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

Nov 25 – Dec 1, 1998

Nov 25 - Dec 1, 1998 / Vol. 14 / No. 47

Governors pledge to reach out and touch

Proselytized by former Health and Rehabilitative Services Secretary Jim Towey (who was squeezed out of office in 1995 for excessive compassion for the poor), Gov. Chiles and Gov.-in-waiting Bush kicked off Awakening 2000 by signing pledge cards to forgive, smile and sacrifice. Each day, the governor-elect’s scheduler must build in time for him to pray…

Chuck Shepherd

Gathering of the tribes

It takes courage to plan an art happening for the day after Thanksgiving — a day most folks usually elect to spend at the mall, fighting fellow shoppers for the last Furby, or at home, surrendering to the effects of the last piece of pumpkin pie. Cheryl Evans had stacked the deck a bit to…

Steve Schneider

New owner for Orlando Weekly

It’s easy to deify your heroes when they’re gone, or even almost gone. Ronald Reagan is nearing sainthood in right-wing circles, with conservatives squashing an ostensibly unfavorable television miniseries, pushing to get his mug on the dime, renaming airports after him and even talking about enshrining him on Mt. Rushmore. St. Reagan will live forever.…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Martinez takes stand on sting operation

“Together we can. Together we will.” That’s the slogan Orange County Chairman Mel Martinez has adopted for his administration, the words of which flew on a banner from a plane high above downtown Orlando last week as Linda Chapin’s successor was sworn in. Naturally he was eager to get started. And a faxed news release…

Jeff Truesdell

Hydrogen explosion

In upstate Latham, N.Y., not far from the Hudson River that General Electric once used as a dumping ground for PCBs, sits a modest, brick-faced ranch house without any visible means of support. The lights are on, but the grid is off. The house, owned by a company named Plug Power headquartered around the corner,…

Jim Motavalli

Traditional arts try younger look

Monday, Nov. 17 Excuse me. Do you know if Santa Claus is going to be here today?” It’s just before 11 a.m. at the U.S. Post Office in Christmas, Fla., and I’m inquiring into the whereabouts of the man whose jelly-bellied merriment holds the key to the entire season. Just yesterday, there was a flier…

Mary Meehan

Judgment day

A judge in Wilmington, Del., tossed out a lawsuit filed by Disney shareholders in the wake of the $130 million-plus settlement with former second banana Mike Ovitz. The shareholders claimed that Disney CEO Michael Eisner cut the deal to avoid embarrassment and that the board of directors went along because it is riddled with conflicts…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Lost wages

In addtiion to the 7.5 million and 140 acres donated to the $380 million beltway project, Disney also deemed “fair” its final contract offer this week of $6.25 an hour — same as the last offer. A meeting Monday produced no movement, save Disney’s threat to rescind its offer of a retroactive raise of 35…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Beltway blues

A key transportation official says the southern leg of the planned Western Beltway would be “in the middle of nowhere” and benefit development interests more than commuters. Bill Beckett, vice chairman of the expressway authority, says that given traffic congestion throughout Central Florida, money could be better spent improving existing highways. The beltway would open…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Tracking shot

Orange County Chairman Mel Martinez is moving on light rail. This week the one-time proponent and recent foe of the project assigned a key staff member to coordinate it. And he’s reportedly talking about some kind of study commission. The proposed rail line, which would at first link the airport to I-Drive, would cost the…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Another potty mouth

Laurita Bledsoe of Detroit was recently granted a patent for her Talking Pottie trainer, which fits over a toilet and houses computer sound chips, a cassette player and speakers. The device gives kids applause and verbal feedback for jobs well done. Taking the hit In September, a judge in Newmarket, Ontario, found that professional dominatrix…

Chuck Shepherd

Seeds of misinformation

Time for today’s “Gooberhead Award,” conferred on those whose tongues are going 90 miles an hour but don’t seem to have their brains in gear. Today’s Goober is Barry McCaffrey, the former general who is now the Generalissimo of America’s Infamous and Ridiculous Drug War. This so-called “war” is nothing but a sponge for our…

Jim Hightower

Artistic endeavor benefits from space exploration

Performance Space Orlando, a new art-and-theater venue on Mills Avenue, successfully eludes all categories: It’s not just a nightclub, a bar, a coffeehouse, an auditorium or a theater company. It has elements of an art gallery, but not a typical one. “I’m not judging and jurying anything,” says PSO’s Winnie Wenglewick. “If you want the…

Christopher Howard

Trio makes progress in power-pop journey

Fizzbin breathes new life into the cliché, “When it rains it pours.” The two-year-old power-pop trio shared the stage at the Go Lounge on a recent Saturday night with fellow Orlando Music Award CD contributors Precious and MK Ultra — the first show with new bassist (and current member of Thrust Supersonic) Brandon Horgeshimer. Their…

Bing Futch

Who’s taking a look up your address?

There are a lot of exceptional things about Bill Gates. Probably the most exceptional is that having terms like “multibillionaire” or “Midas in glasses” after his name doesn’t make him any sexier. Put a striped shirt on him and he’s Waldo. He is a 20th-century wizard, but his bad haircut is as famous as the…

Liz Langley

High traffic

As the midweek rush-hour traffic was crawling alone outside on Colonial Drive, the tables were filling up at Little Saigon. After 12 years in the same location just west of Mills Avenue, they’ve built a faithful downtown clientele. The noise level rose as more customers were seated and conversation picked up. To the left, a…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Hearty slice of baking tradition

The art of Old World bread making is alive and well. The next time you crave carbohydrates, head over to Olde Hearth Bread Company in Casselberry (in the Gooding’s shopping plaza at State Road 436 and Red Bug Lake Road, 834-8881). There you’ll find fresh Irish-potato-chive bread and Mediterranean kalamata-olive loaves, plus dozens of other…

Colleen Moore

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