Things To Do In SW Florida

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted 7.6 million job openings in February, a sign that that the job market is slowing but remains healthy. Layoffs of federal workers hit the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the economy in 2020, as Elon Musk’s job cuts start to show up in national jobs data.

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The number of vacancies fell slightly from a revised 7.8 million in January and from a 8.4 million a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. read more

For the first time since the pandemic era began, both Walt Disney World water parks will be open to guests at the same time. The resort’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon will be available to the public starting May 21, the Wednesday before Memorial Day.

The water parks closed down as a coronavirus pandemic precaution with the rest of Disney World in March 2020. Disney kept the two attractions closed until early March of 2021, when Blizzard Beach returned to the schedule.  Typhoon Lagoon reopened in January 2022, but Blizzard Beach then closed.

Since then, Disney World has operated the water parks on a one-open/open-closed schedule.

Progress report: Disney World execs talk theme-park projects

Currently, Blizzard Beach, which has been celebrating its 30th anniversary, is open for business. It is scheduled to close again May 1, the day Typhoon Lagoon is set to reopen, Disney World announced Tuesday. But Blizzard Beach will return to the schedule May 21 through Sept. 7, Disney says.

Typhoon Lagoon again will off the Disney H2O Glow After Hours, a three-hour nighttime event held on 18 select nights starting May 23. Tickets are $85 ($42.50 for ages 3-9) and go on sale to the public on April 4. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are swerving through another shaky day of trading Tuesday, with uncertainty still high about just what President Donald Trump will announce about tariffs on his “Liberation Day” coming Wednesday.

The S&P 500 was up by 0.6% in midday trading after storming back from an early drop of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 135 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:18 p.m. Eastern time, after eliminating a morning loss of 480 points. The Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.

Wall Street has been particularly shaky recently, and momentum has been swinging not just day to day but also hour to hour because of uncertainty about what Trump will do with tariffs — and by how much they will worsen inflation and grind down growth for economies. On Monday, for example, the S&P 500 careened from an early loss of 1.7% to a gain of 0.6%.

Tesla helped drive Tuesday’s rise after climbing 6.9%. That, though, clawed back just a small portion of the electric-vehicle maker’s steep losses this year, and it’s still down by nearly a third for 2025 so far. read more

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Hooters, the U.S.-based restaurant chain known for chicken wings and “Hooters Girls” skimpy wait-staff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.

The company ran into financial woes as its debts mounted, but it says it intends to stay open and resolve its troubles within months. A group of the company’s original founders that own almost a third of Hooters’ U.S. locations, including about half of its biggest volume restaurants, plans to buy and operate more of the outlets, Hooters said in a news release.

“Our renowned Hooters restaurants are here to stay and we are taking action to strengthen our business to better serve our valued customers over the long term,” the company said in a notice on its website.

Hooters, based in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983. Trouble had been brewing for a while. read more

There are multiple projects in the works at Walt Disney World, and executives recently shared updates during a “Behind the Magic” session with members of the media.

The newsiest bits may have been that there’s an upgrade coming for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin ride at Magic Kingdom and the kids-pay-half-price ticket offer coming this summer.

Other updates concerned previously announced developments.

“I turn around and every time I walk someplace, I see we’re digging someplace new. It’s just amazing all the things that are coming out of the ground,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World.

He noted that he was around for the Disney Decade, the 1990s period of planned expansion under then-CEO Michael Eisner.

“This is bigger than that with what we’re doing, what we’re envisioning, what we’ve announced, and, by the way, what we haven’t announced,” Vahle said. “I’ve never been more positive on the future that we have.”

Disney to shut down Buzz Lightyear ride and give it a new spin read more