Local thermometers will be up and down all weekend, with Easter Sunday temps expected to rise again, as high as the 90s. That’s why it’s extra cool that Jeremiah’s Italian Ice is still delivering frozen treats. In the Before Times, you could schlep a yard full of kids out to an ice cream shop, but practicing coronavirus…
If you’re anything like us, your first attempt to get groceries delivered without touching, well, anything was a comedy of errors: Disinfect the screen door handle that the delivery guy touched! Pick up the bags with a Lysol wipe! Do we need to wipe off all the packages? Do we need to spray the veggies…
As the world shifts to accommodate the current pandemic, businesses are still moving forward but in new and unique ways. Celebrity Cruises turned to the internet when it was clear that an in-person delivery of its latest ship was going to be impossible. The Celebrity Apex made history with what is believed to be the…
The city of Winter Park has hosted an extravagant Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter Sunday for 65 years. But this year, thanks to the coronavirus and the statewide stay-at-home order, the 14,000 Easter eggs will not be “sprinkled like confetti” throughout Central Park for kids to hunt. Instead, three mini-parades will wend their way…
The COVID-19 crisis has crushed Orlando’s tourism-driven economy, and the contracted actors and freelance entertainers who enliven our famous theme parks have been especially hard hit. Last weekend, area performers were joined by nationally-known names for an online telethon, and starting Tuesday, out-of-work artists can apply for a cash gift from the funds they raised.…
Orlando Legals Legal Public Notices IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY STATE OF FLORIDA. JUVENILE DIVISION: 03/ CRANER CASE NO: DP16-772, IN THE INTEREST OF Minor Child: K. K. DOB: 04/15/2016 SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF ADVISORY HEARING FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, STATE OF FLORIDA. TO: Mitchell…
Turns out downplaying the coronavirus threat and showing genuine disdain toward actual experts doesn’t go over well in Florida. A new poll reveals that 53 percent of people in the important swing state of Florida disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a University of North Florida poll released Monday, only 45…
If you’ve been looking for a way to give back to your favorite businesses, restaurants and organizations, or if you’re just itching for a little retail therapy, the brand-new Orlando Merch Store has gotchu. Mike Cho of Impress Ink set up the store to help out his city. “This hopefully will help get some cash flow…
With millions of jobs now furloughed indefinitely and billions in lost revenue, the tourism industry is currently grappling with the most significant challenge it has ever faced. Through the uncertainty and fear a chorus of voices is emerging, trying to give hope and encourage investment during these extraordinary times. With more than 50 years in…
While human civilization goes totally clownshoes, nature is just getting on with it. In fact, in a gift we may not deserve, the skies will be a little brighter this evening when the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year happens, says NASA. The “Super Pink Moon” should be at its peak illumination on Tuesday and Wednesday…
Editor’s Note: As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate, grocery store employees are finding themselves on the frontlines of the biggest health crisis in a century. A Florida Publix employee, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, reached out to our sister site Creative Loafing Tampa Bay to offer some perspective on what it’s…
Facing employee furloughs and pay cuts because of declining revenues, some major Florida hospitals are asking Gov. Ron DeSantis for help. Safety net hospitals want DeSantis to use a portion of $1.6 billion in increased federal Medicaid funds coming to Florida to increase the amount Medicaid reimburses hospitals for providing obstetrical care and treating COVID-19…
Gov. Ron DeSantis focused Monday on improvements being made to the state’s overwhelmed unemployment-compensation system, rather than his embattled appointee overseeing the work. DeSantis, during a news conference at the Capitol that also included Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Ken Lawson, called the difficulties encountered by people seeking unemployment benefits “totally unacceptable.” The system…
The Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard now allows residents to check how many confirmed cases of coronavirus are in their direct neighborhoods. The new feature can be found by checking the “cases by ZIP code” tab on the bottom of the interactive map. According to the FDH, the data uses a…
Fuel prices in Florida continue to drop, with regular unleaded gasoline now costing less than $2 a gallon at 90 percent of the pumps, according to the AAA auto club. The average price of regular unleaded is $1.90 a gallon, down 40 cents from last month and 80 cents from a year ago. AAA spokesman…
Two inmates at a Northwest Florida prison have tested positive for COVID-19, the Florida Department of Corrections said Sunday. The inmates are housed at Blackwater River Correctional Facility, a prison operated by The Geo Group Inc., a private contractor. Five employees at the Milton prison have also tested positive for COVID-19, according to corrections officials.…
While the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to radically disrupt everyday life, including removing the fans from this year’s Wrestlemania, former WWE wrestler and Clearwater Beach resident Hulk Hogan seems to be having a very religious moment. In a Monday morning Instagram post, Hogan seems to suggest that we are all being punished by God and…
