Orlando’s hotels and theme parks will eventually reopen, but things will never be the same
Prior to the Spanish flu, it was common for offices and classrooms to use a single, shared drinking cup. Today this practice seems unthinkable as we’ve come to understand the dangers of such a commonly shared item. The same types of changes will come out of the current pandemic, and our world will, again, never be…
Americans may soon have some money to spend, but how likely are they to spend it inside a theme park?
With the curve now slowly being flattened, talk has already begun about just when and how the hard-hit tourism sector will reopen. After breaking from the herd and reporting a reopening in early-May, Universal Parks have since pushed back their opening until at least June 1. Now, June seems like the best-case scenario for most…
Orlando chef Bruno Fonseca’s Foreigner Experience goes domestic during COVID-19
Bruno Fonseca of the Foreigner Experience series of pop-up dinners has launched the Foreigner Domestic, a virtual class whereby the noted chef teaches guests how to home-cook a specific dish from ingredients hand-delivered by Fonseca himself. Every Sunday, chef Fonseca posts the menu (and wine pairing) on his website. Folks have until Wednesday morning to…
Legal Public Notices 4/15 issue
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY STATE OF FLORIDA. JUVENILE DIVISION: 03/ CRANER CASE NO: DP16-772, IN THE INTEREST OF Minor Child: K. K. DOB: 04/15/2016 SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF ADVISORY HEARING FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, STATE OF FLORIDA. TO: Mitchell…
Florida panthers filmed fighting in the wild for the first time ever
A new video shows two endangered Florida panthers battling over territory, something that’s never before been captured on film. On March 31, hunting guide and land manager Andres Pis was camped out in a blind while hunting turkeys with his son just southwest of Lake Okeechobee, when he heard a murder of crows squawking in the…
Orlando Utilities Commission approves $12 million COVID-19 response package
The Orlando Utilities Commission’s Board of Commissioners approved recommendations on Tuesday to help their customers and members of the public during the COVID-19 crisis. OUC’s $12.1 million package lowers utility bills next month and will provide additional relief to customers over the next year. It includes $7.5 million to lower electric fuel bills for the month of May, which…
Federal appeals court rules Epstein’s Florida victims have no rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act
Attorneys for two victims of pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein are vowing to challenge a decision Tuesday by a federal appeals court that denies survivors any rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. The case seeks to overturn a non-prosecution agreement entered into by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida with Epstein. The agreement…
A spicy new cookie collab between Hunger Street and Gideon’s hits Orlando streets, and an Orlando baker gives back
Hunger Street Tacos and Gideon’s Bakehouse have collaborated on an exclusive “Mexican chocolate chip” cookie fusing the sweet crunch of Mexican stone-ground chocolate with the flavors (and impressive heft) of Gideon’s classic chocolate chip cookie. It’s available for a limited time (while supplies last) with your Hunger Street order. In other cookie news, local stroopwaffel…
Orlando and Winter Park, you can ‘Tea P’ your neighbors with Infusion Tea’s help
As awful as these times are for restaurants, it’s great seeing them get creative with various promotions and initiatives. Infusion Tea, for example, will “Tea-P” the house of your friends and loved ones by stealthily and contactlessly delivering a yard sign pinned with a couple of rolls of toilet paper and two ounces of loose…
Agave Azul provides free meals for Central Florida first responders Wednesday, April 15
From noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, Agave Azul in Winter Park, Orlando, Windermere and Winter Springs will provide first responders with a free meal as a thank-you for their selfless and courageous service. Five different meal options will be offered and front-line workers need only show their badge and identification before picking…
Black Rooster will send your favorite Orlando tequila drinker a Margarita-Gram
Thanks to Black Rooster Taqueria, you can now send that Happy Hour lover in your life a Margarita-Gram for just $25. The recipient receives a quart of Black Rooster Taqueria margarita (made with freshly squeezed lime juice and organic agave nectar), margarita salt, fresh-cut limes and serving instructions. The whole kit serves four 8-ounce margaritas…
Hall & Oates’ saxophone player from Orlando offers ‘sax education’ online course
