Breit and Hawkins

Late NoticesJason R. RedmondBETHANY, Mo. Jason Robert Redmond, 43, Bethany, passed away Sunday, August 20, 2017, in an auto accident.Funeral Services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 23, at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany.Burial will follow in Allen Cemetery, Eagleville, Missouri.The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, at the funeral home, where friends may call after 1 p.m. Tuesday.www.robersonfuneralhome.comDonald SalfrankCOUNTRY CLUB, Mo. Donald (Don) Salfrank, 79, of Country Club, passed away on Saturday, August 19, 2017, at his home in Country Club Village.A memorial celebration of life will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, August 24, 2017, at Breit and Hawkins funeral home in Savannah, Missouri.Visitation and family receiving hours will be from 2-3 p.m. Thursday, August 24, 2017, at Breit-Hawkins Funeral Home in Savannah.Memorial donations may be made to Mosaic Cancer Center Fund.Carolyn J. SteppeCarolyn J. Steppe, 64, of St. Joseph, passed away on Friday, August 18, 2017, at a local care facility.Mass of Christian Burial: 10 a.m. Saturday, August 26, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.Interment at Memorial Park Cemetery.The family will receive friends from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, August 25, at our chapel.A parish Rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m.Memorial donations to Carolyns memory may be made to Bishop LeBlond High School.There is a book in Carolyns memory for friends to sign at our chapel. As published in the St. Joseph News-Press.#ndn-video-player-3.ndn_embedded .ndn_floatContainer { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }... (News-Press Now)

After speaking with an official from Airbnb recently, Osceola County Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr. said he wants his county to discuss a bed-tax agreement with the company. He said he suspects the county is losing tax dollars from home-sharers skirting the mandated 6 percent assessment on hotel and other vacation lodgings.“We are like the Holy Grail of counties that have tourism that [doesn’t] have a contract with Airbnb,” he said.Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg confirmed through a spokesman that his office also is in talks with Airbnb on a deal but wouldn’t comment further.Under agreements with Orange, Polk and 37 other countiesaround the state, Airbnb includes the bed tax on the overall bill its customers pay. Then, on a monthly basis, it reimburses county governments with the sum of the fees it collects.The deal could be a boon for Osceola, which trails only Miami-Dade and Broward in total guests staying in Airbnb units.Overall, Central Florida saw 68 million visitors last year, state officials say, despite a slight dip in hotel occupancy.When guests book vacations in Osceola County, they’re obligated to pay a 6 percent tax on the total cost of their visit to hotels, houses, campgrounds or other accommodations.However, when staying in an Airbnb unit in Osceola, the host has the onus to ensure the tax is paid. Hawkins said thousands of listings on the home-sharing app may be slipping through the cracks.He said as many as 46,000 properties — ranging from couch-surfing living roomsto 12-bedroom mansions — are listed on Airbnb in Osceola County, while the Tax Collector’s office only has records of about one fourth of those.“I think it’s important for the board to look at this,” Hawkins said.Osceola County Tax Collector Bruce Vickers said the county doesn’t yet have a position on the issue, and he’s skeptical of the county’s ability to audit specific taxpayers.He said the position of the attorney for the Florida Tax Collector’s Associationv is not to sign the deal because it doesn’t ... (Orlando Sentinel)