As Jack Hanna retires, his impact on Central Florida’s zoological community can’t be overstated
Many know Jack Hanna from his television appearances, but his connections run deeper in Central Florida. After a long career that saw him exploring some of the most remote parts of the planet and helping revolutionize modern zoological facilities, Hanna’s family confirmed he was retiring from public life due to struggles with dementia. In a…
Disney is finally getting ready to go all-in on Marvel attractions at their theme parks
As soon as Disney acquired Marvel in 2009, the company looked for ways to utilize the brand across the entire company. The media side of things quickly made back the $4 billion acquisition with a line of blockbuster films. Within a decade, three Marvel movies sat in the top ten list of highest-grossing films of…
Legal Public Notices 04/14 issue
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices AUCTION Extra Space Storage Š Store 8138 1001 Lee Rd. Orlando FL. 32810 Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated: 1001 Lee Rd. Orlando, FL. 32810 (407) 489-3742, April 23rd, 2021 @ 12:00…
Disney Parks announce rule changes that would allow cast members to show tattoos, piercings
Disney’s parks are loosening their rules around their employee’s appearance. The company announced on Tuesday that they would back off some of their long-standing rules around cast member appearance to allow “appropriate” visible tattoos, jewelry and nails with polish. While your “Ass, grass or FastPass” tattoo might have to stay under wraps, Disney execs claim…
Great Greek Mediterranean Grill opens new location in downtown Orlando
Mediterranean fast-casual chain Great Greek Mediterranean Grill has expanded into the downtown Orlando with a newly opened spot in SkyHouse Orlando. Great Greek opened the doors to their new location Monday, April 12, in the new SkyHouse high-rise apartment building downtown. This downtown locations offers patio seating, breakfast service daily from 8-10:30 a.m. (with breakfast gyros)…
Pandemic or not, Disney is hard at work on fixing Epcot
Epcot’s overhaul is now in its third year, with multiple new projects finally greeting guests, but there’s still plenty in the works. Believed to cost more than a billion dollars, the project is the largest update to the park since its opening in 1982. At the foot of Spaceship Earth, a new entrance plaza, with…
Universal Orlando is about to open a cool new roller coaster. A glimpse at their other parks hints at what might come next
Universal has been on a multi-year expansion of its parks, resulting in new attractions nearly every year. Despite the pandemic, leadership remains committed to new investments in the parks and are still moving forward with Epic Universe, the largest expansion since Islands of Adventure opened in 1999. Even as Epic Universe construction ramps up, new…
Watch this Tampa woman battle a baby gator who snuck into her kitchen
A Tampa Bay woman had to deal with a baby alligator that somehow found its way into her kitchen last weekend. A video posted to Facebook by Wesley Chapel resident Sazan Powers shows her trying to push out the small hissing gator, which she says came into her friend Erika Venza’s kitchen from a small…
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings mulls end of mask mandate in Orlando
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced that he’s considering loosening mask mandates. At a press conference on Monday, Demings shared that the vaccination rate is rising throughout the county. Given that, he hopes to start peeling back the requirements that people be masked in public in Orange County. The coronavirus-curbing mandate has been in place…
Record Store Day returns to Orlando in 2021 with two drops of exclusive releases in June and July
Somehow even a pandemic couldn’t stop Record Store Day in 2020, and the schedule for Record Store Day 2021 has been revealed, along with which shops in Orlando will be taking part. Caution still seems to be key for Record Store Day 2021, the annual spendapalooza for vinyl junkies. What used to be one day…
Country star Brad Paisley to play Tampa this summer
Brad Paisley, a Grammy Award-winning country singer and Nationwide insurance spokesman, is coming to Tampa this summer. As part of the Clean Earth Concert Series, Paisley will perform at Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre Friday, July 9, along with Jimmie Allen and Kameron Marlowe. If you can’t make the Tampa stop, Paisley will also be…
Andrea Bocelli announces Orlando show at Amway Center
Andrea Bocelli might not be everyone’s first pick for post-quarantine concert, but there are worse ways to put this hellish year behind us than hearing the uplifting sounds of “Por Ti Volaré” in person. The Italian tenor just announced a 21-date tour of the United States that will close out in Orlando on December 21.…
Winter Park’s Brewstillery moving to downtown Orlando as part of new food truck park
A warehouse space in downtown Orlando’s Creative Village is set to become the site of a big new brewery operation and food truck park, opening as soon as the fall. The Bear & Peacock Brewery and Winter Park Distilling Company, partners at the combo brewery/distillery/taproom Brewstillery in Winter Park, will be moving house downtown for this…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pauses distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after blood clot reports
