Mar 22-28, 2023
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Florida legislation would admit more Black farmers into medical cannabis industry
HB 493 would award licenses to the Pigford applicants who were denied, and allow descendants of the litigants to apply as part of a protected class
HighT, a new Alice in Wonderland-themed bar, to open downtown in May
Off with your head
Henry Moso of Kabooki Sushi has been named a 2023 James Beard Award finalist
After years of getting shut out of the shortlist, Orlando finally has a James Beard Award finalist.
Legal Public Notices 3/29/23
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices ALL ABOARD STORAGE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Personal property of the following tenants will be sold at public sale to the highest bidder to satisfy a rental lien in accordance with Florida Statutes, Sections: A83.801 – 83.809. All units are assumed to contain general household goods unless otherwise indicated. Viewing of…
Orlando Pride plays season opener against Angel City FC
The game takes place April 2 at Exploria Stadium
Oh, now Florida Sen. Blaise Ingoglia wants to carve transit workers out of his anti-union bill
When the Teamsters speak against you, it’s probably time to hang it up
Become one with the scarf during Orlando Pride’s Scarf the City scavenger hunt on Wednesday
SCARF is cuddly. SCARF is warm and colorful. SCARF can also be a way to show pride, particularly if you are a fan of the Orlando Pride, the NWSL soccer team based in our fair city, and a way to find others who also support the team — if they are wearing SCARF, you can…
Starbucks illegally withheld credit card tipping option from union workers, NLRB complaints allege
The NLRB alleges that Starbucks illegally withheld credit card tips from union baristas, while paying it to nonunion workers
Orlando Fringe launches ‘The Collective’ incubator program for emerging artists
Applications are open now
Maitland Jazz and Blues Festival features Pat Travers, Michelle Amato and more this weekend
The festival will showcase 13 live performances spanning two stages
Florida Senate panel approves later start times for middle and high school students
A Senate panel on Monday approved a proposal that would push back school start times for many high-school students in Florida. The Senate Education PreK-12 Committee approved the bill (SB 1112), which would prevent middle schools from beginning the “instructional day” before 8 a.m., while high schools would be barred from starting before 8:30 a.m.…
‘Disney Defenders’ launch ballot initiative to put Reedy Creek in Florida Constitution, restore its powers
The political committee would need to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures to the state to get on the 2024 ballot
Chuan Fu, a Sichuan restaurant from the owners of Chuan Lu Garden, is coming to Winter Park
Expect a splashy party complete with lion and dragon dancers at the grand opening.
Gov. DeSantis signs bill to expand school voucher program to all Florida students
The bill will make every Florida student eligible to receive vouchers and eliminates current income-eligibility requirements
Fight over Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law goes to federal appeals court
The notice of appeal does not detail arguments that the plaintiffs will make at the Atlanta-based appeals court
Temptress and Destroyer of Light bring heaviness galore to Will’s Pub on Wednesday
Between Texas doom-metal bands Temptress and Destroyer of Light, this show is already guaranteed to be heaviness galore. But equally notable are the openers, who are probably two of the most exciting new Orlando bands bubbling up from the underground right now. Loose Touch, though new, are a band of elite local veterans. While their…
Chain dollar stores harm communities, says report from the Institute for Self Reliance
‘Predatory tactics’ enable ‘a public health disaster’
Florida House passes constitutional carry gun bill
The measure would end a decades-old requirement for background checks and training to carry guns
Florida House passes ‘Live Local Act,’ which bans rent control, gives tax breaks to developers
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s $711 million effort to make housing more affordable for working Floridians is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Florida’s anti-union bill could risk over $500 million in federal funds, unions say
Meanwhile, sponsor Sen. Blaise Ingoglia insists that the bill is pro-union.
‘Why are we going after children?’: Sen. Victor Torres blasts Florida bill to block care for trans youths
Torres spoke about his trans granddaughter in a testimony against the bill
Video appears to show Florida man feeding alligator a sandwich
Please do not do this. Ever.
