Notorious Hampton, Fla. cleans up act, may continue to exist
The North Florida village of Hampton first started making headlines in February when a legislative audit revealed 31 violations of state law; the more pulpy bits included city officials discarding public records in a swamp, citizens who faced water shut off if they complained too much, and the over $200,000 Hampton made from speeding tickets…
Five tasty Orlando check-in deals available RIGHT THIS SECOND
Looking to try out a new place and save a couple bucks? Use your phone dude, it’s 2014. We’ve found five of the best check-in deals going in Orlando right now. Download Foursquare or Yelp! and take advantage of them: Hawkers brings the Asian roadside nosh indoors 1. Does the phrase “Free summer rolls” make you all…
BLOWIN’ ALL MY STACKS: It’s John Morgan’s birthday, also his son Dan’s – HE HAS A RAP SONG, Y’KNOW
Even though it’s not on his facebook page – which, as we all know, is the only way we know who was born when anymore – it’s everybody’s favorite pot delivery man (and funder of candidates) John Morgan’s special day today. It’s also his son Dan’s birthday, which is kind of awesome in a dynastic…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: sweetened Scott, vouching for lies, Heathers’ legacy
WOW, BIG SUGAR IS EVEN SWEETER THAN REGULAR SUGAR: “Months before Florida Crystals Corp. won a no-bid contract to farm sugar on state-owned land, its top lobbyist and president met with Governor Rick Scott in the home of King Juan Carlos of Spain. They got access during a 2012 trade mission underwritten by corporations…
Orlando Musicians Guild helps local artists network
In a recent edition of Give Me Your Money, columnist Dave Plotkin announced a new Facebook page that definitely caught my eye, if it hasn’t already yours, local musicians. It’s called the Orlando Musicians Guild and even though I haven’t written a song in nearly 10 years, I jumped the fence to find out what…
Disney princess street art with a twist
Anonymous Swedish street artist Herr Nilsson has an interesting take on the Disney princesses, and he (I think? Damn anonymous artists…) has been spending his nights decorating Stockholm with them. In a striking departure from their sweet and innocent personas in Disney animated features and as characters at Disney theme parks, the princesses in Nilsson’s…
The City Beautiful has a new website
Check out the new website that the City of Orlando just launched! The old site looked like something straight out of dial-up modem times, but this one’s looking pretty sleek and easy to use. Click HERE to get a look! Our favorite part is the Engage Orlando bit – share your opinion and help…
Scottish aristocrats frauding welfare will add fuel to conservative arguments against entitlements
via danielktennant.com Yesterday, the Sun Sentinel reported on a millionaire Scottish couple who were caught fraudulently receiving welfare and other government assistance from the states of Minnesota and Florida — all while living on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale. Which sucks. It doesn’t suck because the Chisholms were caught; that’s actually the best news out…
Downtown UCF campus ‘makes sense’
Guess what college kids? UCF is finally making it’s way downtown from East Orlando. Thanks to the additional $2 million added to the Florida Senate budget, the committee for The Project Downtown Orlando is looking forward to having a presence in the area. President John Hitt, in an interview with Orlando Business Journal, said, “We’re at the…
Surprise! The Villages is the fastest growing community in the U.S.
via Apparently, hanging with the geezers is the place to be. The Villages, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, tops the list of the fastest growing communities in the entire country. With more than 101,000 residents, the 55+ community grew by 5.2 percent from 2012 to 2013. Curious as to what was drawing so many…
Location Matters: the shopping center from ‘Edward Scissorhands’
67 tons of American pride. Photo by Izzy Sanchez. Location Matters is a series that reflects upon pieces of Orlando Central Florida immortalized in popular film. Edward Scissorhands: a delightful mix of quirk and melancholy, a movie that could probably be tagged as Tim Burton’s best directorial effort without starting a bar fight or riot. And how…
Thank you, Internet: cupcake ATMs and cuddly security cameras
Let’s get this Friday over with, what do you say? These are the links that captivated us most on the Internet this week. Use them to bust through the last few hours ’til the weekend! via 1. It’s not likely that Florida will survive the zombie apocalypse, y’all. According to research compiled by Estately, out of…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: soccer kicked, non-viable viability and guns for everyone in panic
via kboo.com BASICALLY, WILL WEATHERFORD JUST BROKE UP WITH DAVID BECKHAM: “House Speaker Will Weatherford said Thursday he didn’t support a plan that could allow Orlando’s professional soccer backers secure state tax dollars for a future stadium as soon as this summer. Both the House and Senate are nearing floor votes on plans to require stadium…
On pairing high quality bourbon with … Girl Scout cookies?
