The COVID-19 quarantine has created a curious kind of time displacement, where weeks seem to blend together in a blur but individual days stand out in sharp relief. Decades from now, people will probably remember where they were on the day the NBA shut down and Disneyland closed, much like previous generations recall Pearl Harbor…
The show must (not) go on (in a packed theater)!
Part 1 of a series of candidate profiles in the Florida House of Representatives District 48 election to replace Rep. Amy Mercado. – Samuel Vilchez Santiago, 23, announced his candidacy in May to represent District 48 in the Florida House of Representatives. District 48 includes parts of the Orlando International Airport, Azalea Park, South Goldenrod,…
The year 2020 sure didn’t turn out how most of us expected, but we can take some small comfort in community traditions, especially ones that spotlight the best of our city. That’s why Orlando Weekly’s Best of Orlando 2020 is still going strong this year, and it might be more important now than ever before,…
Restoring electricity after hurricanes this year would have added costs because of coronavirus physical-distancing requirements, utility officials told the Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday. Plans are underway to establish more staging areas to reduce crowds of relief workers, shift to single-serve packaging of food and revamp sleeping arrangements for restoration crews working remotely, as…
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices AUCTION Extra Space Storage – Store 8841 9847 Curry Ford Road, Orlando, FL 32825 Extra Space Storage will hold a Public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location Indicated: 9847 Curry Ford Road, Orlando, FL 32825 (407) 495-9612, June 10, 2020 @…
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration said Tuesday evening that a Department of Health employee who helped create Florida’s COVID-19 information “dashboard” was fired for insubordination, disputing allegations that she was terminated for refusing to manipulate data. “Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department, including her unilateral decisions to modify…
Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently been facing backlash from Florida journalists, elected officials and unemployed residents regarding the state’s reopening process and the distribution of “re-employment assistance” benefits. As he continues to deal with the state’s chaos, DeSantis is showing some signs of irritation. A May 18 COVID-19 press conference in Jacksonville reiterated that Florida was…
It’s Best of Orlando time! Have you voted yet? It might seem like a really weird time to do this, but really it’s a great time to shine the spotlight on the things you love about Orlando and the things you most look forward to doing when this dark cloud lifts. So musicians, bar and…
As I follow the developments surrounding the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in the state of Georgia, I think about other young African American men whose lives have been taken because people shoot first and ask questions later. My middle child is a son. He grew up in House District 44 and graduated from West…
Beth Marshall Presents is going full-steam ahead with their longtime annual Play in a Day extravaganza, and they want you to stay away! Wait, come back, Play in a Day is still happening, it’s just going fully online with the help of Central Florida’s Social Distance Showcase. Participating teams will be given their themes on…
Former Bengals wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson (he legally changed his last name in 2008 to reflect his football number, 85, later changing it back) is spreading some positivity amid the coronavirus pandemic, showing some love to a restaurant in Florida with a rather hefty tip and well wishes. Along with the photograph, they wrote…
After 20 years of serving the community, the Orange County Library System has decided to permanently close the Herndon Branch library located at 4324 E. Colonial Drive. OCLS tweeted on Tuesday, “After thoughtful consideration, the Orange County Library System Board of Trustees voted on May 14, 2020 not to extend the lease for the Herndon Branch library.”…
A number of local organizations and businesses have come together to put on an “Orlando Music Cares” live telethon scheduled for the end of May with a heavy lineup of local tunesmiths poised to do their thing for a very good causes. There’s an ambitious and diverse slate of live performances on offer: The Bloody…
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. Really Tom Brady, Do You Really Need The Money? The Tampa Bay Buc’s newest star took to the internet to hawk a new vitamin from his TB12 line,…
The percentages of kindergarten and seventh-grade children who have religious exemptions from vaccination requirements have reached all-time highs after steadily increasing over the past decade. A Florida Department of Health report on immunizations for the 2019-2020 academic year shows the rates of kindergarten and seventh-grade students statewide with religious exemptions from vaccinations are 3 percent…
The federal government on Monday released guidelines states could follow to reopen long-term care facilities to visitors. In the guidelines, which have no legal weight, the Trump administration recommended that nursing homes don’t reopen for visitation until they have no new reported COVID-19 for at least 28 days; have adequate personal protective equipment for staff…
Why is it that so many children’s stories are synonymous with suffering? We’re talking lots of dead dogs, dying trees, a dead spider, and one existentially doomed stuffed rabbit. But perhaps no story is as tragic as that of orphaned rat-turned-entrepreneur Chuck E. Cheese — who recently launched a new premium pizza brand so that…
