AutoZone's long-time CEO Rhodes to step down next year
AutoZone Inc. CEO Bill Rhodes will step down in January next year after leading the company for more than 18 years,
Evolving Oviedo Mall lands orthopedic office, Italian market
OVIEDO – Kevin Hipes was sitting in his car waiting for a doctor’s appointment a few years ago when he had an idea for Oviedo Mall.
“It hit me: these medical people ought to be in the mall,” said Hipes, the mall’s enthusiastic director of development. “You’ve got 45 minutes [to wait for the doctor], Mr. Hipes. Go get a craft beer. Go get your nails done. Go work out for 45 minutes. Go to the food court, eat lunch. Go to Barnes & Noble, read a book. I said, ‘Holy, cow. Medical in the mall.’”
Hipes’ vision for what he markets as a “Medical Main Street” is starting to show signs of life as Oviedo Mall undergoes a transformation in the wake of national retailers shuttering at shopping centers across the country over the past decade.
Orlando Orthopaedic Center, which has about 10 offices around Central Florida, is planning to open in a more than 16,100-square-foot space inside the mall.
Elsewhere at the center, an Italian market and bakery from the owners of a Central Florida pizzeria is slated for an 8,300-square-foot space that formerly housed a Chamberlin’s natural foods store.
Cirque du Soleil: ‘Drawn to Life’ tickets discounted for summer
Tickets to “Drawn to Life,” the Cirque du Soleil show based at Disney Springs, are being offered at a discount for the rest of the summer.
The savings are available for four categories of seats, which excludes the “golden circle” area located in the prime “front-and-center” part of the theater. Tickets with the deal start as low at $59 and go to $159 for performances and vary with the date and seat location.
Admission normally ranges between $75 and $159 for those seats.
The sale is good for purchases through Sept. 23 for performances through Sept. 30. There is a limit of eight tickets per transaction per person.
“Drawn to Life” premiered in the West Side neighborhood of Disney Springs in November 2021, replacing “La Nouba,” which closed Dec. 31, 2017.
Disney characters woven throughout the show amid Cirque’s trademark distinctive acrobat acts with a storyline that revolves around a father who is a Disney animator and his daughter.
Stellantis to launch Free2move Charge suite of EV services, products
Stellantis sees Free2move Charge as a way to reach its EV sales goals by removing barriers to EV ownership such as charging anxiety.
DeSantis, new district target Disney lawsuit aimed at them
Gov. Ron DeSantis and a revamped Central Florida special district sought Monday to scuttle a federal lawsuit in which Disney contends its constitutional rights have been violated amid a long-running feud with DeSantis.
Attorneys for the state filed a motion contending that DeSantis and Meredith Ivey, acting secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, should be dismissed from the lawsuit. Meanwhile, attorneys for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District argued the federal case should be put on hold until a separate case in Orange Circuit Court is resolved — or, as an alternative, the federal case should be dismissed.
Disney filed the federal lawsuit in April, alleging constitutional violations related to a series of events that the entertainment giant says are rooted in retaliation by DeSantis and his political allies over the company’s opposition to the so-called “don’t say gay” law.
A key issue is a law passed this spring invalidating development-related agreements that Disney reached with the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board, which for decades had been controlled by Disney World. The Legislature did away with the Reedy Creek board and gave DeSantis authority to appoint members of the successor Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.