Orlando resident “Mr. Casual” Charlie DeChant has been the saxophone and keyboard player for Hall & Oates since 1976, co-writing some sweet, danceable hits over the decades. Now DeChant (a genuinely good dude with some amazing reed talent) is offering a new online course to help musicians, teachers and students learn some of his smoothest solos. “Sax Education with…
Gov. DeSantis isn’t letting coronavirus stop Florida’s law-enforcement crackdown on undocumented immigrants
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to crack down on illegal immigration is slowly expanding the footprint of federal immigration authorities in parts of Florida’s criminal justice system. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, now has formal agreements with 49 Florida sheriffs. Probation officers are notifying federal deportation officers about offenders. And a North Florida…
Sarasota Film Festival to go virtual while its normal event is delayed
In another sign of how the coronavirus is affecting the film industry in Florida, the Sarasota Film Festival has announced it will hold an online festival April 27–May 3. In a prepared statement, the festival said, “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sarasota Film Festival, in conjunction with the arts community of Sarasota, presents the…
Judge rejects private beach owners’ lawsuit to continue using their ‘backyards’ during pandemic
In a bitter legal dispute between local officials and oceanfront property owners, a federal judge on Monday refused to block a Walton County ordinance that bans people from using public and private beaches amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, argued that the ordinance is unconstitutional on a…
While gyms are closed in Florida, WWE wrestling still considered ‘essential business’
Either Gov. Ron DeSantis just got a hefty campaign contribution or someone told him giant men slamming each other in spandex is church, because the WWE is now considered an “essential business” in Florida during the novel coronavirus pandemic. During a Monday press conference, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings was asked whether or not WWE…
Florida food stamps recipients can now buy groceries online to avoid exposure to coronavirus
Low-income people in the state’s major food-assistance program will be able to make online grocery purchases to help protect them from the spread of COVID-19. State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced Saturday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had approved the online-purchase plan for Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. Participants in the…
Local news orgs tell Congress: We need a bailout, too
If you’d like a sense of how fraught the local news business is right now, check out the Poynter Institute’s running list of publications that have shut down, laid off or furloughed employees, or implemented massive pay cuts. As of Monday, April 13, 68 papers were on the list – and that’s not counting TV,…
New music doc ‘Vinyl Nation’ screens one night only and benefits indie record stores like Orlando’s Park Ave CDs
Record Store Day has been postponed from April until the summer (at least) due to the coronavirus pandemic, another in a series of financial hits that independent record stores have suffered over the last month. But as a sliver of good news, local record hub Park Ave CDs is partnering with the filmmakers of Vinyl…
Work on I-4 ‘Ultimate’ project, which is 250 days behind schedule, will move faster because of outbreak
Sections of the massive Interstate 4 “Ultimate” project in Central Florida will see accelerated work as the state takes advantage of a coronavirus-created reduction in traffic. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault said Saturday that work will be moved up a month or two on parts of the 21-mile project in…
Fresh Market locations will require customers to wear a face mask
In effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, Fresh Market locations are taking some major precautions. Starting April 14, every customer at all Fresh Market locations will be required to wear a face covering while in the store, the company said in a Facebook post. If you don’t have one, they’re pretty easy to make.…
Two more Florida Publix employees test positive for coronavirus
Two new cases of coronavirus have appeared in Pinellas County Publix stores. According to WFTS, the cases were at store no. 1348 (1075 Pasadena Ave S., South Pasadena) and store no. 1,117 (2514 N. McMullen Booth Rd., Clearwater). The cases now add to a growing list of confirmed coronavirus cases at Florida’s largest grocery chain,…
Not even a global pandemic can kill the ever-expanding Disney Vacation Club
The lodging industry is taking a beating thanks to the global pandemic, but one of the few positive segments may point to the future of Disney hotels. Economy extended-stay hotels with kitchenettes and other residential-style amenities saw only a 14% drop in March compared to the nearly 49% drop across the industry as a whole.…
Leslye Gale’s O-Town Lowdown on Magic 107.7 for Monday, April 13, 2020
