Central Florida’s tourism industry has struggled to turn up any good news since the coronavirus pandemic-related closures hit eight months ago, but one of the state’s largest resorts is showing hopeful signs with a massive overhaul to greet visitors slowly returning to the area. The Orlando World Center Marriott was already the largest Marriott in…
As we near the end of this 75-year-long Election Week, you’re most likely jonesing to get rid of anything that reminds you of the Tuesday that never ends. For your election yard signs at least, the League of Women Voters of Orange County has an environmentally responsible way to dispose of them There are five…
Just as Dr. Frankenstein learned to his misfortune not to push science to its unholy limits, so city leaders expressed dismay that their own “experiment” in allowing open alcohol on closed Downtown streets Halloween night resulted in massive, oft-maskless throngs packed tight into Downtown Orlando. Photos from Halloween night Downtown Orlando began making the rounds…
Two decades after Florida voters approved a measure to connect Orlando to Tampa via high-speed rail, Brightline has announced plans to finally move forward with this project. The news of the privately held passenger rail company suddenly resurrecting plans left some confused. Florida Republicans have tried to kill the link multiple times, but this fully…
Republican Rep. Rene “Coach P” Plasencia won his re-election race to retain his Florida House District 50 seat in a tight race against Democratic challenger Nina Yoakum. Plasencia, a multi-term incumbent representing District 50, scored a victory in a district that includes parts of east Orange and north Brevard counties including Bithlo, Christmas and Titusville. “Thank…
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices AUCTION Extra Space Storage – Store 8138 1001 Lee Rd. Orlando FL. 32810 Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated: 1001 Lee Rd., Orlando, FL. 32810 (407) 489-3742, November 19th, 2020 @ 4:00…
State Rep. Geraldine Thompson has won re-election to her seat in the Florida House representing District 44, which includes southwest Orange County, Windermere, Disney, parts of Winter Garden and Oakland. It was a close race, but Thompson pulled ahead of her Republican opponent and political newcomer Bruno Portigliatti with 53 percent of the vote, or 61,531…
State Sen. Randolph Bracy has won the race for Florida Senate District 11 with a commanding 65 percent of the vote over his Republican opponent, Joshua Eli Adams. Democrat Bracy served as a state representative prior to his current tenure in the Florida Senate, with a focus on issues of…
Democrat Daisy Morales has taken the seat representing Florida House District 48 left open when Amy Mercado decided to run for Orange County Property Appraiser. Heavily Democrat-leaning District 48 includes parts of Orange County including the Orlando International Airport, Azalea Park and the Sand Lake area. Morales served as an Orange County Soil & Water Conservation…
Incumbent state Rep. Joy Goff-Marcil (D-Maitland) retains her seat in Florida House District 30, which covers parts of Orange and Seminole counties including Maitland, Casselberry and Altamonte Springs. Goff-Marcil received 16,458 votes, or 56 percent of the district. The attorney and former vice mayor of Maitland netted endorsements from the Florida Education Association teacher’s union…
Rep. Val Demings has won her re-election bid and will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a third term to represent Florida’s Congressional District 10. The Democratic U.S. congresswoman and former Orlando Police chief grabbed the national spotlight as an impeachment manager for proceedings against President Trump, and a fiery speaker during the…
In a charming yet mathematically improbable deed, more than 100 percent of registered voters at the precinct covering UCF cast a ballot in the election, according to the Orange County supervisor of elections’ office. Danaë Rivera-Marasco, the SOE’s communications coordinator explained that a few voters switched their addresses on Election Day and moved into the precinct. When the…
Florida’s Amendment 2 – aka the $15 Minimum Wage Initiative – has passed with more than 60 percent voter approval in a major victory for Florida’s low-wage workers. With its passage, Florida’s Amendment 2 will gradually raise Florida’s current minimum wage of $8.56 to $15 by 2026, beginning with an initial increase to $10 on…
Travaris McCurdy (D-Orlando) has officially won Florida House District 46. Incumbent Rep. Bruce Antone termed out in 2020, and McCurdy ran unopposed after winning the Democratic primary. McCurdy formerly served as legislative aide to state Sen. Randolph Bracy, and has also worked with Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill and State Rep. Geraldine Thompson. – Stay…
Rep. Kamia L. Brown has officially won the Florida House District 45 seat. Brown, a Democrat, ran unopposed this year. In 2016 Brown, a former legislative aide to state Rep. Victor Torres, beat out four Democratic challengers in the primary to take the District in a race with no Republican candidates. District 45 covers parts of west Orange…