Gov. Ron DeSantis took the advice of federal agencies and paused the distribution of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the state of Florida. DeSantis said he was making the move out of “an abundance of caution,” echoing language the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration used in their statement…
16-foot sawfish that washed up in the Florida Keys is the largest ever recorded
The world’s largest sawfish ever recorded washed up dead on a Florida beach last week. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), two deceased smalltooth sawfish were found washed up on shore in the Florida Keys. One was an immature female that measured 12-feet, 4-inches long, and weighed an estimated 400-500 pounds…
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s education org objects to test score waiver
An influential education organization founded and chaired by former Gov. Jeb Bush is criticizing parts of a decision by the state Department of Education to waive accountability measures tied to state exams. The department on Friday issued an emergency order nixing consequences tied to standardized test scores for students and schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Police reform bills face ticking clock as Florida legislative session comes to an end
After the Florida Legislative Black Caucus rolled out a slew of policing reform bills in February, many of the measures have not been heard in committees as time winds down on the 60-day legislative session. House and Senate committees are scheduled to stop meeting early next week. After that, legislation that hasn’t been heard would…
Indie-pop trio AJR confirm tour date at Orlando’s Addition Financial Arena in 2022
Nouveau pop trio AJR announced dates for their comeback ‘OK Orchestra’ tour on Monday, and Addition Financial Arena near UCF will be hosting the the band next year. Concert announcements are coming in fast and furious for the larger venues in town, and now Addition Financial Arena is entering the fray with this big show…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fights with YouTube after platform pulls COVID-19 videos for misinformation
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday railed against YouTube and Google for removing a video of a COVID-19 discussion he had with scientists who oppose government lockdowns, school closures and mask wearing, calling it “censorship.” The ramped-up criticism by the Republican governor came as lawmakers try to work out details of a bill that takes aim…
HOPR Bikes to cease operations in Orlando by the end of the month
Bike shares have been virtually non-existent since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Their lack is about to become a bit more concrete, at least in Orlando. The city’s lone dockless bikeshare is calling it quits. HOPR Bikes (formerly Juice) announced that they will not renewing their permit to run a bikeshare in the city.…
Florida waives standardized test score consequences for second straight school year
Answering the question of how the state would handle standardized testing this year, the Florida Department of Education issued an emergency order Friday waiving accountability measures tied to state exams. Concerns about consequences of testing had loomed as exams kicked off this week for some students. Education officials and lawmakers grappled with the issue because…
Here’s all the new food for this year’s Florida State Fair, ranked by how weird it is
A most anticipated lineup has arrived, and it’s looking pretty bold. No, it’s not the Oscar nominations, though Regina King got snubbed. And it’s not the Razzie Award nominations — what the hell were you thinking with “Music,” Sia? It’s the Florida State Fair’s 2021 food list and it’s both bold and audacious — bodacious,…
Latin music sensation Bad Bunny follows up Wrestlemania win with announcement of Orlando show in 2022
Bad Bunny, renaissance man of both the pop-music and (yes) wrestling worlds, announced his live return to Orlando and the Amway Center in 2022, with his subtly named El Último Tour del Mundo. The tour announcement comes after a big weekend for Bad Bunny at, surreally, WWE’s Wrestlemania in Tampa, where he competed in the wrestling…
Amway Center hopes to be open at 100% capacity in August
Florida coming out of lockdown is a little different than most places, if only because the state barely locked down to begin with. So, while we’re not coming up from underground, blinking our eyes to adjust to the light in the strange, new world, it’s still exciting to see venues, tours and other aspects of…
Louisiana chicken chain Raising Cane’s considering opening restaurants near Orlando
Central Florida is a crowded market for chicken-first fast-food chains. PDQ has made its way over from Tampa. Chick-Fil-A and Zaxby’s both have an enormous presence in the area. And there’s no shortage of excellent local spots to get fried poultry. Those restaurants must have hit on a particular predilection for tenders in the area,…
Report: Even Donald Trump wants nothing to do with Matt Gaetz