It’s been over three weeks since Orlando’s theme parks were shuttered, so some of the attractions superfans are channeling their stir-crazy quarantine energy into creative re-creations of their favorite rides, which have been lighting up social media under #HomemadeThemeParks and its sibling hashtags #HomemadeDisney and #HomemadeUniversal. We first spotted the trend back on March 16,…
Nightmare cruise stories continue to fill the news cycles as more passengers and crew members try to escape the coronavirus that’s wreaking havoc onboard some ships, while nation after nation refuses to let the passengers and crew of the stricken ships disembark. The cruise line horror story is one that has remained in the headlines…
The coronavirus health crisis has many Americans without health insurance on edge, and a new report says Latino children are increasingly vulnerable. Between 2016 and 2018, both the number and rate of uninsured Latino children in the U.S. increased significantly, according to the report by UnidosUS and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Alison…
Don’t know about you, but I haven’t owned a printer in like a decade. I know I’m not alone in that, but right now, Florida’s fantastically shoddy unemployment benefits website is making that a problem. "It's a shit sandwich: Privately, Republicans admit the $77.9 million [unemployment] system that is now failing Florida workers is doing…
In the quest to restore voting rights to the nearly 1.4 million Floridians with prior felony convictions, there is new hope that a class action designation will make that possible. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to review a prior decision which blocked a state law requiring former…
In an effort to keep fingers off keypads during the coronavirus outbreak, Publix announced Friday that they’re finally accepting Apple Pay and other forms of mobile payment. In a statement released April 2, the Lakeland-based grocer said it will roll out contactless payments including Apple, Google and Samsung options at all of its store locations…
The Florida Department of Health released updated numbers Sunday about the coronavirus in the state. Here are some takeaways: — 12,151: Total number of confirmed cases. — 1,040: Increase in confirmed cases from a Saturday morning count. — 218: Deaths of Florida residents. — 27: Increase in deaths from a Saturday morning count. — 1,490:…
Watch Clay draw this comic here: — Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you news on how coronavirus is affecting Central Florida. Please follow CDC guidelines and Orange County advisories to stay safe, and please support this free publication. Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. Every little bit helps.
As the great Cat Stevens once wrote, “the first cut is the deepest.” For many, the first cut suffered may have been the ongoing wave of concert and event postponements and cancellations across the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the event industry at large to press pause indefinitely. Last month, promoter giants Live Nation…
Gov. Ron DeSantis this week asked all Floridians to do what might have been unimaginable more than a month ago: Don’t leave the house, unless you absolutely have to. The Republican governor resisted making the request for almost two weeks. But on Wednesday, DeSantis caved after a White House task force projected the novel coronavirus…
Orange County Fire Rescue reported a building fire at “5201 E. Colonial Drive” on their Twitter feed this morning. Sadly, the building in question appears to be 5221 E. Colonial Drive, aka Orlando institution Dancers Royale. #BuildingFire | 5201 E Colonial Drive. Crews report knockdown on fire, with no reports of injuries. 6:11am 911 call…
Southern Fried Sunday puts on the virtual #StayHome Fest series Last Sunday, March 29, local roots music showcase Southern Fried Sunday (headed up by Jessica Pawli) returned online with #StayHome Fest, a valiant attempt to chase the quarantine blues away. Over the course of a long afternoon, a phalanx of performers including Hannah Harber and…
More Publix employees have tested positive for coronavirus, this time in Clearwater. In a statement, company director of communication Maria Brous confirmed the two Clearwater cases were at stores 1160, 525 S. Belcher Road, and 866, 1555 S. Highland Ave. In that statement, Brous also said the company would implement more prevention efforts like heightened…
On Wednesday, Rodney Howard-Browne, the head pastor at the River at Tampa Bay Church, who was arrested for holding services during the coronavirus pandemic, said he will not open his megachurch this weekend over fear of his congregation’s safety and to protect them from “government tyranny.” However, his lawyer is now saying he also lost…
State Rep. Jackie Toledo is calling for an official investigation into Florida’s overloaded and barely functioning unemployment website. In a letter sent Friday afternoon to Chairmen Jeff Brandes and Jason Fischer of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, Toledo called for an audit into the Department of Economic Opportunity’s unemployment claims process. “Despite using $77 million…
For the next 45 days, Florida residents cannot be foreclosed upon or evicted. That’s according to a new executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday afternoon. The moves came after more than two dozen advocacy groups, former Gov. Rick Scott, and several lawmakers including Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani pushed for DeSantis to…
There’s an ethical way to spend your coronavirus stimulus check, but screw it. Spring has sprung! It’s finally beautiful outside again, sunny and temperate, and seeing as how absolutely everything everywhere is closed on account of a global pandemic, you’ve probably already gotten caught up on all the yard work you could possibly do. Now…