via Like Christmas, Girl Scout cookies come but once a year. If you’re anything like me, you make a habit of hoarding the best ones for months and having a shank at the ready at all times to take care of anyone who comes near them. I am serious about my Samoas. And, yes, they…
Hello again, early 2000s: 5 upcoming Orlando shows for nostalgic folks
via For anyone between the ages of 15 and 24 between the years 2000 and 2005 who floated along down Saddle Creek, there are certain bands that define the era. Whether you wanted to be more adventurous like Rilo Kiley or were more into something vague like Bright Eyes, chances are you had a number…
Chicago’s Second City spoofs First Kiss
By now you’ve surely all seen the First Kiss video going around, where director ask’s 20 strangers to kiss for the first time just after being introduced to each other. The premise of the film, really an ad, was slightly misleading as most of the strangers are models, actors or singers (Soko, the singer and…
Susan Sarandon set for Florida Film Festival
via Susan Sarandon will be the guest at the Florida Film Festival’s “Evening with” program on April 11, at the Enzian Theater. Dead Man Walking will be shown, and Sarandon will do a Q&A session. Tickets are available at the Enzian box office and at www.floridafilmfestival.com, for $75. As previously announced, the other main celebrity…
According to some, Florida’s the best state in the country
30 vintage postcards of old Orlando While other websites want to take the easy way out and make fun of Florida, today Huffington Post released a list of the “23 Reasons Florida (Yes, Florida) Is Quite Possibly The Best State In America.” Well, okay, they get in a dig at us right off the bat…
OW Editorial favorite social media reading
The Orlando Weekly editorial staff loves to read. Which is fitting as we spend most of our days crafting things for you, our lover-ly readers, to sift through and savor (hopefully). We thought we’d take a moment to share with you who WE like to read and be inspired to each day. So here is…
Cat nurses puppies in lethal dose of cute
The SPCA of Brevard released this image Tuesday of Nessy the Cat nursing two premature Chihuahua puppies whose own mother did not take to them. Unless you work at a kitten factory, this will probably be the most adorable thing you see all day.
Get your Game of Thrones fix!
Image taken from George R. R. Martin’s website George R. R. Martin, the lord of snail-paced writing, has just released a chapter that will be featured in his next novel, Winds of Winter. Each chapter is always written from the perspective of one character, and this one is a crowd favorite. We’re not going to…
FROM THE PAGES OF ORLANDO WEEKLY ON WMFE: Billy Manes on the county’s inability to choose its own positions
Since we have to talk too fast on our WMFE radio spots (or at least I do), we’re now providing transcripts! Here’s today’s rambling spittle-rant on county obfuscation. Listen HERE. If, as they say, all politics is local, then the Orange County Board of County Commissioners is going to have a lot to answer for…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Enterprising Florida, Condi’s back, and more power grabs
via newsone THAT PART WHERE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEANS SPENDING FLORIDA TAXPAYER MONEY IN OTHER STATES RATHER LAVISHLY: “When you hear about a $2,000 dinner bill at a barbeque restaurant, you might think Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are in town. But if you’ve been following how Florida’s “economic development” agency, Enterprise Florida, has been operating…
Dang me! 10 classic country song requests for April cover set
Based on the name of this event, Classic Country Covers #1, I’m assuming this is the kick-off to a series of classic country nights at Will’s Pub, which certainly appeals to my Ernest Tubb-thumping heart. I’m not sure if performers Johnny “Knuckles” Prevatt, Brian Chodorcoff, Brian Hanson, Jackson Rodgers or the right members of the…
Small-batch gin happy hour at Cask & Larder
via The British are coming! The British are coming! Well, some really tasty British gin is coming, at least. Tonight, from 4-6 p.m., Cask & Larder hosts a special happy hour featuring Sipsmith Gin. Considered one of the best gins in the world, Sipsmith Gin is distilled in small batches that yield only 400 bottles per distillation.…
Did you know Orlando Museum of Art has a Soundcloud?
