Things To Do In SW Florida

Carnival Cruise Line this month revealed details about its family-friendly area of new Bahamas destination Celebration Key opening up in 2025.

Dubbed Starfish Lagoon, the zone is the fourth of five to be unveiled by the cruise line ahead of the resort’s opening on Grand Bahama Island next July. The line plans more than 500 visits among 18 of the line’s ships from Florida ports Port Canaveral, PortMiami, Tampa and Jacksonville as well as six other U.S. ports.

One highlight will be the 10-story Suncastle structure that will be home to two 350-foot-long water slides named after the Bahamas’ national bird and fish: the pink Flash Flamingo and blue Mach III Marlin. The pair offer riders the option to race one another down through a twisting path amid flashing lights and colors into a photo finish splashdown.

For the younger set, there will be the Guppy Grotto splash pad themed to coral reefs with a 2-foot-deep wading pool, water toys, dump bucket and other interactive features. Parents can keep watch from a shaded area while also having access to an adjacent ice cream shop. read more

Two Central Florida restaurants were shut down the week of May 19-26, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Peter’s Kitchen China Bistro at 3922 E. Colonial Dr. in Orlando shut down on May 23. Inspectors found 29 violations, four of which were a high priority. Those violations included 15 rodent droppings by the ice machine, rodent rub marks on walls and ceilings, food held at the wrong temperatures and raw chicken held over pork in the walk-in cooler. Officials revisited the restaurant on May 24. They found 22 violations and none were a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Seminole

Breakfast Club Oviedo at 1977 Alafaya Trail, Suite 1001 in Oviedo shut down on May 20. Inspectors found nine violations, three of which were a high priority. Those violations included an employee making waffles without washing their hands, 16 roaches found and food held at the wrong temperatures. A second inspection the same day found seven violations and the restaurant required a follow-up inspection. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Medical supply company Medline Industries is recalling some 1.5 million portable adult bed rails across the U.S. and Canada, following two reports of entrapment deaths associated with the products.

The recall impacts two models of Medline’s “Bed Assist Bars.” According to a Thursday announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, users of these bed rails can become entrapped within the bed rail itself or between the product and the side of a mattress when it’s attached to a bed.

This poses “a serious entrapment hazard and risk of death by asphyxiation,” the CPSC notes.

To date, the commission added, Medline has received two reports of entrapment deaths associated with the recalled Bed Assist Bars in the U.S — involving a 76-year-old woman who died in an Iowa senior nursing facility in 2019, and a 87-year-old woman who died at a South Carolina residential care facility in 2023.

One additional injury in the U.S. has also been reported, according a Health Canada announcement. No injuries or incidents in Canada were reported to Medline as of Monday, Health Canada said. read more

By HALELUYA HADERO (AP Business Writer)

Federal regulators have given Amazon key permission that will allow it to expand its drone delivery program, the company announced Thursday.

In a blog post published on its website, Seattle-based Amazon said that the Federal Aviation Administration has given its Prime Air delivery service the OK to operate drones “beyond visual line of sight,” removing a barrier that has prevented its drones from traveling longer distances.

With the approval, Amazon pilots can now operate drones remotely without seeing it with their own eyes. An FAA spokesperson said the approval applies to College Station, Texas, where the company launched drone deliveries in late 2022.

Amazon said its planning to immediately scale its operations in that city in an effort to reach customers in more densely populated areas. It says the approval from regulators also “lays the foundation” to scale its operations to more locations around the country.

Businesses have wanted simpler rules that could open neighborhood skies to new commercial applications of drones, but privacy advocates and some airplane and balloon pilots remain wary. read more

With April in the rear-view mirror, most Americans — especially those whose employers withhold payroll and income taxes from their paychecks — needn’t think about tax filing for many months.

Some taxpayers, however, will find themselves in a situation where they should file an amended return. The reasons for doing so include:

• The income reported on the original return was submitted incorrectly, either too high or too low.

•  There was a change in the filing status because of life events, such as marriage, divorce or death in the family.

• There was an error regarding dependents claimed.

• The filer overlooked tax deductions or credits.

• Relevant legislative changes were made after taxes were filed, such as tax relief due to a natural disaster.

The following situations do not warrant filing an amended return:

•  A math error was made. The correction will be found by the IRS.

• An error was discovered shortly after filing. In this situation, you can simply re-file as long as the filing deadline has not passed. read more