Will City Hall incentives bring single family homes back to Parramore?

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/21 12:00A Ryan Gillespie

Orlando has a plan its leaders hope will boost home ownership in Parramore, a neighborhood with nearly twice as many vacant residential lots as it has single-family homes. The city council is expected...

Someone is buying up downtown Winter Garden — and residents are in an uproar

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/21 12:00A Stephen Hudak

Winter Garden s downtown, the envy of neighboring communities for its successful blend of charm and homegrown commerce, faces an uncertain future as nine commercial buildings, eight on West Plant s...

Florida faculty union, profs decry ‘censored’ state sociology textbook

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/21 12:00A Steven Walker

Florida s higher education board censored a general education sociology textbook, the state s faculty union says, cutting more than half of the book’s original content and removing chapters on racism, genocide and inequality. The book, which is...

Orlando Sentinel 150: Friday Flashback to Boardwalk and Baseball

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 11:06P Roger Simmons

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams was at bat when the Boardwalk and Baseball theme park opened south of Orlando in Haines City on April 4, 1987. Williams hit a ceremonial baseball to cut the ribbon...

A Central Florida foraging field trip yields massive wild yams

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 10:00P Patrick Connolly

For those who thought that hunter-gatherers were lost to the pages of history, think again. They are still roaming and foraging if you know where to look. A small team of volunteers, myself included,...

‘Whiplash-y weather’: A brief shot of summer, then a cooldown

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 7:14A Martin E. Comas

Summer will make a brief visit to Central Florida this weekend, when temperatures are expected to soar to near-record highs on Friday and Saturday and lead some residents to click on their air conditioners for the first time in weeks. Then, after...

Police: Orlando law prof had hundreds of child porn images on hard drive

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 7:03A Steven Walker

The Barry University law professor arrested this week had hundreds, and possibly thousands, of pornographic photos and videos of children on his hard drive, according to the affidavit for his arrest released Thursday. The disturbing images...

Residents, commissioner outraged over firing of Kissimmee city attorney

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 6:35A Natalia Jaramillo

Kissimmee is getting some major blowback over the termination of its city attorney earlier this month, with a commissioner, the former attorney s brother and residents arguing the city s allegations of performance issues and millions of dollars...

Universal selling weeklong ticket deals that include Epic

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 4:07A Dewayne Bevil

Universal Orlando has started selling a new weeklong ticket that includes park-to-park access and multiday visits to Epic Universe theme park. Universal s official website says buyers can move freely between Epic, Universal Studios Florida,...

Foggy start for Central Florida before temperatures in the 80s

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/19 12:46A Garfield Hylton

Thursday morning is off to a foggy start. Dense fog is affecting several portions of east Central Florida, according to NWS Melbourne. Okeechobee, Indian River, Saint Lucie and Martin counties are heavily affected. After the fog dissipates,...

Worrell says funds for victim advocacy in jeopardy, blames Uthmeier

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/18 11:00P Camila Gomez

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell says that funding to help “our most vulnerable victims” of crime could be slashed this year because Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier rewrote a federal contract in a way that sets her office up...

Preservationists fear historic house near Lake Eola may be torn down

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/18 11:00P Camila Gomez

The last remaining historical home facing Lake Eola could be demolished so the park’s entrance can be expanded, and that has upset residents who think the nearly 100-year-old Mediterranean-style...

Epic play is monumental endeavor: ‘Have I had any sleep?’

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/18 11:00P Matthew J. Palm

Actor Ben Gaetanos sums up the feeling after spending five months of learning and performing one of the most celebrated — but most demanding — plays in modern theater: Where are we? What s happening?...

Florida House passes bill to add transparency on conservation land decisions

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/18 11:00P Max Chesnes

The Florida House unanimously passed a bipartisan bill Tuesday that would shed more light on state conservation decisions after a series of recent public lands controversies gave little room for public input. The measure,  House Bill 441 , would...

Temperatures peak above 80 for much of Central Florida

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/18 12:46A Garfield Hylton

On Wednesday, Central will be partly sunny and warmer across the region. Peak temperatures are in the low 80s, with only a 10 percent chance of rain in Stuart, according to NWS Melbourne. There is a high risk for rip currents at all east Central...