Sorkin and Sher’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ currently at Dr Phillips Center, transforms the time-worn tale
In recent years, Broadway in Orlando has presented musicals at the Dr. Phillips Center that evoked responses ranging from delight to despair. But no matter how toe-tapping, none has engaged and enraged me like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, playing in Orlando through March 26. This is thankfully not a musicalization of the middle…
Florida families file federal lawsuit against state’s trans youth care ban
Plaintiffs argue the rules intrude on “parents’ fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their adolescent children.”
Disney World unions reach tentative deal delivering $18 minimum wage in 2023
Disney World cast members score a better ‘best’ offer from Walt Disney World, celebrated as a victory on Thursday
Florida lawmakers pass taxpayer-backed voucher expansion to all students
“This is going to be corporate welfare for parents who are already paying for private schools.”
The Great Duck Derby to sail gently through Mead Garden this weekend
Get your ducks in a row this weekend and head over to Mead Botanical Garden for the Great Duck Derby. Hosted by Mead Botanical Garden this Saturday (March 21) at 10 a.m., the Great Duck Derby features a high-stakes rubber-duck race through Mead Garden’s pond. Other family-friendly diversions include “duckoration” stations, face-painting, sing-alongs, animal encounters,…
Music Fest Orlando brings together R+B and hip-hop stars for a good cause this weekend
Music Fest Orlando’s name may get lost in the eternal scroll of social media, but don’t you dare sleep on a festival lineup that includes Fantasia, Babyface and the 69 Boyz in our own backyard. The roster of this new local fest features a mixtape-worthy array of R&B and hip-hop artists including Goodie Mob, Fantasia, Babyface,…
Unwind after a ‘ruff’ week at Sanford’s Pints n’ Paws Craft Beer Festival
Life will be anything but “ruff” for the attendees — both four- and two-legged — of Pints n’ Paws this weekend. The craft beer festival goes big as it bounds happily into an 11th year. The annual fundraiser for area pet rescues features over 100 breweries, food trucks, live entertainment and vendors taking over downtown…
Rock supergroup the Winery Dogs ready to intoxicate Orlando this weekend
American rock supergroup the Winery Dogs invites you to experience musical “Xanadu” with them as they make a tour stop in Orlando this week. The trio — drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Richie Kotzen — all boast stints in popular rock and metal bands under their collective belts, including Poison, Dream Theater…
Florida House panel advances bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors, including those already transitioning
The proposal also would ban health-insurance companies from covering gender-reassignment surgeries for transgender people
Gov. DeSantis’ travel records would be kept secret from the public under new bill
Senate bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, said disclosure of information about the governor’s travel could expose security operations
Ooopsie! Undercover agents found nothing lewd happening at Plaza Live drag show back in December
Ooopsie! Turns out the undercover agents scoping out the supposedly lewd and lascivious A Drag Queen Christmas event at the Plaza Live back in December — the one that led to Gov. DeSantis and cronies in the DBPR threatening to pull the venue’s liquor license — found it wasn’t actually lewd and lascivious at all. According to reporting…
Starbucks workers near Orlando go on strike, joining more than 100 locations coast to coast
Starbucks employees in Oviedo join a national protest, calling on their employer to bargain in good faith after voting to form a union last year.
