Things To Do In SW Florida

Fallout from last year’s delay to the launch of the Psyche asteroid probe led to an independent review of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its handling of the mission. The leader of that review says the team has been impressed with NASA’s reaction as the launch is back on track for an October liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.

“The [review board] recognizes that our JPL institution findings or recommendations were challenging and really require considerable time to complete the required corrective actions,” said retired aerospace executive A. Thomas Young. “We were impressed by the results we observed that were well beyond our high expectations.”

Psyche was supposed to launch last summer so that it could rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche that lies between Mars and Jupiter in 2026. But because it missed the launch window last year, this year’s launch, if it goes well, means it won’t arrive at the asteroid until 2029.

The launch window runs from Oct. 5-23 and the probe itself has been in Florida since last April, but additional work was required to make it ready that forced it to miss the 2022 launch opportunities. Before the delay, the mission cost had topped $850 million for the development, operation and science. Launch costs to use the Falcon Heavy were separate. read more

The regulars have been a little more regular at Linda’s Winter Park Diner this past week, says Linda D’Auria.

She’s the joint’s namesake. Its keeper for the past 35 years. And the community’s been turning out enthusiastically to pay respects.

D’Auria, 67, recently announced she’d sold the iconic eatery, and she and her staff — several of whom have worked there for upwards of 20 years — will be the last team to bring breakfast and lunch to the community from this little parcel of Fairbanks Avenue.

“It’s bittersweet,” says D’Auria, who purchased the place in 1988. “I have been blessed to have loyal customers who have known me for 35 years. We have aged together,” she jokes. “Like fine wine.”

Staffers weren’t too surprised when she broke the news last week.

“They’ve been with me a long time,” D’Auria says. “They knew that I was ready.”

But for years, D’Auria was all ambition, all the time, a good thing not merely for the mother of a young child (daughter Gina, now 33, was born two years after she bought the place) but for a community needing homestyle meals. Linda’s has long been legendary for its omelets and center-cut bacon breakfasts. Diner classic specials — liver and onions, roast chicken and more — would sometimes lure regulars in twice a day. read more

A federal judge pushed back on attorneys for the state of Florida during a hearing Tuesday about their claim a new law does not specifically target drag performers.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell did not immediately issue a ruling during Tuesday’s hearing in the case brought by the Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Orlando but said he would as soon as possible. The hearing was originally scheduled about Hamburger Mary’s motion to temporarily block the law.

The court battle is over a state law signed in May with penalties for venues letting children into an “adult live performance” and includes potential first-degree misdemeanor charges for violators.

Hamburger Mary’s filed a lawsuit in May against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state, and Melanie Griffin, secretary of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

The suit said after the law was signed the restaurant told customers children would not be allowed at drag shows and it lost 20% of its bookings. The lawsuit noted the criminal penalties and said the business could not take the chance its liquor license would be suspended. read more

Orange County Regional History Center will celebrate Sally’s Night, a salute to the legacy of astronaut Sally Ride, with family-friendly activities and a presentation by NASA chief technologist Kathleen B. Loftin on June 15.

Sally’s Night is led by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.  It is in recognition of Ride, who became the first American woman in space (and the third woman from any nation) in June 1983.  When she took off as part of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew, she became the youngest American in space at age 32.

Event hours will be 5-8 p.m. at the museum at 65 E. Central Blvd. in Orlando. Visitors can craft constellations, train for space exploration with astronaut gloves and experience an immersive pop-up planetarium. Loftin, who manages research and technology projects at Kennedy Space Center, will speak at 6 p.m.

The event coincides with Third Thursday in Downtown Orlando, when the history center offers free admission.

Orlando Science Center set for adults-only night Saturday read more