Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ affordable housing director has been suspended pending the outcome of an inspector general investigation, leaving the Florida agency leaderless as it prepares to assign hundreds of millions of dollars for housing.

Mike DiNapoli, executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corp., was placed on administrative leave last month, according to interviews the Times/Herald had with current and former state employees. The move comes less than six months after DeSantis chose DiNapoli to lead the organization.

A spokesperson for the corporation has not responded to multiple requests for comment, including the reasons for the suspension. The Times/Herald requested DiNapoli’s suspension letter, but the corporation has not released it.

DiNapoli did not respond to text messages and calls seeking comment. The suspension was first reported by the USA Today Network.

DeSantis chose DiNapoli, 54, in February, as state lawmakers were preparing to assign a record $711 million to the Florida Housing Finance Corp. to help stem the state’s affordable housing crisis. read more

The two major fixes needed on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner that the company announced with NASA back in June are well underway, but the spacecraft is not expected to be ready until March 2024 in its effort to finally complete its crewed test flight to the International Space Station.

“We’re going to do the right thing with respect to the safety of the vehicle, and that is first and foremost in every discussion that we have,” said Mark Nappi, who heads up Boeing’s Starliner program during a joint NASA-Boeing press conference on Monday.

The spacecraft has been lining up a potential July launch, but earlier this year, teams found a pair of issues that forced them to halt launch preparations. One involved the parachute system and a second involved flammable tape used on the wiring throughout the spacecraft.

It was yet another delay in what has been a tortuous path in the effort by Boeing to have Starliner join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as one of two spacecraft assigned to bring NASA astronauts up to the ISS from the U.S. as part of the Commercial Crew Program. read more

An Orlando-based company co-founded by restaurateur Robert Earl is firing back at a YouTube celebrity who sued the business last week over a virtual burger restaurant.

Virtual Dining Concepts revealed Monday it was suing Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, and Beast Investments in a fight about the MrBeast Burger virtual restaurant. Beast Investments filed its lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts last week.

Virtual restaurants such as MrBeast Burger allow existing restaurants to add menus under different names on delivery apps like Uber Eats. MrBeast Burger launched in 2020 and has grown to about 1,700 locations worldwide.

Virtual Dining Concepts, which is behind MrBeast Burger and other brands, filed its case against MrBeast in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York.

A copy provided to the Orlando Sentinel included screenshots of MrBeast’s June comments on Twitter about the brand.

“Despite the fact that Plaintiffs put Donaldson into the food business, he decided to pressure them to sell all or a material portion of MrBeast Burger to him by using his massive online presence to sabotage the Brand and Plaintiffs’ business,” the lawsuit said. “Armed with his celebrity and many millions of followers, Donaldson disparaged the Brand and Plaintiffs in a slew of highly damaging social media posts, which were quickly amplified in numerous media outlets, just as he intended.” read more

Six Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of July 30-Aug 5, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Napasorn Thai Restaurant 56 E. Pine St. Unit 100 in Orlando shut down on July 31. Inspectors found 26 violations, five of which were a high priority. Those violations included, flying insects, raw food not separated from ready-to-eat food, roach activity and food held at the wrong temperatures.

Inspectors made two visits on Aug. 1. On one visit, they found 12 violations. On the second visit, they found 10 violations.

During the second visit, there was only one high-priority violation for raw food not separated from ready-to-eat food. Officials issued a time extension for it.

The restaurant met inspection standards.

Mr. Quick Restaurant at 5615 W. Colonial Dr. in Orlando shut down on Aug 2. Inspectors found 13 violations, two of which were a high priority for rodent activity and a broken dish machine.

A second inspection the same day found 10 violations, however, none were a high priority. read more

By Kimberly Palmer | NerdWallet

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to protecting yourself from financial scams is thinking you’re too smart to be duped by one.

“We’re all vulnerable — we can all fall for a scam given the right set of circumstances,” says Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that provides advice and assistance related to identity theft. Keeping yourself safe starts with accepting that fact, she adds.

“You look at the profiles of victims who filed complaints and it runs the gamut from highly educated, high-income people all the way down to the most vulnerable people in our population,” says John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a nonprofit advocacy group that speaks out about consumer concerns.

While there isn’t a “foolproof solution to stay safe from all scams,” as Breyault puts it, there are strategies you can employ to reduce your risk. Here are four of the most important ones: read more