Multiple indications point to travel eventually, slowly rebounding across the U.S., with many travelers stating they’ll forgo cruises and theme parks for less crowded options. One of those is the beach. Few hotels are better suited to welcome visitors this year than the newly opened Beachside Hotel & Suites in Cocoa Beach. Originally built in 1965,…
A Facebook page dedicated to locals supporting local restaurants, Still Serving, has amassed nearly 3,000 members since March 18, all in the hopes of attracting patrons to restaurants that haven’t given up serving locals and connecting restaurant owners to promote collaboration. The page’s founder Heather Bedor, is a hospitality industry consultant at Starlit Productions, and has helped…
An unruly crowd of about 3,000 people gathered Saturday afternoon into early Sunday for a block party across several locations in DeLand. According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the event led to two arrests, one hospitalization and numerous objects thrown at deputies. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released footage of the block party on…
Vice President Mike Pence is due to visit an Orlando nursing home on Wednesday to deliver a shipment of personal protective equipment. While he’s there, he’ll talk tourism and Florida’s phased reopening in a roundtable discussion with area hospitality and tourism bigwigs. Additionally, WFTV reported Gov. Ron DeSantis will also be meeting with Pence to…
“If the good lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise,” country star Chris Stapleton will be bringing his All-American Roadshow to Orlando after all, just next year after the coronavirus pandemic forced him to postpone all 2020 dates. Stapleton announced the rescheduled 2021 tour dates today, and if all goes as planned, Stapleton will be ending…
Tom Brady promised a big announcement today, and, well basically it’s a fancy jar of unproven coronavirus supplements. This morning, while COVID-19 cases continue to grow in Florida and gyms reopen to the public, the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and six-time Super Bowl champ announced he’s selling a non-FDA approved, homeopathic medley of vitamins…
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that most remaining unsettled claims in the state’s heavily criticized unemployment system are due to incomplete applications. DeSantis said forms often lack Social Security numbers or information about wages earned when the applicants were employed or they improperly list reasons for people being out of work. “We were in Tampa…
Cruise lines have been hit especially hard during this pandemic. Now, as cruise companies look to regain some semblance of normalcy, they’re facing a new struggle. Many ports seem disinterested in welcoming them back any time soon. Nearly all – 96 percent – of travel destinations around the world have imposed some form of restrictions,…
Daytona Beach water park, Daytona Lagoon, is “eagerly awaiting the safe reopening from state and local authorities” and is implementing additional improvements to its already stringent health and hygienic procedures to ensure everyone’s safety. As the park gets ready to welcome back its hundreds of employed local residents and guests, Daytona Lagoon proudly emphasizes that…
As Orlando-area theme parks look to slowly begin reopening, we are starting to learn more about many of the projects expected to debut this year. Capital spending across Disney parks worldwide has been cut back by $900 million. This doesn’t mean most of these projects have been outright canceled. Instead, many have been delayed while…
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. Hey Cool Cats & Kittens Wanna Buy A Mask Hey cool cats and kittens, our girl Carol Baskin is going into the mask business. – LINK Chad and I…
On Sunday afternoon, Maitland’s Enzian Theater (and Bungalower!) dropped the big news that they were kicking off a run of pop-up, drive-in movie screenings beginning later this month. The first movie to get the spotlight was a canny choice, the absurdist cult rom-com The Princess Bride. Princess Bride is going to be screened on May 22…
Rage rooms, or smash rooms, have found their way to Orlando as a way to blow off some steam while having fun. The new Anger Management Rage Room Orlando planned to open on April 11, after starting to set up in February, but were forced to delay their opening until May 9 due to the…
Disney Springs announced new steps for their phased reopening, including three Disney-owned and operated stores and venues scheduled to reopen on May 27. Those are World of Disney, D-Luxe Burger (mobile order) and the Marketplace Co-Op. The 45-year-old outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex, begins the first phased reopening on May 20, with some third-party-operated restaurants…
On Sunday night, Orlando’s experimental music scene is diving headfirst into the livestream pool with local conceptualist/DJ/musician Jason Kimmins’ Contactless Delivery™ – Touch Free Noise. Drawing some from performers who played Kimmins’ DIY space Church of United Ministry, Contactless Delivery features locals Bacon Grease, and Kimmins’ own project Jas000n. Out-of-town acts (possibly an obsolete concept…
Big Cat Rescue, a Hillsborough County animal sanctuary featured prominently in Netflix’s Tiger King, is selling CEO Carole Baskin’s cloth masks to raise funds. “Hey all you cool cats and kittens!” says the group in a Saturday Facebook post. “Be one of the first to get your very own mask featuring Carole’s favorite tag line!”…