Every morning on Magic 107.7 FM, Leslye Gale discusses the most interesting Orlando Weekly stories of the day on “Chad & Leslye.” Check out Leslye’s picks today. Put Yo’ Face Mask On Osceola County Osceola County is the first county in Central Florida to impose the “mandatory mask order”. What does that mean? – LINK We…
Op-ed: Against public worship in the age of coronavirus
I have taken full advantage our public officials’ shelter at home order. The last few weeks provided me an opportunity to get much-needed rest, to catch up on paperwork, and to ponder our previously unimaginable circumstances. As a clergywoman without a pulpit, I have relished not having Sunday duties. I have been mostly quiet on…
Florida heading toward record first-time unemployment claims
First-time unemployment claims this week appear headed toward a record. During a mid-day appearance Friday in Jacksonville, Gov. Ron DeSantis said 225,755 initial claims had been filed this week. “I think it took us a year or certainly many months to reach this level of claims during the great recession,” DeSantis said. “So, this is…
Weekly roundup: Florida in the coronavirus bullseye
After snapping up gallons of hand sanitizer, barrels of disinfectant wipes and buckets of bleach spray, Floridians this week flooded the Etsy e-commerce site in search of face masks. Health officials’ recommendation that people cover their noses and mouths when they leave home is the latest effort to gird against COVID-19 in an increasingly dystopian…
Osceola County will require face masks starting Monday. Here’s why you don’t want to wait until then
Osceola County issued a new protective order Friday requiring that face masks or other coverings be worn by nearly every person in public. Coverings include a uniform piece of material securely covering a person’s nose and mouth, which “remains affixed in place without the use of one’s hands.” This can include a bandana, t-shirt, scarf or…
Nonprofit watchdog names Sean Hannity as a chief source of coronavirus misinformation
Fox News commentator — and top Trump Administration propagandist — Sean Hannity has made a career of twisting facts and peddling conspiracy theories. Now, a new report from the nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters for America labels Hannity one of the chief sources of dangerous misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The analysis documents some 50…
We’re drinking a lot during coronavirus, but our immune systems are paying the price
We totally get it. Times are bleak. Life is grim. Weeks into the statewide stay-at-home order and we’re are already feeling like Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas” or, like, Nicolas Cage in real life singing post-divorce Prince karaoke — and they’re drinking like him, too. With liquor stores deemed essential businesses (hell yeah!) and…
Florida Republicans raised nearly $2.5 million so far this year, thanks to Duke Energy, Anheuser-Busch and Disney
Gearing up for this fall’s elections, the Republican Party of Florida raised $2.467 million in cash during the first three months of the year, according to a newly filed finance report. Fundraising appeared to slow in March as the novel coronavirus hammered the state, with the party pulling in about $364,000 during the month. Large…
Florida ethics panel rejects COVID-19 announcements plan, upholds ban on free publicity or exposure
The Florida Commission on Ethics rejected a request Friday to alter the state’s 15-year-old lobbying “gift ban,” as a cable-television and internet company wanted to run public-service announcements from Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials about the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioners voted 6-3 to maintain a ban against providing free publicity or exposure, after Charter…
New report lists ten Florida counties among the nation’s most vulnerable to home foreclosures due to COVID-19
Just as coronavirus shelter-in-place orders are keeping people stuck at home, many in Florida could face homelessness due to loss of income and other factors, according to a new report. In fact, the findings, by real estate data-service provider Attom Data Solutions, shows that housing markets in ten of Florida’s 67 counties are among the 50 most…
Despite coronavirus, people are still booking a record number of cruises
Even though multiple cruise ships from all over the world have coronavirus nightmares, with some even being turned away from docks while passengers beg for medical assistance, people are remarkably still booking cruises for next year. In fact, the Los Angeles Times reports that more people have been booking cruises for 2021 than previous years.…
Florida DCF workers test positive for COVID-19, others exposed
Nine workers with the state Department of Children and Families have tested positive for COVID-19, and 16 others are self-isolating after being exposed to the novel coronavirus, officials confirmed to The News Service of Florida. An employee of Florida State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Chattahoochee, is among the nine workers who have tested positive,…
