In-car USB ports are switching to a new standard — but not everyone is all-in yet
As the tech world coalesces around a single USB port design, some automakers are moving at a slower pace to keep customers happy and their devices plugged in.
Nissan Kicks next-gen production delayed by theft at supplier
Kicks production in Mexico is now scheduled to begin in June, sources say.
Theme Park Rangers Radar: Dueling Dragons, Islands of Adventure music, Pumpkin Spice Suites
We’ve got a boatload of bullet points to wade through in this week’s Theme Park Rangers Radar. There’s extended time in the Islands of Adventure time machine to reminisce about Dueling Dragons, sounds and sights from IOA and news from afar that might make one scream “fire in the hole” or “pumpkin spice, already?”
Radar is a weekly complication of theme park notes and nosiness. It is published on OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.
Digging Dueling Dragons
Did this reporter gasp a little when Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights announced there will be a haunted house called Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate? Sorry, I was triggered by the memory of the intertwined coasters that opened with Islands of Adventure in 1999.
Universal’s description of the maze involves warlocks turned into dragons after trying to take Merlyn’s spell book. From the ride, I primarily remember the skulls in the queue, the weightlessness of the Fire dragon and the near-miss experience with a stone wall aboard Ice. And, of course, the alleged 1 foot of distance between the feet of dangling Dueling Dragons riders.
Kia discontinuing Rio subcompact sedan
Kia’s Rio subcompact car will not return for the 2024 model year, following in the footsteps of its Hyundai counterpart, the Accent, which was discontinued after the 2022 model year.
DeSantis’ Disney chief Glen Gilzean resigns from ethics commission
Glen Gilzean resigned Tuesday as chairman of Florida’s ethics commission so he can keep his $400,000-a-year job leading Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Disney World oversight district.
In his resignation letter, Gilzean wrote he was unaware of a potential conflict of interest under Florida law until media reports flagged it last week.
The commission’s executive director and general counsel never raised an issue with a state law that prohibits ethics commissioners from holding “public employment” until he requested a legal memo, Gilzean wrote. He has served as administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District since May.
“The potential for a conflict between my position with the District and with my service on the Commission on Ethics did not come up at that time with any of the counsel that I consulted, including the Commission’s General Counsel,” Gilzean wrote.
“Regrettably, if I had been aware of any issue presented by serving in the two positions, I would have addressed it immediately,” he added in the letter, first obtained by The Messenger.