Four years of watching “ah well, nevertheless” play out on the national stage proved that Donald Trump won’t let anything stick to him. That includes his the actions of his most ardent supporters. CNN reports that the third Teflon Don is distancing himself from embattled Florida congressman Matt Gaetz. According to unnamed sources who spoke…
Drive-thru haunted attraction from Halloween Horror Nights veteran returns to Kissimmee
Scream n’ Stream started as a pandemic necessity, but its not ending that way. The drive-through haunted house announced it’s returning for a second year this fall. From September 18 to October 31, guests will be spooked by a new horrifying adventure created by Patrick Braillard, a Halloween Horror Nights Veteran. Scream n’ Stream first opened…
Anti-Matt Gaetz billboard claims Florida congressman ‘wants to date your child’
A billboard put up in Florida congressman Matt Gaetz’s district claims the troubled U.S. House rep “wants to ‘date’ your child.” The sign sits on FL-85 in near the Panhandle town of Crestview. It’s the work of the liberal Mad Dog PAC, who have previously put up anti-Gaetz billboards mocking Gaetz’s 2008 DUI arrest. 2018…
Orange County announces mobile COVID-19 vaccine center
Orange County has been ahead of the curve when it comes to getting the coronavirus vaccine in the arms of its citizens. Whether that’s due to a differing idea of what government should do for its people compared to the gov or a deep desire to have the tourism industry back at full force doesn’t…
You probably aren’t Orlando’s best rapper, but you could see them at this upcoming cypher
Anybody who has pounded out a beat on a lunchroom table has briefly thought themselves a competent rapper. Those who stuck with the dream of being the GOAT have a chance to prove it at the end of this month. Brew Theory is hosting a cypher on April 30, pitting Central Florida’s best spitters against…
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Joel Greenberg appeared to move money for ‘sugar daddy’ arrangements on Venmo
It’s not news to anyone in Central Florida that Joel Greenberg could be particularly sloppy. The former Seminole County tax collector is facing 33 charges ranging from sex trafficking to embezzlement in service of cryptocurrency-mining schemes. The charges are as varied as they are brazen, with allegations that Greenberg was stealing IDs from his office…
Florida GOP keeps plugging away at proposals to make it harder to vote by mail
A controversial elections bill focused largely on the state’s vote-by-mail process underwent an overhaul Thursday in the Florida House, but critics say it still poses unnecessary barriers to voters. The revamped proposal, which addresses issues such as the use of mail-in ballot drop boxes and signature verification, relaxes some restrictions included in an earlier version…
Florida sues federal government over coronavirus cruise restrictions
Arguing that the state is at risk of losing billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday filed a lawsuit against federal health officials for sidelining the cruise industry. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Tampa, asks a federal judge to lift…
Sanford’s St Johns River Festival of the Arts returns from pandemic lull for 10th anniversary
The St. Johns River Festival of the Arts is back for its tenth anniversary. Art lovers of all kinds can gather in Historic Downtown Sanford for the festival. According to a press release, over 150 local, regional and national artisans will set up shop to showcase their creations. “We’re so thankful for the opportunity to…
Former Pink Floyd mainman Roger Waters announces rescheduled Amway date in 2022
Former Pink Floyd conceptualist and formidable solo artist Roger Waters has announced the rescheduled itinerary for his ‘This Is Not a Drill!’ tour, originally set for summer 2020. And, remarkably, the Orlando date is still in the mix, this time around for summer 2022. The Orlando rendezvous for Waters is Aug. 25, 2022, at the Amway…
Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg might be cooperating with feds in Matt Gaetz case
Matt Gaetz was too worried about extortion plots from the deep state to question his own circle. And it sure looks like that’s coming back to bite him in a new report from Politico. The D.C. publication shared their view of a brief hearing between prosecutors, Greenberg’s lawyers and a judge, coming away with the…
Sam Adams will buy you a beer if you get vaccinated
Samuel Adams announced it will be buying up to 10,000 people beer after they prove they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine. Starting April 12, Sam Adams is offering to send those vaccinated $7 via CashApp to enjoy a beer at their favorite bar. Participants just need to share photo proof on Twitter or Instagram. It can…
Support the next generation of women in museums and archives by donating to the History Center’s ‘HERstory’ internship fund
The Orange County Regional History Center is holding a fundraiser for the next few weeks to help foster the next generation of women historians, researchers and archivists. The new HERstory: Women in History Internship Fund seeks to give women interested in careers in “public history, history, public administration, education and museums” a boost through paid internship…
Orlando will be ‘Blessed’ with a Kane Brown concert in December