Without a clear end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight, Disney recently announced that it would begin to furlough employees. According to the New York Post, the company will be furloughing employees “whose jobs aren’t necessary” by April 19. However, while the employees are temporarily laid off, they will continue to receive full health care…
Paper applications for jobless benefits will soon be accepted as Florida’s rapidly growing ranks of out-of-work people have overwhelmed the online unemployment-compensation system. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday expanded the way people can file applications for benefits while directing agency heads from throughout state government to find employees – many now working from home because…
Florida health officials said Thursday that preventing “community spread” of the novel coronavirus through the state’s long-term care industry has become a top concern. To that end, long-term care providers were told to quickly report to county health departments any positive or suspected cases of COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the virus. They…
Last night, while sitting behind his desk in front of millions of online viewers and people tuning in to the Florida Channel, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, a fourth-quarter Hail Mary to help establish blanket rules across all 67 counties as new coronavirus cases spike. However, to literally…
As confirmed cases of novel coronavirus rapidly mount in Florida, the state’s medical centers operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are reportedly now in the process of purchasing “refrigerated mobile morgue trailers.” According to documents obtained by Quartz, the trailers will be stationed at all seven of Florida’s VA medical centers, with an eighth…
Great news for local business owners and my tired fingers: We’ve updated our Good To-Go Orlando system to add a way for restaurants and other local businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic to submit their information. Related I told you last week about the update to our restaurant database that allowed us to note restaurants…
Employees at Publix, one of the Southeast’s most popular grocery chains, have tested positive for the coronavirus, and one Florida man is loudly saying what so many of us think about that. That man is Algernod Lanier Washington. The 43-year-old Florida rapper better known as Plies went on Twitter yesterday to post a minute-long video…
Earlier this week, a Tampa pastor was arrested after defying state and county emergency restrictions regarding the coronavirus pandemic, but now an executive order issued today from Gov. Ron DeSantis says attending church services in person is perfectly fine. After weeks of criticism from lawmakers and the public, DeSantis finally announced an executive order calling…
Updated at 2:15 p.m. After weeks of criticism from both lawmakers and the public, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he will finally issue a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, DeSantis said the issue will go into effect Thursday night, April 2,…
“We have come some of the way, not near all of it. There is much yet to do.” These were the words spoken by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, as he signed the Federal Fair Housing Act. Four years after the Civil Rights Act, the President had continued to urge Congress to…
Florida might speed up some infrastructure projects, taking advantage of motorists staying off roads because of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “Given that the traffic is down and everything, I’m going to be looking at accelerating some of these infrastructure projects,” DeSantis told reporters at the Capitol. “When you’re doing those on…
Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Tuesday called for all school districts to extend campus closures through May 1 as part of efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus across the state. “While we work together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, one constant remains – students can and will continue to receive…
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I have Netflix
Vinia is the best restaurant in Hannibal Square. It’s a well-deserved superlative but given the petrifying and utterly bizarre times in which we all currently find ourselves, well, it’s small consolation. Like every restaurant owner on the planet, Fabio Perricelli and Paula Gamba are concerned, anxious and desperate to salvage what they’ve built – in…
My husband and I got married in August of 2019 and we were together for over five years before getting married. I’m very happy and love him with all my heart. I want to have his kids and support his entrepreneurial efforts as he supports mine. We don’t fight, we just have some tiffs here…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “If all the world’s a stage, where the hell is the teleprompter?” asks aphorist Sami Feiring. In my astrological opinion, you Aries are the least likely of all the signs to identify with that perspective. While everyone else might wish they could be better prepared for the nonstop improvisational tests of…
As coronavirus has canceled live entertainment worldwide, we’ve seen countless performers attempting to convert theatrical experiences into digital streams, with varying degrees of success. But if anyone might be able to capitalize creatively on this crazy cultural moment, it could be Orlando Weekly’s favorite performance artist, Brian Feldman. After all, this was the guy who…
Thoughts and preyers
The day we learned the American job market had lost 3.3 million jobs in a week, the Dow gained 1,300 points on news that the Senate had reached a deal on a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. Sure, the stock market isn’t the economy. But the dissonance is jarring. As large as it is, the…
