Cover Story
One last look at 2016 before we bid it good f*cking riddance
Worst. Year. Ever.
Band of the Week: Sinkholes
Welcome to Orlando Weekly’s “Band of the Week.” Every week, we highlight one of our favorite local bands. This week, we’re pleased to bring you Sinkholes. Sinkholes are playing Will’s Pub on Jan. 7. Just the facts:Who’s in the band?Alex – Vocals Sebas – Guitar Eman – Drums Kevin – Bass When did the band…
Remember Paul Paulson? Orlando mayoral candidate running to be Florida’s next agriculture commissioner
We thought we’d heard the last of Paul Paulson after he spent all that money to become Orlando’s mayor and still lost to incumbent Buddy Dyer by 30 points, but he’s back and seeking a higher office. The Tampa Bay Times reports the real estate professional filed paperwork to compete in the race to replace…
Report: Florida is ‘radically out of step’ in denying felons right to vote
Florida may not gone through a hanging chad debacle during this presidential election, but a new report argues the state’s voter policies are “radically out of step” with the rest of the country in regards to how it treats ex-felons. The Brennan Center for Justice says more than 1.6 million residents have lost their right…
New laws on cough medicine and opioid medications take effect in the New Year
A statewide prohibition on people under 18 buying certain over-the-counter cough suppressants is one of the new laws that will hit the books with the arrival of the New Year. Another creates a change to the state law on insurance policy coverage of opioid medications. They are two of the last bills signed by Gov. Rick…
Pop icon George Michael dead at age 53
And the hits just keep on coming: Yet another pop-culture icon is stolen from us, though we won’t be so stupid as to assume or even hope it’s 2016’s last gruesome clutch at our hearts. George Michael, international superstar and jeans-wearer par excellence, died Dec. 25. Michael was found dead on Christmas Day by his partner,…
Retiring Florida Supreme Court Justice rails on death penalty in last dissent
In what might have been his last word on the issue as a member of the Florida Supreme Court, Justice James E.C. Perry on Thursday rendered a blistering analysis of the manner in which the death penalty is carried out in Florida. Perry’s 10-page dissent in the case of Mark James Asay came eight days…
Disney releases sneak peek of ‘The World of Avatar’ ride
After giving us tantalizing bits of information, on Christmas Day Disney released a longer sneak peek into “Pandora: The World of Avatar,” a new project coming to the Animal Kingdom next year. The behind-the-scenes look features “Avatar” director James Cameron, Disney’s senior vice president of creative imagineering, Joe Rohde, and others talking about the attraction. The project…
Carrie Fisher, actor, screenwriter, author and all-around badass, dies at 60
Days after suffering a full cardiac arrest while on a flight from London to Los Angeles, celebrated actress, author and screenwriter Carrie Fisher passed away this morning at age 60. Born into an entertainment family as the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher first rose to prominence in 1977 for her indelible…
Jazz singer Greta Pope brings a sentimental mood to Blue Bamboo tonight
Local chanteuse Greta Pope has her work cut out for her tonight. The Orlando jazz singer/author/voice-over artist Pope will present a full evening of the works of iconic jazz musician/composer Duke Ellington. Here’s a little added incentive to leave the house on Tuesday night: Besides treating us to her renditions of these standards, Pope will…
Florida woman gets to keep her ATV-riding pet gator ‘Rambo’
After a lengthy battle with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a Florida woman gets to keep her pet alligator Rambo, who happens to wear sunglasses and ride ATVs. Lakeland resident Mary Thorn rescued her little friend more than a decade ago, but a recent change in state regulations requiring alligators to have at…
Beer hoarders: Grab these seasonal brews before they’re retired next spring
After the Christmas chaos and New Year’s cheers fade, we’re all staring in the face the reality of packing up our holiday decorations and office party regrets. But boxing season doesn’t have to be a total drag. Take a detour to your favorite bar or Total Wine and snag these festive craft brews to pack…
Enzian closes out its Cult Classics series for the year with Prince’s ‘Under the Cherry Moon’
