Things To Do In SW Florida

Holiday traffic is hitting Orlando International Airport, which endured dozens of cancellations Friday and Saturday and hundreds more delayed flights, much of it because of heavy snow in the northeast.

The airport on Friday was among the most affected in the United States, with 43 cancellations and 312 delays for outgoing flights and 26 cancellations and 346 delays for incoming flights, according to data from travel website FlightAware.

The cancellations represented 5% of total outgoing flights and 3% of incoming flights. Outgoing delays affected 43% of outgoing flights and 46% of incoming flights.

That was out 2,189 cancellations and 9,200 delays nationwide. The most affected airports for outgoing cancellations were JFK International in New York with 160 flights canceled, Newark Liberty International Airport with 107 and New York’s Laguardia with 90. The city saw 4 inches of snow Friday.

Orlando’s headaches from those backups, though, were spilling over into Saturday as well.

By 2 p.m., the airport had 20 cancellations and 260 delays for outgoing flights, with 35 cancellations and 225 delays for incoming flights. read more

For the second consecutive year, Disney’s exclusive Golden Oak community dominated the high end of Central Florida’s luxury home market.  And for the first time, no homes in Winter Park were among the top 10 highest sales this year.

Golden Oak accounted for eight of the homes among the top 10 this year, with three located on the same street — Enchanted Oak Drive — and two on Vista Falls Drive, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The priciest home this year — located at 10018 Enchanted Oaks Dr. — sold for $23 million in August. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion was built in 2012 and has 12,718 square feet of living space.

In 2024, the Golden Oak community scored five of the top 10 home sales. All five of those transactions involved homes within the sought-after Four Seasons Private Residences, with four located on the same street — Summer Meadow Way.

Homes in Golden Oak are considered part of the Disney World Resort, and some incorporate Disney themes in construction. Residents get free annual passes to Disney World parks when they move into the community. Homeowners are also granted membership to Golden Oak Club, which includes multiple restaurants, a pool, and a gym. read more

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN

The sun would rise over the Rockies, and Robin Gammons would run to the front porch to grab the morning paper before school.

She wanted the comics and her dad wanted sports, but the Montana Standard meant more than their daily race to grab “Calvin and Hobbes” or baseball scores. When one of the three kids made honor roll, won a basketball game or dressed a freshly slain bison for the History Club, appearing in the Standard’s pages made the achievement feel more real. Robin became an artist with a one-woman show at a downtown gallery and the front-page article went on the fridge, too. Five years later, the yellowing article is still there.

The Montana Standard slashed print circulation to three days a week two years ago, cutting back the expense of printing like 1,200 U.S. newspapers over the past two decades. About 3,500 papers closed over the same time. An average of two a week have shut this year.

That slow fade, it turns out, means more than changing news habits. It speaks directly to the newspaper’s presence in our lives — not just in terms of the information printed upon it, but in its identity as a physical object with many other uses. read more

Earlier this week United Launch Alliance announced its president and CEO for nearly 12 years, Tory Bruno, was stepping down to pursue a different opportunity.

The opportunity was revealed Friday as Bruno was named president for competitor Blue Origin’s newly formed National Security Group, reporting to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp.

“We share a deep belief in supporting our nation with the best technology we can build,” Limp posted on X. “Tory brings unmatched experience, and I’m confident he’ll accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission. Glad to have you with us.”

Bruno, who joined ULA in 2014, said he was excited to be part of his new team.

“We are going to bring important, innovative, and urgently needed capabilities to our nation. Can’t wait to get started.” he posted.

Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos and flies suborbital missions from Texas on its New Shepard rocket, but this year finally got its heavy-lift orbital New Glenn rocket to space as well from Florida. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The shopping rush leading up to Christmas is over and in its place, like every year, another has begun as millions of people hunt for post-holiday deals and get in line to return gifts that didn’t fit, or didn’t hit quite right.

Holiday spending using cash or cards through Sunday has topped last year’s haul, according to data released this week by Visa’s Consulting & Analytics division and Mastercard SpendingPulse.

But growing unease over the U.S. economy and higher prices in part due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs have altered the behavior of some Americans. More are hitting thrift stores or other discounters in place of malls, according to data from Placer.ai. The firm tracks people’s movements based on cellphone usage.

And they’re sticking more closely to shopping lists and doing more research before buying. That may explain why returns so far are down compared with last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. read more