Democrat Vic Torres has won his third and final term as State Senator representing Florida Senate District 15, with 56 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Torres pledged to continue focusing on issues of affordable housing, health care, reforming the criminal justice system, as well as coronavirus relief efforts, which should be welcome…
State Sen. Linda Stewart has won a comfortable victory to retain her District 13 seat in the Florida Senate, receiving 60 percent of the vote. Stewart, Democrat of Orlando, has a long record of service in Central Florida, first serving two terms in the House of Representatives for District 47, before getting elected to the state Senate…
Stephanie Murphy, Democrat of Winter Park, has fought off two challengers to retain her Congressional seat. This will be Murphy’s third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. With all precincts reporting, Murphy received 91,718 votes, or 61.24%, over Republican Leo Valentin and NPA William Garlington. Murphy serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and…
Two-term U.S. congressman Darren Soto (D-Orlando) has won re-election and will continue to represent Florida Congressional District 9 in D.C. Soto claimed 61,407 votes, or 62 percent. Soto, the first Puerto Rican from Florida elected to Congress, serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Natural Resources. He successfully pushed through…
Monique Worrell has won office as the State Attorney of the 9th Judicial Circuit (Orange and Osceola counties). This race was essentially decided in the Aug. 18 primary, when Worrell defeated fellow Democrats Deborah Barra, Ryan Williams and Belvin Perry Jr. In this race against Jose Torroella, she received 67 percent of the vote. Worrell is…
Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, has been re-elected to her District 47 seat for a second term, handily besting Republican challenger Jeremy Sisson. Eskamani captured 59 percent of the vote, racking up 58,502 votes with 45 of 47 precincts reporting. A proud progressive voice in the state legislature, Eskamani will continue to represent Florida…
Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) has successfully defended his Florida House District 49 seat with 62 percent of the vote. The two-term state representative is the first openly gay Latino to be elected to the state House, and is a popular progressive voice in the Legislature. He has fought for gun control, recreational marijuana legislation, anti-discrimination legislation…
Orange County Sheriff John Mina (D) has won re-election to another term in office. After winning the Democratic primary in August, Mina ran unopposed – save for write-in candidates – in today’s general election. Mina was chief of the Orlando Police Department for almost four years, and Orange County Sheriff for two years. Even in his short tenure as…
Amy Mercado (D) has won the election for Orange County Property Appraiser. Mercado, a two-term Democratic state representative, left her District 48 seat to run for appraiser. When she filed in May, she said, “I am passionate about making the move to serve Orange County at the local level and bringing a fresh perspective to the Property…
Orange County has seen record-breaking voter turnout this Election Day with over 630,000 ballots cast – and that number was tallied with two hours left to go at the polls. Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles’ office tweeted out late this afternoon that the county is nearing 73 percent turnout this election cycle, through a combination of mail-in…
Donut emporium Krispy Kreme is on it with the holiday deals again, offering a free glazed donut to customers who need to eat their feelings on this here Election Day. Basically just swing by any participating Krispy Kreme and get a gratis donut, no need to provide proof of civic engagement. (Though you better have…
Every morning on Magic 107.7 FM, Leslye Gale discusses the most interesting Orlando Weekly stories of the day on “Chad & Leslye.” Check out Leslye’s picks today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted its “no sail order” but while passengers may be ready to cruise, the industry itself may not think it’s…
November’s Fringe First Friday virtual event – set for this very week – will shine a spotlight on trans and gender non-conforming artists, both local and from around the country. Co-sponsored by the City of Orlando Office of Multicultural Affairs, the shindig will include everything from dance to comedy, trivia to music, storytelling and even drinking a Mtn Dew…
Nearly 9 million Floridians had already cast their votes Monday morning, topped with turnout of more than 75 percent in Republican-rich Sumter and Collier counties. Statewide, with 62.14 percent of Florida’s 14.44 million registered voters already participating in Tuesday’s elections, registered Democrats had cast about 108,000 more ballots than their Republican counterparts, according to the…