Since late March, Florida hotels have been allowed to operate without state restrictions, while rental properties across the street or even in the same building have gathered dust. Gov. Ron DeSantis banned vacation rentals on March 27 in an executive order aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. The move, kept in place in subsequent…
The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council on Friday voted to adopt a set of ethical guidelines for the potential rationing of health care during a pandemic. The only dissenting vote on the council came from the organization Disability Rights Florida. The guidelines were developed by the Florida Bioethics Network. The goal of the guidelines, according to…
About a month after Germany’s World Club Dome held its first drive-in rave, which went viral on social media, American artists are taking a crack at it ― and Orlando’s Central Florida Fairgrounds will play host to the first one on June 6. Orlando-based DJ and producer Carnage ― already a festival pro with his…
Well, someone’s grounded. WFTV Channel 9 anchor Martha Sugalski’s Thursday 5:30 p.m. newscast was interrupted by her 6-year-old son Heaton running into the room behind her, screaming, just as a segment about a Daytona Beach restaurant was ending. Heaton dashed by Sugalski before she could introduce the next story, also about the coronavirus pandemic, but…
Today, two misdemeanor charges were dropped against Rodney Howard-Browne, the Tampa evangelical pastor who defied local shutdown orders and held in-person services during the coronavirus pandemic. The office of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren filed the notice Friday, stating that the charges of unlawful assembly and violating quarantine orders during a public health emergency, have been…
Speaking to reporters in Jacksonville this afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida will enter what he calls a “full Phase One,” while the state still deals with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “Today, we are going to move into, effective Monday, into a full phase one,” said the governor. “I think that this is appropriate…
Here’s our ever-growing list of restaurants in the Orlando and Winter Park area reopening during Phase 1. We will do our best to keep on top of all the restaurants as they make their decisions, but it’s best to call for details before you head out. If we’ve missed a restaurant you own, work at,…
The Orlando Regional Realtor Association released new numbers Thursday showing the effects of coronavirus on home sales in Central Florida. Orlando’s median home price in April rose by 12 percent, while the number of home sales dropped by 28 percent, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. The changes come as the inventory…
As Gov. Ron DeSantis and other local leaders slowly parcel out the new rules and guidelines of the phased reopening, we are starting to hear from restaurants about how they’re handling the new now. Some are reconfiguring dining rooms, some are expanding outside seating, some are sticking with takeout and delivery only for now. Over…
Southern sludge maestros the Ludes would surely prefer to perform in gloriously sweaty real life – be it Lou’s, Will’s or any seedy dive with an unsuspecting PA – but they were early adopters of livestreaming shows, having taken part in Andy Matchett’s No Days Off telethon back in March. Tonight, they’ll be riding the 5G waves…
Florida Democrats hope to make wildfires that destroyed homes and other structures in the Panhandle the latest political wedge between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who some believe could clash in the 2022 gubernatorial election. The Florida Democratic Party wasted little time noting that Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat, had become…
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will announce Friday additional “phase one” measures to reopen the state’s economy, with the moves expected to include allowing more people to be seated in restaurants and allowing gyms to operate. DeSantis gave a stay-tuned comment Thursday after adding Miami-Dade and Broward to the rest of the counties in the…
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 Governor Extends Bans On Evictions Keep Orlando going is everyone’s goal, but there’s no question our service oriented population has been hit, and hit hard. The Governor…
Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill in Disney Springs is planning to reopen with the rest of Disney Springs’ third-party restaurants and merchants on May 20, the restaurant announced Thursday. Puck’s place says that with the reopening “comes the assurance that we are doing all we can do to ensure safety measures and precautions for our…
The Sushi & Seoul food truck in front of Will’s Pub used to be a familiar sight most nights, doing a brisk business feeding gig attendees at Will’s and the cocktail crowd at Indies. We know that all of that is a no-go for a while, but hopefully devotees of Sushi & Seoul’s rolls will…
Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Thursday afternoon, extending relief for those struggling with evictions for foreclosures due to the coronavirus pandemic. While speaking at a news conference in Miami-Dade County, the governor stated that the order will run until June 2. The original order was only meant to run for a period of 45…
Disney Cruise Lines announced on its website Wednesday that cruise cancelations have been extended until July 27. With no new cruises scheduled until days later, that means the next Disney Cruise to depart won’t be until July 31. The statement on their website read in part: With the well-being of our Guests, Crew Members and Cast…