Riding the stratospheric highs of commercial and critical acclaim for 1984’s Purple Rain – both the film and the soundtrack – Prince was given the equivalent of a blank check for a follow-up film by the suits at Warner Bros., salivating over the notion of Purple Rain II. Prince, being Prince, smirked enigmatically and penciled…
Band of the Week: The Wildtones
Welcome to Orlando Weekly’s “Band of the Week.” Every week, we highlight one of our favorite local bands. This week, we’re pleased to bring you the Wildtones. The Wildtones are playing Will’s Pub’s New Years Eve Block Party with the Reverend Horton Heat, Jello Biafra, the Legendary Shack Shakers, and more on Saturday, Dec. 31.…
Rick Scott assigns new prosecutor to complaint against Pam Bondi
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has selected a new prosecutor to investigate the complaint filed against Attorney General Pam Bondi for a $25,000 campaign contribution she received from Donald Trump. Bondi was put under the spotlight during the presidential campaign for the 2013 donation Trump made to her political committee while she was considering whether Florida should investigate…
Florida Supreme Court rules hundreds of death row inmates may get new sentences
In a pair of major rulings about the state’s embattled death penalty, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for about half of the state’s Death Row inmates to seek new sentencing proceedings based on a seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision early this year. But while the Florida justices granted relief for approximately…
WPRK’s Phantom Third Channel gifts us a Christmas playlist
Editor’s Note: WPRK DJ Phantom Third Channel has kindly provided us with a list of essential and emotional holiday listening if you want to avoid the usual carols. You can hear Phantom Third Channel every Sunday evening/Monday morning at midnight on the Bargain Bin Bonanza show airing on WPRK 91.5 FM. Christmas time is difficult.…
Chef Eddie’s has the best Christmas Day dinner deal in town
I really don’t want to tell you all about this, because I plan on going and want to have all the delicious home-cooked food and family-style service to myself, but here goes: Chef Eddie’s is going to be THE PLACE to have Christmas Day dinner if you can’t bear to drag yourself into the kitchen…
You can probably guess what Florida Googled more than anything else in 2016
Floridians Googled “Zika Virus” more than any other search term in 2016, which should be a surprise to no one. Using Google trends, real estate website Estately recently released an interesting map that pretty much puts the entire country’s ignorance, curiosities, and obsessions on blast. At least we didn’t waste too much bandwith with the incredibly…
Belligerent Canadian leads police on chase through Orlando International Airport, tries to escape in luggage car
A belligerent Canadian man was arrested this morning at Orlando International Airport after allegedly arguing with the flight crew and then leading police on a chase that resulted in him attempting to escape in a stolen luggage tug. According to the Orlando Police Department, the man (who has not yet been identified) was boarding a…
Freakishly huge gator reappears at Florida golf course
Footage of arguably the most terrifying golf hazard in the country has surfaced. A new video from WFLA of Tampa shows Chubbs, a 15-foot alligator that lives in at the Buffalo Creek Golf Club in Palmetto, Florida. While the above footage is pretty great, we’re a little annoyed no one tossed a banana down there…
Last-minute Prime Now shoppers rewarded with free cookies
It seems like every year there’s more incentive to put off our holiday shopping until, quite literally, the last minute: sales, deals, free stuff, BOGO. This year, Amazon Prime has made procrastination even more palatable. Prime customers can shop with Prime Now and get two-hour delivery right up until midnight on Christmas Eve (seriously). And,…
Take a break from Christmas Eve stress at the Morse Museum’s annual open house
Tired of being bored while you wait for Christmas Eve? It doesn’t have to be that way. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art is allowing free admission to all guests on Dec. 24 for the majority of the day. The Winter Park museum currently has several exhibits on hand, but you’ll want to…
Orlando Is Tight comedy showcase returns to Backbooth for a Boxing Day reunion