Orange County’s CARES Act portal for individual and family assistance payouts is set to reopen Wednesday to provide some measure of financial relief to those in need. The CARES portal opens on at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, and will stay open until a capacity of 15,000 applicants is reached. Applicants are eligible for “a one-time…
Democrats are prepared for the Trump administration’s voter suppression attempts and will respond with “aggressive litigation,” Democratic National Campaign Chairman Tom Perez said Monday at a campaign event in San Antonio. The promise from Perez, in town to stump for Democratic candidates, came as President Trump pledged to sue Pennsylvania to stop it from counting…
You read that right: the McDonald’s cult favorite McRib sandwich is back. Somehow, it keeps coming back. This fall, the McRib – so named even though it contains no actual ribs – will make its first appearance in roughly a decade. And, as per previous reintroductions, the return will likely be met by fanatical squeals from fast-food aficionados across…
While political junkies enjoy recounting stories and eyeballing statistics from 2000, 1992 and other past elections, this year’s race has a major wildcard that makes it unlike anything in recent history: COVID-19. The election is playing out amid increases across the country in COVID-19 cases, including more cases popping up in Florida. On Friday, for…
Brothers and sisters aren’t speaking to each other. Golf foursomes have been permanently scratched. Political activists have screamed themselves hoarse. A bitterly divided nation is teetering on a political powder keg as millions of voters head to the polls on Election Day, with the near certainty that partisan discontent will intensify as ballots continue to…
After a No Sail Order that lasted more than 230 days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally laid out plans to allow cruise lines to sail from U.S. waters once again. While the removal of the order was applauded by cruise lines, the Conditional Sailing Order the CDC replaced it with means…
More than 11,400 workers at Walt Disney properties across Central Florida will be laid off on New Years’ Eve, as tourism remains sluggish from the coronavirus pandemic. “Due to the continuing business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce,” Jim Bowden, Disney vice president of employee…
A Georgia woman is accused of hiding a loaded gun at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and trying to lay the whole thing off on a toddler. Marcia Temple, 27 was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and given a trespass warning on Oct. 8. An AdventHealth employee taking guest temperatures at Disney noticed that Temple placed a purse behind a…
UPDATE: At 3:42 p.m., the ACLU informed us that they had received a signed proclamation from Gov. DeSantis. Florida’s chapter of the ACLU and the Orange County NAACP sent a formal request to Gov. Ron DeSantis back on Oct. 23 requesting that he declare today – Monday, Nov. 2 – a day of remembrance for the 1920 Ocoee Election…
Going into the final weekend before Tuesday’s elections, more than 54 percent of Florida voters have already cast their ballots. As of Friday morning, 7,827,532 of the 14,441,869 registered voters had cast ballots through the mail or at early voting sites, according to the state Division of Elections website. In all, 4,351,724 votes had been…
The Grammy-winning, Tony Award-nominated musical Green Day’s American Idiot opens in Sanford’s Theater West End this week, just in time for election fallout. Based on the comeback 2004 concept album by crossover-punk act Green Day, American Idiot was written by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong with an assist from Broadway name Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry…
Theme parks regularly survey guests on various concepts and trends, though few of them are ever realized. Still, multiple recent surveys by Six Flags show the company is trying to gauge what it needs to do for visitors to feel comfortable returning to its parks. In recent weeks, the Texas-based amusement park chain has sent…
Every morning on Magic 107.7 FM, Leslye Gale discusses the most interesting Orlando Weekly stories of the day on “Chad & Leslye.” Check out Leslye’s picks today. We’ve seen gators on golf courses before, but the sight never gets old to me. This scene played out on a golf course in Melbourne. – LINK It’s…
Lyft is offering ride discounts to get you, the stalwart Election Day voter, to the polls safely and quickly this Tuesday. The rideshare giant is giving a 50 percent discount on a ride to the polls using the Election Day promotional code 2020VOTE. This promo code is valid locally from 4 a.m.-11 p.m. on Tuesday…
Felons who registered to vote in Florida before a major court ruling last month must be allowed to cast regular ballots — not provisional ballots — in Tuesday’s presidential election, the top lawyer for county supervisors of elections said Thursday. Editors’s note: If you have any problems exercising your voting rights, experience voter intimidation efforts,…
Just because a coup fails doesn’t make it forgivable.
