Years after Ian, Seminole County buys out flood-prone homes with FEMA money

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/21 12:00A Martin E. Comas

More than three years after their homes were nearly destroyed by Hurricane Ian s floodwaters , residents along Lake Harney in east Seminole County are finally seeing relief. Seminole County, acting on...

Garbage collection, recycling days are changing in Orange County

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/20 12:00A Stephen Hudak

If Orange County picks up your garbage, your collection days are changing. The system-wide adjustment, which starts Monday, Dec. 29, affects all 235,000 residential households served by the county s contract waste-haulers — Waste Pro, Waste...

Sloth World plans quiet existence on bustling I-Drive

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/18 11:06P Dewayne Bevil

Sloth World is rapidly approaching a grand opening on Orlando’s International Drive, its executives say. The 7,500-square-foot facility will be home to more than 40 sloths living in a rainforest-inspired setting. And while it will operate near...

Sanford cop arrested after being paid for 79 allegedly fake off-duty shifts

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/17 7:47A Cristóbal Reyes

A 23-year veteran and former spokesperson for the Sanford Police Department was arrested Tuesday after being paid thousands of dollars for allegedly fake off-duty work shifts. Ronny Neal, an investigator in SPD s Professional Standards unit, was...

Maxwell: Indicted, investigated, embarrassing. Two Florida reps show the problem with partisanship

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/17 7:03A Scott Maxwell

Cory Mills has been an embarrassment ever since he first set foot in Congress three years ago. Mills kicked off his tenure by joking about tear-gassing journalists and laughing about the bloody beating of Nancy Pelosi’s elderly husband. Mills...

Pictures: Central Florida Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service 2025

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/17 6:49A Joe Burbank

Paper doves representing homeless individuals who passed away in the last year are placed on a Christmas tree in Heritage Park during the annual Central Florida Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service in...

Pictures: Best of 2025 sports photos by Orlando Sentinel photographers

Orlando Sentinel (Osceola County News) 12/17 1:28A Stephen Dowell, Willie J. Allen

Florida players celebrate after winning the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game against Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 7, 2025. Florida won the game 65-63. (Stephen M....

Patchy fog, a chance for light rain and partly sunny skies for Central Florida

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/17 12:16A Garfield Hylton

Central Florida begins the day with patchy fog with a chance for light rain after 10 a.m. The fog should dissipate around 8 a.m., and rain chances are 10 to 20 percent, according to NWS Melbourne. Once the fog clears, morning temperatures will be...

Health inspectors shut down 4 Central Florida restaurants last week

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 11:00P Garfield Hylton

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shut down four Central Florida restaurants for health code violations during the week from Dec. 7-13. Orange Sushi B Hibachi & Grill at 12141 Collegiate Way in Orlando shut down on Dec. 10....

Florida seeks to head off challenges to law suspending local growth limits

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 4:05A Jim Saunders

TALLAHASSEE — With a judge slated to hear arguments this week, the state is trying to short-circuit constitutional challenges to a new law that blocks cities and counties from approving more restrictive or burdensome changes to growth plans....

Oviedo Hanukkah celebration offers healing insight with Jewish traditions

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 3:02A Rich Pope

Rabbi Dubov, of Chabad of Oviedo–Winter Springs, at the forefront of a Hanukkah celebration held at Center Lake Park in Oviedo on Monday night, greeted and mingled with those in attendance. Young...

I got to help release a bald eagle back into the wild, and it was amazing

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 2:31A Roger Simmons

I was invited by the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland to help release a rehabilitated bald eagle on Dec. 5. And it was an amazing experience. The female eagle, who was about 5 years old,...

Preschool expulsions target of counselors working in Orange daycares

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 2:00A Michael Cuglietta

When Dawn Orsaeo dropped her son Gabriel off at preschool, the boy would usually cry because he didn’t want his mother to leave. For much of the day, the three-year-old would remain upset, often...

Cool start will have pleasant and cloudy afternoon

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 1:46A Garfield Hylton

Tuesday starts cool, but pleasant weather will arrive during a cloudy afternoon. The day will be mostly dry, but a few sprinkles could move onshore, according to NWS Melbourne. Orlando and the surrounding areas have peak temperatures at 71...

Driver dead, passenger injured after rollover crash in Winter Garden

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/15 3:44A Elainie Barraza

Two men from Orlando are dead after a fatal crash Monday morning on State Road 429 southbound at mile marker 17 in Orange County, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The fatal crash happened in the southbound lanes of S.R. 429 near Winter Garden...