While, sure, we agree with the popular “Orlando Doesn’t Suck” T-shirts, the slogan does come off as a little overly defensive. When they first started popping up back in the day (like, what, two years ago?), some people thought that Orlandoans could do with an unofficial slogan that had a bit more positivity to it.…
New Florida bill targets ‘animal hoarders’
A Senate Republican on Thursday proposed creating a criminal charge of “animal hoarding” for people who keep large numbers of animals in overcrowded conditions and do not provide proper care. Senate Judiciary Chairman Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, filed the proposal (SB 212) for consideration during the 2017 legislative session, which starts in March. The bill would add a…
Local MC Niko Is hosts a Not So Ugly Sweater Party tonight
Local MC and thrower of impromptu and unconventional parties Niko Is is set to throw a combination ugly sweater party/drum circle/bonfire this Friday night in conjunction with Mood the Party and Colours of Culture. Musical assistance will be provided by Thanks Joey and Big Zay. Can Niko Is rescue the somewhat threadbare ugly sweater conceit? Take…
Pam Bondi goes after Florida hotels for allegedly price gouging during Hurricane Matthew
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office this week filed three cases alleging hotels in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties engaged in price gouging in October as Hurricane Matthew caused residents to flee their homes in some parts of the state. The complaints, dated Tuesday and released Thursday, seek civil penalties under a law known as the Florida Deceptive and…
Rick Scott writes a pointless letter to Cuban President Raúl Castro
Florida Gov. Rick Scott penned what some would call a pretty pointless letter to Cuban President Raúl Castro asking him to “allow a new era of freedom and opportunity for Cuba” or continue on “the path of poverty.” Because hey, why continue almost six decades of communist rule when you can instead start 2017 on…
Stoked: Teak Neighborhood Grill is opening a second location in Maitland
Pretty much the only thing we don’t like about Teak Neighborhood Grill is the location – which is fine if you live in MetroWest, but a haul if you live in or around downtown (Mills 50/Thornton Park/Audubon Park/College Park/Winter Park/you get it). So we were thrilled to hear that Teak is opening a second location…
Record number of Floridians enrolled in Obamacare
About 6.4 million Americans have signed up for Obamacare, including a record 1.3 million people from Florida. The Miami Herald reports the Sunshine State leads all other states in people trying to get health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act who signed up by Dec. 19. That’s about a 14 percent increase from last…
Some guy jumped off the 55 West building wearing a parachute
What is going on at the 55 West building? Less than a few days after a glowing window display was demanding someone “send nudes,” video footage has surfaced of an unidentified man jumping from the 22nd floor of the 55 West apartment building wearing a parachute. The act was uploaded to Twitter by user ModernLifeDater with…
Superb industrial act Craow stops into town for a black celebration on Christmas Eve Eve
Our last-minute Xmas gift to you, the discerning music listener, is a hot tip on a last-minute show that even took us by surprise. Craow, the dark synth/industrial techno solo project of Florida exile Sean Halpin, is playing his first show in Florida since a string of dates in 2013 that took him up and…
‘Tis the season for modular synthesizers at Spacebar’s Moloko Plus showcase
The week of Christmas is usually a dead time for live performances of the non-holiday variety, but the new monthly Moloko Plus showcase is defying the odds this week with a show devoted to electronic sounds and modular synthesizers. Though the vibe certainly falls under the “experimental” umbrella, the artists booked for this inaugural night…
Alfond Inn’s Get Your Jazz On series turns the hotel into a classy winter wonderland
These monthly Alfond Inn affairs are already pretty jolly – unlimited roast pig, cocktails and live jazz will do that, not to mention complimentary valet parking in Winter Park – but December’s edition sounds especially ho-ho-homey. In addition to the usual roasted meats from the caja box (and some vegetarian selections), and the unlimited wine,…
17 free concerts happening in Orlando this week