“Help me I don’t know what Soundcloud is” Orlando Museum of Art’s current major exhibition, Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough and the Golden Age of Painting, is on loan from the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Ky. It’s a big, beautiful tangle of religious art, still life, landscapes, portraits, and general scenes of everyday life in the period between 1600-1800.…
Next level Disney fan art: The Walking Disney
via via Fan art can go so very, very wrong, but every once and a while, someone gets it really, really right. Kasami-Sensei on DeviantART without a doubt falls into the latter group. His series, The Walking Disney, features the Disney characters we all know and love drawn as if they were in the middle…
Florida man hitches a ride with an 11-foot shark
via So, there Adam Fisk was, minding his own business, fishing in his kayak, taking full advantage of the beautiful Boynton Beach weather. Finally, he gets a nibble on his line. Well, it was more like a big chomp. You know, the kind of chomp a shark would make. That’s exactly what was on the…
19 questions with an Orlando resident: Kierra Clark
Welcome to 19 Questions, a feature where we ask longtime Orlando residents 19 questions that are mostly related to living in the City Beautiful. A native of Anderson, Ind., (sometimes called “The Other Pittsburgh”), Kierra Clark came to Orlando a year and a half ago following a stint in the Navy. She is currently a…
Ex-Orlandoan Carly Andrews in Lucky Peach magazine
MegaCon weekend is always a fun time to find great prices on books you’ve been searching for forever, scope out and get pictures with all of the cosplayers (or cosplay yourself) and stuff yourself with greasy food in a geek-friendly environment. Or, you know, speed date. Whatever floats your boat. It’s also a good time…
Theatre Review: Evita at Bob Carr
Oh what a circus, oh what a show! Even the most dedicated Andrew Lloyd Webber detractor must admit that Evita, the composer's third and final successful collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice, remains his most rich and rewarding work, as aptly demonstrated by the handsome recent revival from Fairwinds' Broadway Across America that's currently on tour…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: Beckham love, Magellan secrets, Supreme Hobby, Korean hair
via MTV OMG, YOU GUYS! BECKHAM AND WEATHERFORD TOTALLY MADE OUT: “The world’s most famous soccer celebrity descended on Florida’s quaint political seat of power Tuesday to impress upon policymakers that the Sunshine State is ready for big-league soccer. David Beckham, the recently retired former Manchester United and LA Galaxy star, visited with Gov. Rick Scott, and…
Annual Manual 2014
Welcome to the fifth edition of Orlando Weekly’s Annual Manual. If you live here, we hope you’ll use this guide to help you make the most of your city – explore new neighborhoods you’ve never visited, try out some new watering holes, find a new favorite restaurant. If you’re just visiting, this guide will help…
Sand Lake/Dr. Phillips
In the money
Winter Park: Village
Village vanguard
Winter Park: Park Avenue
One kings lane
Too Short is too tardy to jump on the dubstep train
Album review: Too Short’s ‘Weird Science’
It happened to me
A handy guide to some resources you may find you need in Central Florida
Drinking, Nightlife and Parties
Where to drink and party in Orlando this week
Unsolved murders from 2013 still haunt Orlando
Tamika Bryant is still waiting for justice after the shooting death of her husband, Herman “Lil Man” Brant; also, brief profiles of three other unsolved murders from 2013
Winter Park: Fairbanks
Not quite a college town
Arts and Culture
Every year we have a tough time fitting all the galleries, theater companies, museums, classical music performers and dance troupes into this space, and this year is no different. Keep an eye on calendar.orlandoweekly.com every day for new events happening in Central Florida and new ways to enjoy your city’s cultural offerings. GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS…
