasi, Insight Magazine
Kindergarten Teacher, East Orlando Resident
Courtney.Tomasi@ocps.net
Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer when the American Cancer Society’s
Relay For Life of Avalon Park gets underway with teams of residents gathering at Timber Creek High School on May 10, 2013 at 4:00 pm.
Relay For Life events are held overnight as individuals and teams camp out at the Timber Creek High School track, with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track or pathway at all times throughout the evening. Teams do most of their fundraising prior to the event, but some teams also hold creative fundraisers at their camp sites during the Relay. The Relay brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, faith-based groups and people from all walks of life – all aimed at furthering the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, get well, by finding cures and fighting back.
“Relay is a unique opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against the disease,” said Alyson Muse Relay For Life of Avalon Park chair. “Many of the participants are cancer survivors, which serves as a reminder that the Avalon park community is not immune to this disease and that by participating in Relay, we are joining with the American Cancer Society’s efforts to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.”
Funds raised at Relay For Life of Avalon Park help the American Cancer Society to impact the lives of those touched by cancer within the community. In 2012, Relay For Life events across great state of Florida raised over $21 million to help cancer patients and their families in local communities and to fund lifesaving cancer research. The Relay For Life of Avalon Park has raised more than $65,000 that helped to fund lifesaving programs and services locally! All of this is made possible by Relay For Life. We welcome you to join us in the fight against cancer today!
If you are interested in joining the fight, go to www.relayforlife.org/avalonparkfl to register your team for the event! All businesses, schools, churches, and organizations, etc. are welcome to register their team!
"SAVE THE DATE: Join us for our next Team Party on February 20, 2013. For details please email alysmuse11@yahoo.com or find us on Facebook!"
AP Special Events: 2nd Annual Park Kite Day
Written by Russ Mozier, Safety Advocate, Avalon Park Resident
russmozier@yahoo.com
Saturday March 16, 2013 - 10am – 4pm
P repare for a fun day of kite flying and kids kite making in the Avalon Park town park along Avalon Park East Boulevard. The band shell stage will be used for
free kids' kite making and the area in front of it will be for flying and a picnic area. There will be a vendor selling kites and a community group selling lunch. The open field to the right of the band shell stage will be used for other kite flyers that attend. Banners should be set up in areas along Avalon Park East Blvd so as to be visible for traffic. The field to the left of the band shell stafe with the CVS at the corner can be used for overflow parking.
If you want to see the general overview of the fields the closest address is 3600 Avalon Park East Blvd, Orlando, FL 32828 and zoom in on the satellite view. For more information contact Russ Mozier at russmozier@yahoo.com or call at 407-208-1455.
Pics of the Month: Avalon Birds
Turkey day submitted by AP Resident, Chris Carroll
Avalon Cranes submitted by AP Resident, Erica Windsor Gallagher
Submitted by AP Resident, Ken Denning
Thank you for all the submittals. Ones not used, may be used on future publications.
To submit a pic of the month, please email Publishing@apgazette.com
AP Gazette Opportunities
As a new and growing newsletter, we have many opportunities for neighbors to contribute and volunteer their writing talents/ time to help build community. Below are several positions still needing to be filled:
1. Reviewers- to review final submittal of newsletters prior to publishing
2. Education Contributor- An article written by an Educator in one of East Orlando schools. Topics may be anything to do with Education and teacher, student, and parent awareness. This will be a good place to highlight top achievers in our school (teachers and students).
3. Sports Contributor- To discuss East Orlando Sports, anything from little league and up
4. Political Contributors- Discuss local politics that impact East Orlando Residents along with other Political contributors
To be able to participate, you must be an East Orlando resident, if writing, submit an article prior to 3rd Thursday of the Month 12:00 pm, and send your interest and brief description of your background to Publishing@apgazette.com Keep in mind, any neighbor can submit an article.
5. Tell us your story- Have a personal story about a triumph or a life transition that took place and you think it will benefit others, tell us your story by
emailing publishing@apgazette.com
6. Have A Birthday or Anniversary coming up, Email us and we will showcase in the associated issue. Email publishing@apgazette.com |
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