Wednesday, Dec. 21 Eugene Snowden’s Ten Pints Of Truth 10 pm at Lil Indies, 1036 N. Mills Ave. Reggae Night with Hor!zen and DJ Red I 10 pm at the Caboose, 1827 N. Orange Ave. Thursday, Dec. 22 Thursday Jazz Jams 8 pm at Austin’s Coffee, 929 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park The Mellow Relics…
Weatherman JokeTracker: WFTV’s Brian Shields made a meme
Welcome to the Orlando Weekly Weatherman Joke Tracker™, Central Florida’s most dedicated, trusted and accurate source for local TV weatherman knee slappers. This week’s forecast: Mildly funny. If you haven’t been following WFTV’s weatherman Brian Shields on Instagram, you’re missing a collage of homemade memes, behind the-scenes shenanigans, and, of course, hot takes about Florida’s weather.…
Orlando gun reform activists call on FedEx to end discounts for NRA members
Gun reform activists in Orlando were joined by advocates across the country Wednesday to protest FedEx for giving discounts to National Rifle Association members. The shipping company is a member of the NRA Business Alliance and reportedly gives NRA members several discounts, including 26 percent off select FedEx Express U.S. shipping, says Nicole Varma, of the organization…
Dickens by Candlelight’s telling of ‘A Christmas Tale’ is exactly how Charles Dickens intended
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to make the public pay attention when he said, “Hey! Quit being jerks to the less fortunate!” He knew that conveying a serious message called for shiny packaging, and there’s nothing more sparkly than Christmas (source: childhood). Perhaps Hillary’s greatest weakness was her inability to make the entirety of her…
This very cute and tiny horse in Clermont needs your assistance
An extremely cute and tiny horse in Clermont, Florida, is recovering after a costly surgery, and is in need of your help covering some of the medical costs. According to the DreamCatcher Horse Ranch, the 10-month-old horse, named Pegasus, was rescued from the kill pen at a mere 2 weeks old. Pegasus went into surgery December…
Orlando City will kickoff 2017 season at home in new stadium
The 2017 Major League Soccer openers were released this morning and it looks like the Lions will be playing in front of a home crowd in their new 25,500 seat stadium. Orlando City will take on New York City FC on March 5, at 5 p.m. The full MLS schedules are expected to be released…
Palm Beach County wants reimbursement for guarding Trump while he was on vacation
Palm Beach County wants a $248,000 reimbursement from the federal government for the cost of protecting President-elect Donald Trump while he vacationed at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The Palm Beach Post reports the county sent a letter to its congressional delegation asking for money back after it spent taxpayer dollars for Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies to…
Open-carry, campus gun bill could have a better shot in Florida Senate next year
A measure that would expand how and where Florida’s more than 1.67 million concealed-weapons license holders can carry handguns may have an easier path through the Senate in 2017 than in the past. Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, this week sent the bill (SB 140) to three committees, two of which are led by prominent…
Man takes his sweet time robbing Orlando Metro PCS store
The Orlando Police Department is looking for a very chill suspect who casually robbed an Orlando area Metro PCS store on Monday, December 19. As you can see in the security footage above, the suspect takes his sweet sweet time robbing this store, which is located at 4783 Raleigh Street. OPD says the the suspect…
Christina Grimmie’s family sues Plaza Live, entertainment group AEG over singer’s death
The family of singer Christina Grimmie, who was shot dead on June 10 after a performance in Orlando, has filed a lawsuit against AEG Live and The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Plaza Foundation, which owns The Plaza Live. According to Billboard, the lawsuit was filed December 20 in a Florida court, and states that the defendants “failed…
Chris Rock adds second Orlando performance
Stand-up comedy legend Chris Rock has added an extra stop in Orlando for his upcoming” Total Blackout Tour 2017.” Rock will now be performing on April 16 and April 17, at the Walt Disney Theater at Dr Phillips Center. Tickets for the second performance went on sale this morning. Related Stories
