brendan, Author at Orlando Shine

Report shares that 180 people have been hit by Brightline trains in Florida since service launched

A joint investigation by WLRN and the Miami Herald recently found that Brightline’s intercity passenger trains between Miami and Orlando have been involved in 182 fatalities since operations began in 2017/2018. That equals roughly one death for every two weeks, which makes it the deadliest passenger railway in the country, according to fatalities per million […]

Judge reinstates Groveland Councilwoman Judith Fike

On July 17, a Lake County circuit judge granted a preliminary injunction restoring Judith Fike to her seat on the Groveland City Council following her suspension last week over controversial social media posts The council had suspended Fike by a 3–1 vote, citing “racist” and anti‑gay content from posts dating as far back as 2015. […]

Job Alert: Become an assistant park manager at Wekiva Springs

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Website) is looking to hire a new Assistant Park Manager to join the team at the Wekiva River Basin State Park (Website). The full-time role is responsible for employee training and supervision, visitor services, resource management, park maintenance, and protecting the park and facilities. Applicants should have knowledge of Florida ecosystems […]

Maitland City Council approves design for new library building

On July 14, the Maitland City Council voted unanimously to approve the final design and phased development plan by HBM Architects (Website) for its new public library. The 20,000 SF, two‑story facility in Quinn Strong Park, at 345 S. Maitland Avenue [GMap] will include dedicated program rooms for children and adults, addressing space limits at the […]

Milk District Main Street hosting State of The Milk event on July 23

The Milk District (Website) is hosting its annual State of The Milk town hall event on Wednesday, July 23, at 6 p.m., at the Elk’s Lodge 1079, and you’re all invited. The event will shine a spotlight on “the local legends, big-hearted neighbors, and small businesses who pour so much into the neighborhood” while playing games and […]

Church Street venues allowed to reopen, says City of Orlando

Four downtown Orlando nightclubs that closed last year will be allowed to reopen, according to Orlando City Council. The venues, which include Irish Shannon’s, Chillers, and High Tide, were forced to get a waiver to reopen according to a new “300-foot rule” enacted by City Hall last September, which prohibits nightclubs from operating within 300 […]

City Council approves local food truck bar operator to manage new art park downtown

As first reported by The Community Paper (Website) earlier this week, Orlando City Council has approved the selection of A La Cart Orlando (Website) as the new managers of a long-awaited projection park in downtown Orlando. Art2 Park (as in Art “squared”) is located on the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Robinson Street and will feature […]

2025 Florida Python Challenge wants to pay you to catch invasive snakes

The annual 10-day Florida Python Competition (Website) is currently in full swing. It launched on July 11 and runs through July 20, offering professional and novice snake hunters a chance to win $25,000 in cash prizes for capturing and removing invasive Burmese pythons from public lands. There is a $25 registration fee, but you get […]

Korean grocer H Mart now hiring for hyped-up, long-awaited Ocoee store

Popular Korean grocer chain H Mart (Website) is now hiring for a long-awaited Ocoee location, which means they’re opening soon and people can’t stop talking about it. The new 183,000 SF store will be a flagship format, larger than its typical locations, and will be its first-ever Florida location. They’ll have an in-store food court with […]

Universal announces new “Terrifier” haunted house for 2025 Horror Nights

Universal Orlando just confirmed a new haunted house for this year’s upcoming Halloween Horror Nights (Website) based on the hit Terrifier franchise starring the horrific Art the Clown (pictured above). The first feature, Terrifier (2016), was produced on an ultra‑low budget, reported between about $35,000–$55,000, and earned a modest gross, but its sequel, Terrifier 2 (2022) leveraged […]

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