DeSantis keeps Congress members out of the loop, and more Florida political news this week
Democratic members of Congress represent some areas of Florida hit hardest by COVID-19, but they contend they’ve been left out of the loop on state efforts to slow the spread of the deadly disease. In a Zoom conference call on Tuesday, several Democrats repeatedly said Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his office have refused to…
Florida elections supervisors want DeSantis to make changes to address voting during coronavirus pandemic
Florida election supervisors have asked Gov. Ron DeSantis for emergency measures they say will help them cope with an anticipated “significant statewide shortage” of poll workers later this year because of the novel coronavirus. The local officials want the governor to issue an executive order allowing supervisors to designate additional or alternative early voting sites,…
Publix stores are using one-way aisles to improve coronavirus social distancing
Publix, Florida’s largest grocery store chain, is now installing directional floor markers in all aisles, in an effort to help keep customers moving in one direction and encourage social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. The Lakeland-based grocer giant began adding the markings on Wednesday, but shoppers should begin seeing them in most locations this week.…
Jobless claims pour in as Florida tries to bolster online system
Nearly 170,000 first-time unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, as the coronavirus-caused surge continues, according to an estimate from the U.S. Department of Labor. Florida’s number —- part of a second consecutive week of 6.6 million claims being filed nationwide —- was down from the prior week. However, it represents a period before…
Orlando darlings the Pauses launch ongoing video single series Quarantunes
Local indie maestros and OW cover stars the Pauses are dealing with the same uncertainty, anxiety and stressors that everyone is going through right now, and sometimes it’s hard to rally creatively in the face of it all. And yet, the band managed to rally virtually for a raucous, rousing and life-affirming cover of the 1997 Harvey Danger…
Orlando musician Brian Phillips creates tender ambient music as Glass Hive on Bandcamp
Longtime local musician Brian Phillips (Discovery of Magnetic North, Ootheca) managed to create his most emotionally stirring work so far as a way to trying to keep it together during these troubled times. Eschewing the harsh soundscapes of his main gig, Ootheca, Phillips recently began composing lush, meditative, ambient tracks to try and help lull stressed family…
NPR extends deadline for this year’s Tiny Desk contest and Orlando musicians are encouraged to take part
As the memory of live concerts in a gritty venue becomes sadly more distant and livestream concerts grow in popularity – and provide some really nice nightly diversions; I’ve been enjoying the action-packed Quarantine Concerts in particular for the last week or so – suddenly NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series seems less delightfully quirky and more a way forward…
Florida dad in quarantine hits impossible golf shot off his roof
There’s really not much to cheer about right now, so when a local dad smacks a dinger that ricochets off the roof into a red Solo cup, we’ll take what we can get. Well, that’s exactly what happened when St. Petersburg dad Webb Bond lined up a shot in his front yard, smacked it off…
If you are filing for unemployment in Florida, use this website
Over the past couple weeks, Florida’s unemployment claims have skyrocketed and the $7.7 million website meant to handle it all has been a catastrophic failure. However, yesterday the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity debuted a new mobile-friendly site that, so far, seems to actually work. The new site can be found here: www.FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication On Wednesday,…
Florida Democrats are pushing for health care changes amid coronavirus pandemic
Democrats, who successfully used health care as a key issue in winning back control of the U.S. House two years ago, are reigniting the issue in Florida amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic that has sent the state’s economy into free fall. Several leading Florida Democrats on Tuesday called for President Donald Trump to…
The Villages, Florida’s largest retirement community, saw a spike in new coronavirus cases
Florida’s largest retirement community The Villages witnessed a sizable spike in coronavirus cases this week. According to the Florida Department of Health, Lake and Sumter counties, where the Villages is located, now have a combined 226 confirmed cases of coronavirus, up from 200 confirmed cases on Tuesday. Overall, 12 of these new cases are located…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wore a single rubber glove at his coronavirus briefing today for some reason
