This year was one filled with puzzling headlines both on big and small scales, and Orlando was definitely not exempt. Ranging from silly animal sightings to downright egregious political attacks, Central Florida contributed its fair share of unhinged news.
From alligator wrestling to flying cars to scuba diver robbers, here are the most bizarre stories that Orlando Weekly published this year.
A woman drowned her dog in Orlando airport bathroom, and then the police lost her
An arrest affidavit said Alison Lawrence “is believed to have taken extreme and tragic action by killing the dog” after she was denied boarding her 9-year-old miniature schnauzer named Tywinn because she lacked the proper paperwork. When deputies later went to Lawrence’s home to arrest her, she was not there. A neighbor told them she no longer lives at the location.
DeSantis erased “LGBTQ and Hispanic communities” from Pulse remembrance statement
One day before the nine-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed flags to be flown at half-staff in remembrance. His statement, however, omitted mention of LGBTQ and Hispanic communities, two groups that made up most of the victims.
Visit Orlando spent $75K of taxpayer funds on lavish NYC dinner
The dinner, hosted at New York restaurant The Musket Room, took place in May 2023, according to a blog post published by the Michelin Guide. Forty guests, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, were invited to attend a dinner featuring chefs from Capa, a Michelin-starred steakhouse located in the Disney-adjacent Four Seasons hotel.
DeSantis said he wants to test flying cars in Central Florida
After recently admitting he was “mildly excited” about the effort to reduce congestion along the I-4 corridor, the governor said Florida will first try to attract the growing technology to Polk County. While few details were released, DeSantis in October announced plans for an aerial test bed at the SunTrax facility.
New College launched effort to erect a bronze statue of Charlie Kirk
In a move to honor the late right-wing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, New College of Florida announced plans in September to commission a bronze statue for its Sarasota campus. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
The initial design, depicted in an AI-generated image shared on social media, shows Kirk seated at a table with a microphone in hand, gesturing while “speaking” to three empty chairs. What could possibly go wrong at this prank photo-op setup?
Florida Highway Patrol arrested people for “aggressively chalking” over Pulse crosswalk
A Florida Highway Patrol officer arrested two people in November for allegedly “defacing” the formerly rainbow-colored crosswalk outside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub — the latest in a string of questionable arrests at the time.
According to court records, on Nov. 23, 28-year-old James Houchins and 29-year-old Austin “Bubba” Trahan were caught on video “aggressively” chalking the word “Resist” onto the crosswalk, which is owned and maintained by the state Department of Transportation.
A swan stopped traffic, then waddled across a busy Orlando highway
If you honked your car horn on the 408 on this March Friday, you might have gotten an especially wild honk back.
Debris from Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch grounded Orlando flights
MCO issued a ground stop declaration just after SpaceX launched its largest rocket, Starship, on its eighth test flight from its base in Boca Chica, Texas.
Just minutes after launch, the ship spun out of control, exploded and lost contact with SpaceX mission control. Debris from the rocket landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
DeSantis called a crosswalk outside a mass shooting memorial “political”
A day after the state quietly removed a rainbow crosswalk outside of the site of a gay nightclub mass shooting that killed 49 people, DeSantis in August took to his X account to call the strip of road “political.”
“We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes,” the governor wrote.
UCF received threats that “directly targeted” Black students
Several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, plus UCF, said in September they received threats targeting Black students and went under lockdown.
An email sent to students from UCF said “threats of violence like this seek to create fear and division, and they have no place at UCF. But let us be clear: Violence and threats of violence are never tolerated.”
Man in scuba gear robbed Disney restaurant, then swam away
Disney Springs restaurant Paddlefish, which is shaped like a steamboat, was robbed in September by someone who swam up dressed in goggles and a wetsuit.
He swam to the restaurant, stole thousands of dollars, put his gear back on, jumped into the lake again and swam away, OCSO reported.
A cop wrestled an alligator in someone’s backyard
Two deputies followed a trespassing alligator from a home’s front porch to the backyard, which the gator got into by ramming open a fence attached to the house.
The officers are seen in a video securing the alligator with rope before one wrestles the animal down and mounts it. Submission!
Woman sues SeaWorld Orlando after she says a duck hit her in the face on ride
According to the lawsuit, filed Monday, the duck struck Martin in the face, “causing loss of consciousness and personal injury.”
The suit alleges that SeaWorld failed to “maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition by negligently failing to correct a dangerous situation” that the park “either knew or should have known about.” Martin’s attorney also argues the park did not warn her about the potential risk of bird strikes before riding.
Orlando bar owner and his partner indicted on multiple child pornography charges
Richard Kowalczyk, former owner of Southern Nights Orlando and Tampa, and his partner, Eric Patrick, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to entice a minor, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, two counts of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Patrick has been charged with coercion and enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography. Both men are awaiting trial, and are living in separate residences with third-party custodians under pretrial release.
The January indictment said Kowalczyk participated in conversations on private messaging platform Telegram that went back as far as 2019. The “graphic exchanges” found on Kowalczyk’s phone during the investigation reportedly included images and videos featuring minors suspected to be as young as 7 years old.
Ownership was quickly transferred and the bars no longer have ties to the couple.
Campbell’s VP was exposed for saying soup is bioengineered ‘sh-t for poor people’ — and then James Uthmeier got involved
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday the state’s Consumer Protection division is launching an investigation into canned soup company Campbell’s use of lab-grown meat.
The announcement comes as a former Campbell’s employee launches legal action against the company following a meeting with the vice president that turned into an hour-long rant mocking “poor people,” calling Indian employees “idiots,” admitting to working while high on edibles, and claiming Campbell’s uses bioengineered meat.
Florida announced plans to gut vaccine mandates for kids
Florida’s anti-vax surgeon general Joseph Ladapo in September announced plans to get rid of the state’s vaccine requirements, earning swift criticism from the statewide teachers union, public health experts and Democratic lawmakers.
The Florida Education Association warned that eliminating vaccine mandates would make public schools less safe for students and teachers and worsen student absenteeism. According to the New York Times, Florida would be the first state in the U.S. to end all vaccine mandates, if the proposal moves forward.
DeSantis opened insultingly named immigration detention camps; the RPOF made merch
The Republican Party of Florida began selling merchandise themed after the immigrant detention camp dubbed the “Deportation Depot.” The hats, shirts and coffee mugs ripped off Home Depot’s logo and colors — and they didn’t last long. The line was pulled just days later, when Home Depot objected to the use of its brand’s likeness.
A Hope Florida meeting was derailed by racial slurs, porn and swastikas
Amid the fiasco that was Hope Florida — in which the DeSantis administration was accused of diverting millions of dollars in healthcare and child welfare funds toward political attack ads — one meeting went even worse than anyone thought it would. The highly anticipated Zoom call was canceled after a short time due to hackers screen-sharing offensive images and language including racial slurs, pornography and Nazi symbols.