Thornton Park
Urban and urbane
Brick-and-mortar Crooked Spoon just as good as the food truck was
Steve Saelg’s cheery Clermont gastropub caters to the tastes of a New Florida
Ringworm’s ‘Hammer’ is lean without sacrificing force
Album review: Ringworm’s ‘Hammer of the Witch’
Steel Panther never fails to bull’s-eye their targets
Album review: Steel Panther’s ‘All You Can Eat’
College Park
Schoolin’ Orlando Quaint bungalows notwithstanding, the most common sights in College Park are joggers, cyclists and dog-walkers traversing the vibrant downtown quarter’s charming brick-lined, university-appellated streets. It’s no surprise the neighborhood scores high on walkability (and bikeability) ratings, as both are vital ingredients in a community that places the pedestrian above the automobile. Had noted…
Mills 50
Hipster Highway meets Little Vietnam
Sanford
Local is lovely
Parramore
The other side of Division Street
Sports and Recreation
For nine months out of the year, the Orlando region is the perfect place for outdoor activities – once summer’s humidity lifts, it’s sunny, the temps are comfortable and people come out of their summer hibernation. So it makes sense that we have a robust sporting scene. From spectator sports (see breakout box) to biking, hiking,…
Downtown
Orange Avenue blossoms The magnetism of downtown Orlando isn’t just about the buzzing clubs, the varied culinary choices or the magical year-round icicle lights hanging from the trees that line the streets. It’s not just the rush of joining stampedes from Amway Center and Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, or the easy days you can…
Winter Park: Hannibal Square
Hip to be square
Education voucher bill dies in Senate
Also: state House leadership remains unmoved on LGBT issues
Deltron 3030’s sci-fi concept takes hip-hop to loftier levels
The future is now
East Orlando Beer Festival, Brews Around the Zoo, FFF’s Locally Fresh
Tip Jar: local food news, parties, restaurant openings and closings
Bar Exam: The Matador
Mills 50’s Matador offers the best of both worlds
Savage Love
A crowd of smart, engaged students packed a theater for Savage Love Live at Centenary College of Louisiana last week. Students submitted more Qs than I could possibly A in the 90 minutes I had with them. So here are some bonus answers to questions I didn’t get to during my time there. How does…
Attractions
Everybody knows Orlando is the Theme Park Capital of the World – thanks to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, we now have a themed diversion for every age, budget and taste – but the big parks aren’t the only game in town. Check out the listings for more info on Orlando’s parks, gardens, museums,…
Save the Dates
A year’s worth of events you don’t want to miss
International Drive
Traffic, tourists and hidden treasures
Audubon Park
Home-grown happiness The laid-back northeast Orlando neighborhood known for its bird-named streets has grown into itself in the last few years. Leafy Leu Gardens sets the tone, with its shady trails meandering through 50 acres of subtropical botanicals. Stardust Video and Coffee has anchored the area for decades, meeting the caffeine needs of moms, hipsters…
Ivanhoe Village
Cultural oasis
Nightlife
Orlando’s reputation as a spot for fun-seekers isn’t entirely based on its International Drive allure – at least, not if you ask a native. Our bars, clubs and live music venues offer a more distinguishing palate a variety of environments for a spectrum of tastes: a tour of the world’s best craft beers, a speakeasy…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) I have coined a new word just for your horoscope this week. It’s “zex,” short for “zen sex.” Zex is a kind of sex in which your mind is at rest, empty of all thoughts. You breathe slowly and calmly, move slowly and calmly, grunt and moan slowly and calmly. You…
Opening in Orlando: ‘Cesar Chavez,’ ‘Noah’ and ‘Sabotage’
Movies playing in Orlando theaters this week
The wins and fails of Disney’s new FastPass+
Does FastPass+ live up to the hype, or is it the anti-Christ of amusement parks?