Country star Kane Brown announced the dates for his upcoming ‘Blessed & Free’ North American tour on Thursday and there’s an Orlando show set for December. Brown’s ‘Blessed & Free’ jaunt kicks off this October in Sacramento, and the Amway Center will host Brown & co. on Friday, Dec. 3. Miami is the only other…
With Florida’s COVID-19 death toll over 33,000, Gov. Ron DeSantis gets vaccinated
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ representatives shared that the chief executive of a state with nearly 34,000 COVID-19 deaths has taken the step of getting vaccinated. DeSantis did so without ceremony, with his office confirming that he had received the single-dose Johnson + Johnson vaccine last week. DeSantis’ response to the coronavirus pandemic has been colored…
Feds focusing on Bahamas trip in sex trafficking probe into Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, per report
Investigators into the ever-twisting case around Rep. Matt Gaetz are reportedly looking into a trip that Gaetz allegedly took to the Bahamas with former Orlando International Airport board member Jason Pirozzolo. That news comes via CBS, who spoke to several unnamed sources they claim are close to the case. The sources told the news org…
Florida Senate approves bill to make to-go alcohol legal post-pandemic
The Florida Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would make permanent a move that has allowed restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate voted 38-2 to approve the measure (SB 148), sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island. The dissenting votes were cast by Sen. Lauren Book…
Leslye Gale’s O-Town Lowdown on Magic 107.7 for Thursday, April 8, 2021
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. This is definitely a sign we’re moving in the right direction. This week Walt Disney World began vaccinating cast members, even those Disney employees still currently furloughed. –…
Shadowy Montreal band Godspeed You! Black Emperor to play Orlando in 2022
Is this turning a corner or a Four Horsemen-kinda scenario? Because noted sonic prophets of doom Godspeed You! Black Emperor have just announced an Orlando tour date in 2022. Noted Montreal musical recluses Godspeed! You Black Emperor on Wednesday announced a world tour kicking off in January of next year, which includes a lengthy North…
Florida Republicans target college speech controversies with proposal that would require schools to distribute ‘intellectual freedom’ surveys
Florida colleges and universities could be required to issue campus-wide surveys gauging “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” under a measure passed Wednesday by the Senate. The bill (HB 233) had already been approved by the House, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. If he signs it, the bill would take…
Walt Disney World has program to vaccinate employees on-site
After months of requests from Disney’s park employees, it appears that Walt Disney World has opened up a vaccine clinic for its workers. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Walt Disney World distributed vaccines to park employees onsite at their employee healthcare center. Disney reps say they were approached by Osceola County officials who asked them…
Mayhem on Mills to celebrate 2nd anniversary (again) with night of brawls at Carlotta’s Culture Park
The waterways are clear, birds are singing and body slams are coming back to Carlotta’s Culture Park. Nature is healing, and so on, and so on. As part of their return from a year that didn’t count, local indie wrestling promotion Mayhem on Mills will host a second, second anniversary. As you might expect, their…
Universal Studios unveils ‘Jurassic World’-themed VelociCoaster, sets opening date for June
Universal Studios shared the opening date for its latest ride built around the Jurassic Park franchise. The Jurassic World Velocicoaster will open to the public on June 10. The hunt begins June 10! Jurassic World #VelociCoaster pic.twitter.com/Dx4UbNaamB — Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) April 6, 2021 The outdoor coaster appears to be themed around a hunting…
Orlando’s Frontyard Festival will extend run through the end of 2021
The Frontyard Festival — an outdoors, ongoing run of concerts and performing arts events in downtown Orlando — launched back in December with an ambitious brief to host six months of continuous programming. Now it’s looking to keep the music (and more) going through the rest of this year. The Frontyard Festival organizers have filed an amendment with…
Eric Church announces ‘Gather Again’ arena tour, with a stop at Orlando’s Amway Center
Eric Church just shared a new run of arena tour dates, including a stop at Orlando’s Amway Center in 2022. The country megastar will play the arena as part of his aptly named Gather Again tour, bringing Orlando’s twangier denizens out into the realm of massive concerts on March 4. Church, for his part, has…
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz shares document accusing him of taking part in ‘orgy of underage prostitutes’ in attempt to clear his name
