Things To Do In SW Florida

Now that we have one long weekend of the 2025 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival in our collective belly, let’s also look at our bank balances.

Each year, we tally the prices from the many kiosks to answer the theoretical question, “What if we ordered one of everything. What would that cost us?”

Comparing fests is an apples-and-oranges exercise, so this is mostly for fun. But here’s a trend we can get behind: The total for the ultimate fest feast is less in 2025 than it was in 2024.

Our methodology is to count up the price of each menu item from the festival passport (also listed on the official Walt Disney World website). If there’s a small and large version, we take the less gluttonous route. When there’s an option to add alcohol to a drink, we go the cheaper way as well. We don’t include flights of beer, but do include them individually in the tally. Allergy-free options are not counted separately.

Also in the mix are festival items added to the menu of Epcot’s year-round restaurants, such as Connections Eatery and the Refreshment Port. read more

By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer

Artificial intelligence chatbot makers OpenAI and Meta say they are adjusting how their chatbots respond to teenagers asking questions about suicide or showing signs of mental and emotional distress.

OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, said Tuesday it is preparing to roll out new controls enabling parents to link their accounts to their teen’s account.

Parents can choose which features to disable and “receive notifications when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress,” according to a company blog post that says the changes will go into effect this fall.

Regardless of a user’s age, the company says its chatbots will attempt to redirect the most distressing conversations to more capable AI models that can provide a better response.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

The announcement comes a week after the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life earlier this year. read more

After 1,659 restaurant inspections across Central Florida in August, only 168 had no issues for the entire month, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Brevard had the highest percentage of restaurants with zero violations during routine food inspections at 16.4%. Volusia came in second with 9.9%, Orange came third at 9.8% and Seminole was in fourth place with 6.8%.

Lake and Osceola ranked at the bottom with 6.6% and 6.25%, respectively.

Orange County had the most restaurants with no violations at 75 out of 811 inspected. Brevard followed with 25 out of 204, then Seminole with 24 out of 240, Volusia with 16 out of 332, Osceola with 6 out of 194 and Lake with 6 out of 116.

BREVARD

Al Baik Kabob House, 1288 Sarno Road, Melbourne
Barbecue 24-7, 4500 Dixie Highway NE Suite #2, Space: 00a8, Palm Bay
Big Roman’s Pizzeria, 7960 US Highway 1 Suite 4, Micco
Bleu Beach Resort Corp, 501 Miramar Ave., Indialantic
Cocoa Beach Country Club, 5000 Tom Warriner Blvd., Cocoa Beach
Cocoa Beach Fish Camp Grill, 5602 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Diana’s Tacos, 4235 Aurora Road, Melbourne
Drew’s Brews And Grille, 2101 Henley Court, Melbourne
Dunkin Donuts, 7155 N. Wickham Road, Suite A, Melbourne
Fajita Jax, 660 Tucker Lane, Cocoa
Five Guys Burgers & Fries, 2230 Town Center Ave., Suite 107, Melbourne
Grilled Cheese And Crab Cake Company, 699 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar, 505 Glen Cheek Dr., Cape Canaveral
Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort, 1550 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Indian River Smokehouse, 888 Cardinal Ave., Rockledge
La Placita Mobile, 1046 Dixon Blvd., Cocoa
Las Monarcas Mexican Restaurant LLC, 1390 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach
Lin’s Wok, 1860 US Highway 1, Rockledge
Little Caesars 612, 3705 Murrell Road, Rockledge
McDonald’s #15633, 6420 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne
McDonald’s #34356, 5370 Stadium Parkway, Rockledge
McDonald’s 18992, 3844 Murrell Road, Rockledge
McDonald’s 7469, 927 Dixon Blvd., Cocoa
Mimmo’s Pizzeria & Ristorante Of Cocoa Beach, 3 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Miss Lolas, 5800 Stadium Parkway, Melbourne
Mobile Bubble Cat, 2500 Parkway Dr., Melbourne
Mobile Sushi Factory, 3700 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne
Munchies En Ruedas LLC, 1248 Sarno Road, Melbourne
Natures Table Cafe, 7640 N. Wickham Road Suite# 120, Melbourne
Pirates By The Faire,Llc, 3280 Suntree Blvd. #105, Melbourne
Pizza Hut, 3214 Lake Washington Road, Melbourne
Real Smoke N. Grill, 3280 Suntree Blvd. Suite 105, Melbourne
Strong Island Ice Cream, 3280 Suntree Blvd. Suite 105, Vin 2372, Melbourne
Subway #32599, 2304 Remi Dr., Melbourne
Subway #36536, 2700 Clear Lake Road (Inside Walmart), Cocoa Beach
Subway, 1150 Malabar Road #A-6, Palm Bay
Suntree Country Club, 1 Country Club Dr., Melbourne
Tacomaniacs, 3280 Suntree #105, Melbourne
Taste Budz, 600 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
TCS Foods, 3280 Suntree Blvd. #105, Melbourne read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after a merger of the brands created one of the biggest food manufacturers on the planet.

One of the companies, currently called Global Taste Elevation Co., will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kraft Heinz said Tuesday. The other, currently called North American Grocery Co., will include legacy brands like Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. The official names of the two companies will be released later.

Kraft Heinz said in May that it was conducting a strategic review of the company, signaling a potential split. It expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026.

When the company formed in 2015, it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale. But shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table.

Kraft Heinz and other food producers have tried to follow those trends. In 2021, Kraft Heinz sold both its Planters nut business and its natural cheese business, vowing to reinvest the money into higher-growth brands like P3 protein snacks and Lunchables. But the company continued to struggle, and Kraft Heinz’s net sales fell 3% in 2024. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is sinking on Tuesday as rising pressure from the bond market pulls U.S. stocks further from their records.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and was on track for its worst day in a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 412 points, or 0.9%, as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% lower. All three are still relatively close to their recently set all-time highs.

Big Tech companies led the market lower. They’ve been soaring for years on expectations that they’ll continue to dominate the economy, but they also shot so high that critics say their prices became too expensive.

Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into artificial-intelligence technology, fell 2.9% and was the single strongest force pulling the S&P 500 downward. Amazon sank 1.7%, and Alphabet dropped 1.5%.

The overall stock market felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.27% from 4.23% late Friday. When bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks. read more