‘Jackie’ is a mesmerizing, intimate look at the woman who put a face on an American tragedy
A serious look at any historical event has to deal with two realities: the reality of what actually happened and the reality of the surrounding culture’s perception of that event. Jackie, the new film from Chilean director Pablo Larraín, focuses on the interplay between those two forces in the wake of the assassination of President…
People who died: A very short list of those taken from us in 2016
JANUARY David Bowie – Setting the tone for an extraordinarily shitty year, the iconic musician succumbed to liver cancer on Jan. 10 at age 69, just days after releasing his final masterpiece, Blackstar. Alan Rickman – The English actor indelibly associated with his eight-time role as Professor Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films died…
Savage Love (12/21/16)
I’m having an issue with my boyfriend, and I don’t know if I am the crazy, paranoid, controlling party here. We have been together for more than a year and a half. We had troubles early on because he has a low sex drive. It made me very insecure, and I think that’s why, at…
Gimme Shelter (12/21/16)
Our Pet of the Week is Jada! Jada (A362187) is a 2-year-old tan and white dog who has been at our shelter since Oct. 25. Shelter staff are shocked this friendly, lovable girl has not yet been adopted! Jada recently took a field trip to the Conway Fire Station to give our firefighters some TLC and…
Selections: Our picks of the week’s best events, Dec. 21-27
Wednesday-Friday, 21-23 Dickens by Candlelight THEATER Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to make the public pay attention when he said, “Hey! Quit being jerks to the less fortunate!” He knew that conveying a serious message called for shiny packaging, and there’s nothing more sparkly than Christmas (source: childhood). Perhaps Hillary’s greatest weakness was her…
The 2016 Undie Awards
Everyone’s ready to put this heavy year behind us. But even amid all the devastation, there were – and always will be – beams of life and light. So let’s both honor the local superlatives duly and close the book on 2016 in one grand stroke. THE 2016 UNDIES The worst: Let’s get it out…
Orlando’s best new restaurants of 2016
Top Tables 2016
The six best Orlando concerts of 2016
OW’s photographers sound off on the best things they saw (and heard) all year
Honest, messy and intense: The best films of 2016 so far
The calendar may say 2016 is ending, but for cinephiles, it’s just getting warmed up. So because a definitive list of the best films of the year is not yet possible, I offer instead some flicks that might land on that list once the dust of December premieres and awards season settles. But before we…
Opening in Orlando: Jackie, Assassin’s Creed, Fences and more
All films open Wednesday, Dec. 21, unless otherwise noted. Assassin’s Creed If you haven’t heard, Hanukkah happens to coincide with Christmas this year. Think about that before you buy a ticket to holiday-release fantasy Assassin’s Creed, because its female lead is Marion Cotillard – who, let us remember, is one of those anti-Semitic 9/11 truthers…
Remembering the Orlando 49: Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez
Every week between now and the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shootings, Orlando Weekly will profile a person killed on June 12, 2016. This week: Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez With a flick of his wrist to apply black winged eyeliner or the careful precision he used to slick on glittery lip gloss, Juan Pablo…
ICYMI: Florida finds out how much they paid Pitbull, Mad Cow Theatre loses some funding, the six-month anniversary of Pulse and other things you may have missed this week
Pitbull discloses via Twitter his $1 million contract with Visit Florida: Armando Christian Pérez, the Miami rapper better known as Pitbull, used Twitter to drop the details of his $1 million, one-year deal with the partially state-funded tourism agency Visit Florida. Earlier, the Florida House of Representatives filed a lawsuit against Mr. 305 to reveal…
Looking back at Orlando’s theater and theme park attractions of 2016
Traditionally, this week is the time of year when I write a heartwarming column looking back on all the wonderful things that happened over the past year in Orlando’s arts and attractions scene. Sadly, I have to fill this page, and my positive thoughts about 2016 would barely cover a subordinate clause. So instead, I’m…