Ex-Florida lawmaker behind ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law pleads guilty to $150K COVID relief fraud
Harding, who received $150,000 in disaster assistance, in February 2021 admitted to federal investigators that he lied on the application
Gesundheit! Orlando ranks among top 10 worst cities for allergies
Warm weather and lack of rain this year point to an even stronger showing for Orlando in 2023
Florida Senate panel advances bill cracking down on drag shows
The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco would be able to revoke licenses of lodging or food-service establishments for violations
Orlando author Bob Kealing digs deep into the Beatles’ watershed 1964 tour of Florida
‘Good Day Sunshine State’ paints a vivid picture of the band at the fever pitch of Beatlemania
Documentary ‘Landfill Harmonic’ screens in Orlando for one night only this week
“The world sends us garbage. We send back music,” says Favio Chavez, music director of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, in Landfill Harmonic. Cateura is an enormous landfill dump sited in the capital of Paraguay, Asuncíon, and the orchestra consists of the slum-dwellers who live and work there. They play instruments made entirely out of…
Orlando impresario Thom Mesrobian presents a new rock musical at Timucua Arts Foundation
‘Queen of Swords,’ set in 17th-century France, tells the story of the bisexual, sword-wielding opera singer known as ‘La Maupin’
Orlando Ballet presents a ‘Director’s Choice’ of short ballets with an eye toward the future
As Orlando Ballet’s 2022/2023 season winds down — the last fling being an upcoming production of A Streetcar Named Desire — the troupe is putting on Director’s Choice, a program of three short ballets to showcase “stars of tomorrow” from the Ballet’s Second Company. Attendees will see “Paquita,” Heath Gill’s “The Next Big Thing” and…
The Miss Comedy Queen Pageant sees drag performers face off to win the coveted crown
It speaks volumes about the determination, bravery and commitment — and pretty please do take note of those qualities, right-wing assholes — of drag performers that we’ve got a national competition of drag comedians coming to Central Florida to do the damn thing on stage during a distinctly unfunny time in the Sunshine State. For…
The great Olivia Colman owns the Hulu remake of ‘Great Expectations,’ debuting Sunday
Plus everything else new this week on Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock and the rest of the streamers
Free Will Astrology: ‘The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know’
Horoscopes for the week of March 23-29
Make sure you don’t miss Nicole Atkins opening for Guster at the Plaza Live this week
Boston’s Guster have been a reliable alt-rock force for over 20 years, but East Coast opener Nicole Atkins deserves special spotlight all her own. With a crooner sound that’s a retro-tastic pastiche of soul, pop and countrypolitan of the 1950s and 1960s, she’s one of the brightest modern torchbearers of Roy Orbison’s flame. Live, expect…
Daddy’s Beemer brings their pop-smart indie rock to Will’s Pub on Friday
South Carolina band Daddy’s Beemer are one of the most immediately likable under-the-radar bands to come to town in a while. The band’s winsome, pop-smart indie rock bursts with sparkling melody and gusts like a bracing breeze. And they do all the jangle and chime so well that it feels like they could go from…
The Dancing Bones, Saucers Over Washington, Lady Heroine, LeLe & the Bloodspitters
This bill is a nicely diverse sampler of current local talent. Ever since changing their name to Saucers Over Washington, the band formerly known as the Grizzly Atoms have been funneling their high-spirited indie rock through the wind tunnel of shoegaze to good results. New but credentialed Orlando band LeLe & the Bloodspitters are making…
Lamp and Shade Craft Kitchen and Cocktails to open May 15, Shipley Do-Nuts to open Orlando locations this summer
Plus plenty more local food news
Matt Kamm does house music? You’ll have to read on to find out for sure
“Matt Kamm does house music” are not words I thought I would ever be stringing together. But as one of the most established weirdos in the Orlando music scene, he’s never adhered to any expectations but his own. So, yes, Kamm has taken his Tele & the Ghost of Our Lord vehicle down the electronic…
New York Beer Project in Horizon West goes big on space, beer and grub
The Big Apple-esque branding of New York Beer Project, a bonkers 24,500-square-foot beer house and gastropub in Winter Garden, belies its upstate roots — Western New York roots, to be exact. Like the 17,500-square-foot original just outside Buffalo in Lockport, New York, and the 16,000-square-foot NYBP in Victor, New York, the bricked behemoth in Horizon…
Comedy legend Tracy Morgan, back on the road, easily sells out his Orlando performance run
Let’s see, five shows over three days — exactly how many people will he get pregnant?
Florida Republicans advance ‘union killer’ legislation despite hefty costs
The legislation is opposed by Florida union members across party lines.