We’re not legal experts and we’re certainly not public relations scholars, but it seems like sharing a document that contains the phrase “involved in a sexual orgy of underage prostitutes” is a bad look for a congressman facing sex trafficking allegations. But that’s exactly what Florida representative Matt Gaetz did last night. The troubled Congressman…
More P.F. Chang’s is coming to Central Florida, with a to-go operation set for Lake Nona
Chinese restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s is coming to Lake Nona in a scant few months, with the promised launch of a to-go operation this fall. P.F. Chang’s To-Go is a newer, scaled-down concept for the restaurant, eschewing in-person dining for take-out, curbside, catering and delivery only. (So P.F. Chang’s is getting in on the ghost…
University of Central Florida begins administering COVID-19 vaccines to students
The University of Central Florida began vaccinating its students against coronavirus this morning. UCF plans to vaccinate 6,000 of its students on campus and claims to have the 12,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine necessary to carry out the two-step process. The university is administering first dose shots today through Friday, though all initial appointments have been…
Universities could be protected from coronavirus lawsuits under bill coming before Florida House
Combining several higher-education proposals, a bill that would protect colleges and universities from coronavirus-related lawsuits and give tuition breaks to out-of-state students who have grandparents living in Florida is poised for a vote by the full House. The measure (HB 1261), sponsored by Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, was filed to offer “buy-one-get-one-free” courses to students…
Short reviews of every Florida Film Festival movie we were able to see in advance
Just eight months after the Florida Film Festival became the first major movie fest to be held in the Southeast United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is returning to its traditional April timeslot. The festival will again be held at just one location, Maitland’s Enzian Theater, because its pre-COVID partner, Regal Winter Park…
Test yourself: Is this something we called Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, or something Jonah Ryan was called on Veep?
If you enjoy politics and TV, you were probably a fan of Veep, Armando Ianucci’s seven seasons of West Wing-proximate bickering that ended in 2019, after somehow being outdone by reality from about 2016 on. Much as Veep’s writers saved all their most exquisite insults for Jonah Ryan — the feckless Hill aide who rode…
Orlando Shakes retakes the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola with an al fresco ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’
As an experienced arts critic, I don’t ordinarily get especially excited about attending opening nights, much less become emotional over the curtain speech before a preview performance. You’ll have to forgive my lack of journalistic objectivity this week, but I freely admit to getting a bit verklempt when Orlando Shakespeare Theater managing director Douglas Love-Ramos…
Things to do in Orlando, April 7-14: Jimmie Vaughan, Lee Burridge, ‘The New Urban Contemporary’ and a vegan fish fry
Orlando Weekly editors’ picks of the best stuff to do this week. Wednesday, April 7Frontyard Festival: UCF Percussion Presents InuksuitHas the entirety of the Frontyard Festival been leading to this moment? The UCF Percussion Ensemble takes on John Luther Adams’ monumental work Inuksuit. Percussionists begin playing this environmental piece onstage, but then move down to…
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week
It’s been a bad day week month for Rep. Matt Gaetz. Last Tuesday’s New York Times report detailing allegations of sex trafficking dropped a cherry bomb in Gaetz’s toilet, kicking off the kind of news cycle every politician dreads. We’re sure there’s more to come, but so far every day, seemingly every hour, has brought…
Orlando’s own Caskey guests on new Sadistik single
Plus new local music releases from Jazzy Soto and Danielfuzztone
A fast-casual Moroccan restaurant opens near Valencia, a beloved bagel delivery service goes brick-and-mortar, and more in our local food news roundup
OPENINGS: TajineXpress, a Moroccan restaurant offering halal food, has opened on North Goldenrod Road near Valencia College Lane … Swine & Sons will open a new location in the beer garden at Tuffy’s Bottle Shop in Sanford. Owners Rhys and Alexia Gawlak will add bar snacks to their existing menu to complement Tuffy’s roster of…
‘Snabba Cash,’ premiering on Netflix Thursday, exposes the criminal underside of the Swedish jet set
The title means ‘easy money,’ but apparently everything in that country has to rhyme with ‘Abba’
The GOP Catch-22: Fixing infrastructure is great, so long as you don’t raise taxes or increase the deficit
Every few months or so, the Trump White House would declare “Infrastructure Week!,” seven days for the president to focus the country’s attention on his plan to rebuild the country’s decaying roads, bridges and airports. The problem, of course, was that Donald Trump was an agent of chaos, pathologically incapable of detaching from the frenzy…
Heartless Bastards frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom plays the New Standard Saturday
Plus more Orlando concert picks April 7-13, 2021
