Luxury Longwood estate boasts acreage, distinctive style — and gas pump

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 11/4 11:00P Rachel Whetstone

Of all the distinctions it offers, a newly-listed luxury Longwood estate is most notable for two: its large, immaculate lot and its unusual architectural style. Oh, and it comes with your own gasoline...

Orange County’s tourist tax in 2024-25 smashed the all-time record. Will it continue?

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/4 4:04A Stephen Hudak

Boosted by the opening of the Epic Universe theme park, Orange County s tourist tax collections hit an all-time high in fiscal year 2024-25, shattering the previous 12-month best, set last year, by $25.1 million, according to a comptroller report...

Tuesday off to a cool start but will be sunny with a light wind

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/4 1:50A Garfield Hylton

Tuesday is off to a cool start, but it will be sunny with a high near 80 degrees. Winds are blowing northeast at 10 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 20 mph, according to NWS Melbourne. There is a high risk of rip currents at all area beaches....

First look: How new ‘Zootopia’ show fits in at Animal Kingdom

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/4 1:44A Dewayne Bevil

A new attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom puts polar bears in your face, introduces one very wet walrus, presents a buff buffalo clad in Lycra and solves a mystery, all in 10 minutes. It’s all...

Clean bills of health: Which Central Florida restaurants had perfect inspections in October?

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 11/3 11:00P Richard Tribou

After 2,318 restaurant inspections across Central Florida in October, only 266 had no issues for the entire month, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. After 2,318 restaurant inspections across...

A driver faces charges for a traffic death, but loved ones blame Orlando police

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/3 9:03A Stephen Hudak

Jaicarious Grace arrived Monday at an Orange County courtroom in a jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, expecting a judge to hand him a long prison sentence for causing a deadly crash in February 2023 that...

Osceola to provide $1 million for food pantries amid SNAP decrease

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/3 8:43A Natalia Jaramillo

Osceola commissioners voted 4-1 Monday to set aside $1 million to aid 38 food pantries, one week after county nonprofits said the increase in need due to a decrease in SNAP funding will spark a crisis. This made me lose sleep the whole weekend,...

Orlando voters in 3 districts hit the polls Tuesday

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/3 8:13A Ryan Gillespie

A relatively few number of ballots have been cast so far in Orlando, where voters tomorrow could elect commissioners in Districts 1, 3 and 5. Since each race has more than two candidates, it s also conceivable that nobody is elected tomorrow and...

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is running for governor

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/3 6:34A Ryan Gillespie

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, a trailblazer in Central Florida and one of the most prominent Democrats in the state, has filed to run for governor, election records show. Demings, who had hinted at a possible run amid his recent battles with...

Central Florida could see temps drop into 50s overnight

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/3 12:08A Richard Tribou

Winds will begin to pick up across Central Florida on Monday as a cold front moves across the region that will bring overnight lows into the 50s for much of the area, according to the National Weather Service. Northerly winds of 10-15 mph will...

Seminole lays out its wish list of projects using sales tax money

Orlando Sentinel (Osceola County News) 11/2 11:00P Martin E. Comas

From building a community park to adding more space at the cramped animal shelter, Seminole County has unveiled a wish list of projects to be paid for by tapping into $250 million in sales tax revenue...

Local talent takes the stage in ‘Gator Bites,’ Q Fest Orlando

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/2 10:30P Matthew J. Palm

Central Florida s talent is in the spotlight during November in two programs that are all about celebrating homegrown artists. Each year, Playwrights Round Table Native Voices program features works...

‘Huge sticker shock’: Floridians get first look at Obamacare price hikes

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/2 12:00A Skyler Swisher

Nathan Sharp is trying to figure out how he ll pay for health care now that the federal pandemic-era help that made his coverage more affordable is set to end. The 49-year-old Crystal River resident...

Survey: More Central Florida businesses fret about prospects amid economic uncertainty

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 11/1 12:00A Brian Bell

Almost three-fourths of respondents in a new survey of Central Florida businesses expressed confidence about their prospects for the rest of the year — but that sentiment tumbled from a year earlier....

Millions of Floridians slated to lose food stamp benefits Saturday

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 10/30 11:00P Michael Cuglietta

Desiree Torres relies on federal assistance to buy food for her two children. But come Saturday the single mother, along with nearly 3 million other Floridians, likely will lose that help due to the...