BEST OF ORLANDO® NOMINATION BALLOT IS OPEN THROUGH MAY 6!

Dec 12-18, 2001

Dec 12-18, 2001 / Vol. 17 / No. 50

Homeless for the holidays

A solution to break up the large number of homeless agencies in the Parramore neighborhood should be announced shortly, a hopeful Mayor Glenda Hood told the Orlando City Council last month. Hood made the statement Nov. 12 as city leaders discussed the $3.5 million that a developer had paid to keep a homeless agency out…

William Dean Hinton

Shift in the market

At this time of the year, many folks bemoan the commercialization of Christmas, complaining that the meaning of the season has been lost in a flurry of heated directives to buy, buy, BUY! In 2001, those naysayers have even more reason to lament: Conspicuous consumption, the party line now goes, isn’t merely a holiday tradition:…

Steve Schneider

Saved by the bells?

“I’ve got a proposition for you,” says a mustache into his cell phone outside of lady Estefan’s Bongos food emporium at Downtown Disney West Side. “I’m here with Jon Secada’s agent. He wants to do New York tomorrow anytime between five and seven. I mean, if he can get on that New York station ……

Billy Manes

Pull a few gifts out of the bag

If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for your favorite gourmand or amateur chef, there are quite a few unusual and exotic choices waiting on www.ChefShop.com that can arrive as fast as the next day. A quick search will find real wasabi powder, Frog Hollow chutney made from four kinds of Asian pears and chocolate…

Joseph Hayes

I’m not sure what exact m…

I’m not sure what exact moment music historians will pinpoint as the death knell of the male R&B vocalist, but it will probably have something to do with Michael Jackson. In the past few weeks alone, Jackson has provided at least three flash points connected to his latest album, “Invincible.” From a sales standpoint, the…

Vincent Williams

Faith in the future

Those who have any familiarity with the Oprah self-help branch of pop culture probably have heard the phrase “living in the moment.” It sounds kind of funny; after all, what else are you going to live in? If you have a time machine you can live in the future; if you are crazy and stagnant…

Liz Langley

The Golden Ruler

Moments before Apopka squared off against the Bronx Baby Bombers at the Little League World Series in August, Mayor John Land met his New York City counterpart for the first time: “I heard you want me to spot you three runs,” Land told him. Rudolph Guiliani met him with a blank stare, not quite getting…

Jeffrey C. Billman

Flushed with guilt

Joseph Chopnowski, 40, was charged with criminal mischief in Berlin, Conn., last month after items blocking a sewer line — including newspapers, batteries, clothing, plastic bags, soda cans and a wrench — were traced back to his house. Neighbors told authorities that Chopnowski often spent many hours a day working at the sewer “clean-out” manhole…

Chuck Shepherd

Estranged bedfellows

Disney CEO Michael Eisner should be thrilled. Walt Disney Pictures’ big release for the holidays — Pixar Animation Studio’s “Monsters, Inc.” — has not fallen prey to “Harry Potter.” Six weeks into its initial domestic release, “Monsters” still finished No. 5 at the box office last weekend. To date, “Monsters” has taken in more than…

Jim Hill

Heavy static

Copafeel knew there’d be cops at his door when he showed up at his Lee Road office Nov. 20. He had been alerted that his alarm was triggered and that police likely responded. But when he arrived, he realized these were no ordinary cops. Five federal marshals and a couple of Federal Communications Commission agents…

William Dean Hinton

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