Our favorite YouTube wormhole this shut-in Halloween has been digging up clips of classic horror hosts – creepily attired comics who’d crack jokes over bad horror flicks, usually for local TV stations – who never quite made it to the level of Vampira, Elvira or Zacherle. And finally our jealousy of Tampa for laying claim to Dr. Paul…
Maitland arthouse cinema Enzian Theater and downtown Orlando’s Ace Cafe are teaming up for a screening of post-apocalyptic thriller – or if Trump wins: handy instructional video – Mad Max: Fury Road next week. The film screening will be indoors at Ace, with the cafe’s full menu on offer. The Friday-night event is a fundraiser for the Enzian.…
“Mind if I play through?” presumably said an alligator who was spotted taking in the air at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne on Thursday The 10-foot-long gator was filmed by intrepid and unflappable Duran Golf Club employee Nicole Latner as it leisurely strolled across the green and eventually headed towards a lake nearby. “Another day…
An Orange County woman did her civic duty for two on Tuesday afternoon when she cast her ballot from the parking lot of the Supervisor of Elections office on Kaley … while in labor and en route to the hospital to give birth. The woman, who has not been identified (because privacy), demanded that her…
Veteran Orlando DJ Greg “BMF” Lentz is returning to Will’s Pub to lay down some seasonal sounds on Halloween night, and it won’t just be at his usual haunt of Lil Indies, it’ll be the whole Will’s complex. Expect some deep dives into lost Halloween and spooky songcraft as befits a lifetime crate-digger. And anywhere…
Downtown Orlando’s cat café the Kitty Beautiful has luckily weathered the economic storm of the coronavirus pandemic and, even better, will be celebrating their first anniversary this week. The Kitty Beautiful’s business model is simple but effective. It’s got a full menu where you can grab coffee, teas, juices or pastries and settle in to…
Every morning on Magic 107.7 FM, Leslye Gale discusses the most interesting Orlando Weekly stories of the day on “Chad & Leslye.” Check out Leslye’s picks today. If the state of the nation isn’t reason enough to head to the polls this year, Winter Park’s New Standard just gave you one more reason to show…
Gory stories to fill your Halloween viewing queue
More than 6.9 million Floridians had voted as of Wednesday morning, with six days remaining before the Nov. 3 general election. In all, 6,921,358 people had cast ballots, nearly 48 percent of the registered voters in the state. Registered Democrats had returned about 621,000 more mail-in ballots than Republicans, while GOP voters were leading in…
Florida’s top elections official Wednesday said the state’s voter-registration systems are secure after a Naples man was accused of going online and using information from Wikipedia to change the voting address of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that Anthony Steven Guevara, 20 of…
The Orlando Philharmonic is moving their annual Young People’s Concert – set for November – fully online due to safety concerns, but they are making the best of it. Fittingly dubbed “Where In the World Is OPO?” the concert – usually performed at Bob Carr in front of thousands of Central Florida elementary school students – was instead filmed in stages at Addition…
Our weekly food news roundup
Premieres Wednesday: Burning Ojai: Our Fire Story – Resident Michael Milano filmed this 45-minute documentary about the Thomas Fire that destroyed nearly 300,000 acres of property in Ventura County, California, in 2017. And boy, am I relieved that’s all over. (HBO Max) Holidate – Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey play strangers who agree to be together…
Meet Tonka (A450668)! This sweet boy has been patiently waiting at the shelter for his forever family to come in and meet him. Tonka is a 7-year-old neutered male. He’s a complete love bug: He enjoys treats, walks, and belly rubs while lying in your lap. He is microchipped and fully vaccinated – once he…
In their time, they were admired as one of the most advanced societies on Earth. But when undeniable warnings of destruction were delivered, a surprising number decided to dig in their heels, seemingly assured of their immunity from the inevitable. And so, despite their apparent sophistication, they embraced their extinction, and their agonies were immortalized…
Mitch McConnell is barely hiding his contempt for democracy. “A lot of what we’ve done over the last four years will be undone, sooner or later, by the next election,” the Republican Senate majority leader proclaimed last Sunday, nine days before he and his party will face voters at the polls. “But they won’t be…
With the eyes of the nation once again on Florida as the potential arbiter of another close election – because they’re all “close elections” now, even when they aren’t – it’s tempting to look back at the 2000 debacle that earned us the title of State Most Likely to Screw Up Democracy. The documentary 537…