In a video message released on Thursday, Gatorland president and CEO Mark McHugh says the park is still not able to reopen yet, but they haven’t waited to set up lots of new safety precautions for when they do. Gatorland says it still needs the green light from state and local officials before they can even set…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in talks with the NFL to possibly bring football games to the University of Florida’s famed Gainesville stadium, the Swamp. In appearance on Fox Sports, DeSantis suggested UF’s Florida Field, as it’s formally known, is available for pro teams to use. “Good morning, and just so everyone knows, you know,…
Vandals have defaced a Pulse memorial mural on the walls of local LGBTQ+ aid organization The Center on Mills Avenue, likely the work of white supremacists. A poster on Reddit’s r/Orlando forum noticed the sticker had been placed recently right in the center of the mural, covering the Pulse logo. A member of the Orlando Weekly staff…
Publix says all locations will return to normal operating hours, and will suspend reserved shopping hours starting this weekend. In a press release sent Thursday morning, the Lakeland-based grocery chain said stores will be open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. starting Saturday, May 16. Pharmacies will also return to regular operating hours. “With our newly expanded hours,…
Despite not being able to throw shows and parties, the Grand Collab and Beermoney UNLTD are hustling hard. Masterminding the stacked Stay Up Homiez virtual fest, member Shinobi Stalin releasing a new album, and now this weekend’s Twitch show, Social Distancing Event, with some innovative partnerships. The event features sets from Beermoney UNLTD, J Biz &…
Florida had nearly 222,000 first-time unemployment claims filed last week, the first week of the state’s slow economic reopening under Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to numbers posted Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Nationally, almost 3 million new jobless claims were filed last week due primarily to the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed roughly…
A growing number of Florida Republicans are clamoring for Congress to reject providing an additional round of stimulus funding that they say would go beyond helping state and local governments deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Ron DeSantis has put on hold reviewing Florida’s planned $93.2 billion budget for the upcoming…
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he will extend an executive order intended to prevent foreclosures and evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. “I think we’re going to do it through the end of the month,” DeSantis told reporters at the Capitol. “We’ll have an announcement on that, I think, pretty soon.” The executive order, which takes…
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. Rollins Collins Suffers Across The Board Cuts Rollins College announcing this week that it’s staff will be cut 15% across the board. A move that’s left some folks…
The focus of fans and professionals in the music industry right now is on puzzling out the question of when live music can happen again safely. Lurking immediately under that question is another just as important: What will shows look like in the age of coronavirus? In brief: Do you remember having communal fun at…
Updated, May 14 | A Rollins representative reached out to specify that “more than 40 percent of the positions eliminated were vacant. In addition, President Grant Cornwell and his leadership team have taken voluntary reductions in salary.” The representative wrote there is not a $16 million budget deficit, adding, “we ended the last fiscal year…
Museums, galleries and other cultural centers around Orange County are gradually reopening in May. A few are already open, while others plan to welcome guests over the next month. Face masks and social distancing are required, but you can venture out and discover art and culture in-person again. Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs released a…
Dressed in Tyvek suits and accompanied by the Grim Reaper, protesters piled up 17 body bags on the steps of Florida’s Old State Capitol building Tuesday morning. The protest was organized by progressive grassroots group Indivisible, who are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop endangering the lives of his constituents as the state reopens in…
A system in the Atlantic just east of Florida now has an extremely high chance of forming into the season’s first named storm. According to a Wednesday morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center, an area of low pressure near the northeastern part of the Bahamas now has a 70% chance of forming into a…
Orlando Face Mask Strong, a local volunteer group that has been making masks for caregivers in central Florida has just paired up with Winter Park small business Rifle Paper Company to make personal protective masks for those who need it most. Rifle Paper company is a stationary and lifestyle brand based in Winter Park. They…
Masked metal bashers Slipknot have announced the cancellation of all live activities scheduled for the near future including overseas dates, their music cruise and their massive U.S. package tour Knotfest. In a statement posted to their Twitter, the band ran down the status of all summer events: Unfortunately, Slipknot’s 2020 touring, including the North American…
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. City Walk Is Reopening And It Will Look Like This; Orlando Weekly Nearly a week before Disney reopens Disney Springs, Universal Orlando Resort announces it’s already phasing in…
It’s taken a lot to do this, but here goes. I am a 38-year-old gay man. I have been dating this guy for a year and 10 months. It’s been a lot of work. He cheated on me numerous times and he lives with me and doesn’t work and I’ve been taking care of him…
Plus a dozen more streaming premieres this week
The Dining In Diaries