While holding a press conference to unveil a new coronavirus hospital in Miami, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis demonstrated exactly how not to wear rubber gloves during a pandemic on Wednesday afternoon. Joined by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, DeSantis addressed reporters by staying at least staying 6 feet away from…
Man catches 33-inch fish off Florida coast using Publix fried chicken as bait
Update, April 9 | The man in the video responded to this story on Facebook, saying, “I was social distancing … All those people flocked to our boat. 😂” One “Florida boy” visiting home from Georgia might just become an honorary Florida Man, after catching a 33-inch snook off the Tampa coast – using only Publix…
COVID-19 in Florida’s prisons has inmates and families on edge
One of the last times Natausha Hunt spoke to her son, he begged her for help. Hunt’s son, Gary Ford, is an inmate at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, a Florida Panhandle prison with 9 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. In a telephone call with his mother on Friday,…
Circuit judge says he can’t order DeSantis to shut down beaches, but tells plaintiff to keep trying
Saying he lacked the authority to second-guess Gov. Ron DeSantis, a circuit judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force the governor to close beaches throughout Florida. Santa Rosa Beach lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder filed the lawsuit against DeSantis late last month, arguing that the governor’s refusal to issue a statewide mandate shutting down beaches…
Fried ova-rules packing restrictions to move eggs faster
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried issued an emergency order Tuesday lifting some packaging and labeling requirements to move eggs quicker from producers to retailers. Eggs have been in demand as people stock up on stay-at-home supplies because of COVID-19. “This order will give industry flexibility to meet increased consumer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fried…
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New Issa Rae, new Alan Yang, new Phoebe Waller-Bridge: The streams have plenty for your eyeballs, Orlando
Need newness in your streaming queue? We can help with that. Premieres Friday: Brew Brothers Separately, brothers Greg and Jeff Schaffer brought us That ’70s Show and The League, respectively. So I guess it’s not a terrible surprise that the first eight-episode season of their new collaborative sitcom includes bits about a drunk dog and…
Central Florida nurses are fighting the pandemic with very little personal protection
Security, stability and permanence are fragile constructs at the best of times, but in this grave new world we all find ourselves in, well, they’ve all but shattered. Ever since Central Florida started feeling the effects of COVID-19, Marissa Lee’s work day has changed significantly. The labor and delivery nurse says the first thing she…
‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is the best film of 2020. That’s it
Because of the pandemic, writer-director Eliza Hittman’s indie film has been released on demand to a much wider audience than she might have expected. The film opened in a few theaters March 13, but after coronavirus crashed the theater experience, Focus Features moved to make Never Rarely Sometimes Always available for home viewing. It’s to…
Your horoscope: ‘Not even a small error will prevent you from entering the Promised Land’
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Moses did 40 years’ worth of hard work on behalf of his people, delivering them out of slavery in Egypt. Yet God didn’t allow him to enter into the Promised Land. Why? At the end of his travails, he made a minor mistake that angered God beyond reason. Petty? Harsh? Very…
We are pretty, pretty, pretty big fans of Kathi Rolls’ killer street eats, not to mention the car window service
You can’t help but worry for all the independent, chef-run and mom-and-pop restaurants out there. The times are not being kind to them, but even while staring the very real possibility of closure in the face, these businesses show a resilience and creativity that’s nothing short of inspiring. Necessity is the mother of invention, sure,…
Minecraft and Disney World collide in Imaginears Club, a high-tech substitute for visiting the attractions IRL
As of this writing, it’s been over 500 hours since I last set foot inside a theme park. That’s the longest I’ve gone without since moving to Orlando almost 24 years ago. I’m far from the only attraction junkie jonesing for a Fantasyland fix, judging by the recent flood of #HomemadeDisney viral videos, featuring fan-made…
What’s the best way to ethically use your federal coronavirus relief check?
Put your money where your mouth is
