Things To Do In SW Florida

While President Donald Trump has been in office less than a month, the costs of some consumer goods and services are trending up.

At nearly $5 a dozen, the price of eggs just surpassed record highs, and while quite moderate in comparison, bread, electricity, gasoline and natural gas also saw meager month-over-month increases, according to the latest data from the Consumer Price Index.

But before you start reworking your budget to afford a dozen Grade A, note that not all grocery prices are surging. In January, milk, oranges, tomatoes and ground beef all saw a minimal decrease in cost, while the price of bananas and poultry remained more or less the same.

While many of these month-over-month changes are not directly linked to the White House, they may soon be, with new tariffs and possible international trade wars sure to affect average prices at the grocery store and the pump.

The Tribune is tracking these 11 everyday costs for Americans — eggs, milk, bread, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, chicken, ground beef, gasoline, electricity and natural gas — and how they are changing with the new administration. This tracker will update monthly using CPI data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. read more

By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

When the Trump administration’s crypto czar, David Sacks, recently held a news conference to announce a new congressional working group to advance cryptocurrency regulation, many digital asset enthusiasts were unimpressed and underwhelmed.

“There were a lot of people on X who felt like this wasn’t, you know, a mind-blowing announcement,” Sacks said on a podcast a few days later, referring to the social media outlet formerly known as Twitter. But Sacks said having the White House and key members of Congress committed to passing key crypto legislation in the next year, possibly within six months, was worth celebrating. “We’ve never had that before, so that is pretty monumental,” he said.

Every day, 35,000 people travel along West Colonial Drive to and from downtown Orlando. If they want to escape the ugliness around them, they must avert their eyes.

Businesses have been fleeing West Colonial for 20 years, and COVID was a nail in the coffin. Even national retailers like 7-Eleven, Family Dollar and Burger King shut down, concentrating the blight on the corridor that now has 32 vacant lots and buildings.

But where others see an eyesore, Amit Kumar saw an opportunity. His efforts over the last year illustrate the loose public-private partnership determined to transform this corridor much in the way East Colonial was reborn over the last decade, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

In 2024 the restauranteur bought the shuttered and graffiti-covered Burger King for $1.16 million and plans to invest another $1.5 million in the property. Kumar is the chef and owner three restaurants in Orlando, including Bombay Street Kitchen, which has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for three straight years. He told GrowthSpotter he plans to convert the Burger King property into a commissary and test kitchen to train his cooks and create new menu items for the other restaurants. He will also operate a limited seating restaurant where he’ll serve a five-course tasting menu of his elevated Indian creations. read more

Walt Disney World has been a regular destination for Tim Bishop and his family for years, but that’s all over now.

The 56-year-old Toronto-area real estate agent is crossing Florida off his travel list and taking his money elsewhere.

“Any Canadian who has a lick of national pride should be rethinking their U.S. travel plans as a simple gesture of the middle finger to Trump,” Bishop said in a text message. “It’s unfortunate because I’ll miss visiting my American friends for the next four years.”

As President Donald Trump threatens sweeping tariffs and belittles Canada as the “51st state,” Bishop is part of a social media movement urging Canadians to spend their money at home or in more supportive countries.

That could be bad for business in Florida. Canada is the Sunshine State’s top source of international visitors with the Maple Leaf flag flying proudly in snowbird enclaves and license plates from Ontario and Quebec signaling winter’s arrival.

About 3.3 million Canadians flocked to Florida in 2024, making up roughly 2% of total visitors, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing organization. Orlando alone received more than 1.2 million Canadian visitors in 2023, the most recent data available. read more

The small chapel — with white clapboard siding and bell tower steeple — is like a piece of a picturesque New England town tucked amid the cars, offices and fast-food joints along busy State Road 436.

First built in 1885, the Altamonte Chapel near Forest Avenue in Altamonte Springs is one of the oldest structures in Seminole County. Former presidents Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland attended services in the chapel.

But now its prominent bell — rung countless times by pulling a long rope during weddings and Sunday services over decades  — is on the verge of collapse. The steeple needs to be replaced. And the chapel, showing its age, needs serious renovation, according to its owners.

To maintain the chapel’s historic character, the restoration would require a meticulous and careful process likely to cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to members of the Altamonte Chapel’s Board of Directors.

The group recently started seeking bids from contractors. It also set up a GoFundMe account — titled “Save the Altamonte Chapel Bell” — to raise $50,000 toward the project. read more