Maitland
The neighborhood next door
South Orlando and Conway
Between urban and suburban
‘Bad Words’ not really all that bad
Jason Bateman’s directorial debut tries to be surly but ends up a little sappy
Milk District
Quality over quantity
Jill Cannady retrospective is a full-throated roar of raw female power
‘Jill Cannady: Idea & Medium’ at Museum of Art – DeLand
Lake Nona
The up-and-comer
Film version of ‘Divergent’ is a worthy effort
Despite weaknesses of the wildly popular YA book, movie does a good job filling in the gaps
Millenia
They built it, and they came
Orange County politicians balk at Vote Local 2014 campaign questionnaire
Republican county commissioners refuse to answer questions from progressive organizations about where they stand on issues
UCF
All knight long
Dude, where’s my car?
Alternative means of transportation to help you survive Orlando’s sprawling commuter culture
Winter Park: Full Sail/North Aloma
High class meets “get to class”
Waterford Lakes/Avalon Park
So close, but so far
No love for the orange bikes
Readers respond to our column about the orange bicycle viral-marketing campaign
State Attorney report on Ibragim Todashev shooting is as baffling as it is revealing
Earlier today, we blogged about how State Attorney Jeff Ashton issued a report that cleared an FBI agent of any wrongdoing in the May 2013 shooting of Ibragim Todashev, a Chechen man suspected by law enforcement of having ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamarlan Tsarnaev. We read the report – it’s long –…
Begin again! Matthew Fowler’s debut is back online
via In January, I reported that local musician Matthew Fowler would remove his debut album from the Bandcamp/Soundcloud world where we first encountered it after the budding folk talent signed with Missing Piece Group (who also represents Amos Lee, whose April 3 show hits the Plaza Live) While many Fowler fans would likely report his…
Suntan lotion is Florida’s coolest invention? Wrong.
via Today, I stumbled across a video of the coolest inventions from each state. Some states have really sweet inventions like Arizona and its law-enforcement-changing taser or Idaho and its creating-a-nation-of-zombies television. Florida’s not known for any super-awesome high-tech electronic invention. We’re not even known for something tasty like gum (Kentucky) or Kool-aid (Nebraska.) According…
SunRail decrees no eating on their stately trains
There go our plans for a spiral ham party on SunRail’s maiden voyage: The Florida Department of Transportation told Orlando Business Journal last week that while SunRail passengers will be permitted to bring covered beverage cups aboard their trains, no food of any kind will be allowed. What the heck is this, Germany? Seriously, in…
A boutique hotel on UCF campus? It could happen.
via Next month, a committee of the University of Central Florida board of trustees meets to discuss the possibility of opening a boutique hotel on campus. Boutique hotels are smaller, typically more luxurious hotels that have no more than 150 rooms. I know what you’re thinking, who’s gonna stay in these rooms aside from parents…
Show review: Miley Cyrus’s hyperactive swagger at Amway Center
We Can’t Stop: Photos from Miley Cyrus and Icona Pop at Amway I arrived a little late to Miley Cyrus’s concert last night, so when I entered the arena, she was full-force already (as if she ever tones it down) in a glitter bodysuit, singing to a dark stadium crowd whose cellphones sporadically lit up…
YOUR DAILY WEEKLY READER: More beer, less clear, more love for the queer
via westword AND YOU GET A BEER, AND YOU GET A BEER, AND YOU GET A BEER! EVERYONE WINS: “A long-brewing lager feud in the Florida Legislature was flattened Monday when House lawmakers amended a beer ‘growler’ bill to allow craft brewers more latitude to have unlimited guest taps in their pubs. The bill, HB…
State Attorney Jeff Ashton clears FBI agents in shooting of Ibragim Todashev
At 10 a.m., State Attorney Jeff Ashton’s office announced that it declined to seek charges against an FBI agent for the deadly 2013 shooting of Ibragim Todashev. In a 529-page report, which we’re reviewing now, Ashton concluded that there was no evidence that the agent acted with malice, committed misconduct or deserved to be…
Ravenous Pig releases their first batch of barrel-aged cocktails: go, taste, vote
Get thee to a barstool and raise your cup, pathetic Oliver Twist-style: the Ravenous Pig releases their first batch of barrel-aged cocktails tonight, and you’re gonna be all please sir, may I have some more? After sampling the bartenders’ concoctions – a Negroni, a rum cocktail dubbed El Presidente, and a ginger-and-rye creation they’re calling, uh,…
