Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — For the first time in 16 years, the state wouldn’t offer sales-tax “holidays” under a House proposal that calls for an overall cut in sales taxes.

The House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a $5.43 billion package dominated by House Speaker Daniel Perez’ proposal to lower the state’s sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.

The package, which will be a key issue in upcoming budget negotiations between the House and Senate, also would reduce a commercial-lease tax from 2 percent to 1.25 percent, along with sales taxes on mobile home sales, electricity and games such as pinball machines.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to reduce property taxes instead of sales taxes. But Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, said the House proposal (PCB WMC 25-01) would have the broadest effect.

“Homestead property-tax relief targets or benefits only Floridians at this point, but not all Floridians,” Duggan said. “Sales tax relief benefits all Floridians, plus some other people.” read more

By Alexander Nazaryan

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law — the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act — that seemed to pave the way for a national high-speed rail system in the United States. “An astronaut can orbit the earth faster than a man on the ground can get from New York to Washington,” he lamented at the time. Sixty years later, it still takes about three hours to travel between the two cities — a period about twice as long as a single orbit of the International Space Station.

High-speed rail in the United States is still years away. But projects across the country, from Washington state to Texas, suggest a growing enthusiasm for faster train service. These efforts are relatively modest in size, proposing to connect two or three cities at a time. But that may be precisely what makes them feasible.

Under the Trump administration, high-speed rail is unlikely to receive additional support from the federal government. “There should be a federal program,” said Rick Harnish, executive director of the High Speed Rail Alliance. “But in the current circumstances, states need to do what they can on their own.” read more

Seven Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of March 23-29, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Domino’s Pizza at 10057 University Blvd. in Orlando shut down on March 24. Inspectors found five violations, one of which was a high priority for backed-up sewage water. A second inspection occurred on March 25. There was one violation and it wasn’t a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Garranty Bon Bagay Restaurant at 2051 Americana Blvd. in Orlando shut down on March 24. Inspectors found two violations, one of which was a high priority for an employee serving food without washing their hands due to a lack of a hand sink. A second inspection occurred the same day. There was one violation but it wasn’t a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Mi Pan Boricua Cafe at 4063 S. Goldenrod Road in Orlando shut down on March 26. Inspectors found 26 violations, five of which were high priorities. Those violations included flying insects by the bread racks, five roaches found on site and putting food in nonfood-grade containers. A second inspection occurred on March 27. Officials found eight violations and issued a time extension to the lone high-priority violation for nonfood-grade containers. The restaurant met inspection standards. read more

The four private space travelers flying around the Earth’s poles this week had a vomit-filled first day in space, according to the man paying for the trip.

“The first few hours in microgravity weren’t exactly comfortable,” Chun Wang, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur said in a Fram2 mission update on X. “Space motion sickness hit all of us — we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times.”

Fram2 launched Monday night from Kennedy Space Center sending SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience to space for the fourth time. The three- to five-day mission is taking humans on a polar orbit for the first time.

Wang said the ride to space was much smoother than anticipated, noting that only the final minute before the engines cut off on the second stage was significant.

“I barely felt any G-forces — it honestly felt like just another flight,” he posted. “I had imagined it would feel like being in an elevator that suddenly drops, but that sensation never came.”

Private SpaceX mission launches humans on 1st polar orbit read more

Blue Man Group’s return to Orlando has been delayed again.

Performances were scheduled to begin April 3 in a new 580-seat theater at Icon Park, in the shadow of the Orlando Eye observation wheel on International Drive.

But construction on the theater is not complete, and the official Blue Man website now designates that it will be “opening soon in Orlando” rather than a specific date, month or season. As of Wednesday afternoon, heavy machinery was at the site facing Universal Boulevard and excavation work has been done, but there was no visible vertical construction.

In an official statement, Blue Man Group said it is “thrilled” about its move back into Orlando after a five-year absence.

“The group’s new home will be the bald, blue trio’s first ever theater built from the ground up. Unfortunately, that comes with occasional challenges,” it reads. “We continue to work hard to make progress, and we can’t wait to bring Orlando all the surprising, fun and iconic moments you have come to expect from Blue Man Group.” read more