Things To Do In SW Florida

When they bought the Colonialtown post office back in 2017, Orlando doctors Patrick Dang and Thinh Nguyen had planned to close it when the lease ended in 2020 and build a restaurant on the popular Mills 50 corridor. When COVID stalled those plans, they renewed the post office lease for another five years.

Now the duo is finally bringing its vision to life. Dang said the partners plan to demolish the 70-year-old post office at 611 N. Mills Ave. when the lease expires in 2025, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. In its place, they want to build a new food hall.

“We’re close to downtown,” he said. “I want to bring in something nice where the family can go there and pick out any food they like. Or for a guys’ night out to hang out and have a drink.”

He wants to capitalize on the neighborhood’s reputation as the city’s top destination for Asian cuisine. “Everybody knows you go to Colonial and Mills to get Asian food, that’s where the restaurants are. So my focus is to get an Asian food hall. That’s my main objective.” read more

April Choi works as an engineer at Kennedy Space Center.

And she’s also an accomplished whip-cracker. Literally. She holds world records.

Choi will discuss both of those roles as a featured speaker at Science Night Live, the adults-only event at Orlando Science Center on Saturday evening.

Her career path has included circus arts, dance, education and rocket science.

“My parents always encouraged me to get involved in STEM — science, technology, engineering, mathematics,” said Choi, who earned two engineering degrees from the University of Iowa. “I found a lot more interest in dance and martial arts and performing arts, so I pursued that for a little bit.”

It was during that era that she learned bullwhip cracking. Since then, she has held multiple whip-related world records, including world’s longest whip ever cracked. It was 365 feet.

“Longest whip was the first Guinness World Record I ever broke,” Choi said. She also has been recognized by the Online World Records and RecordSetter organizations, although the longest cracked whip mark is no longer in Guinness’ favor. read more

By STAN CHOE

NEW YORK (AP) — A scary Monday that started with a plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987 ’s crash swept around the world and pummeled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 dropped 3% for its worst day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reeled by 1,033 points, or 2.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4%.

The drops were the latest in a global sell-off that began last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped begin Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

It was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation. read more

While Disney Cruise Line dropped oodles of news this week about its new 2025 ship Disney Destiny, it has another new ship set to debut this year that hit a milestone at its shipyard on Saturday.

The Disney Treasure under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany was floated out into the shipyard harbor out from under the massive building where it has been taking shape since March 2023.

“A scene of excitement greeted the ship, as a group of cheering spectators … gathered to watch the special construction milestone,” reads a post on the Disney Parks Blog with images of the event. “The Float Out celebrates the completion of the ship’s exterior and is a significant maritime tradition.”

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The 144,000-gross-ton vessel was led by tugboat stern-first through the building’s narrow doorway with just three feet of clearance on either side of the vessel, the post reads.

“The Disney Treasure is now ready for finishing touches to its interior venues as it continues to prepare for its transatlantic journey to its future home port in Florida,” Disney posted. read more