Things To Do In SW Florida

As Disney tries to rebound from a major legal setback, the entertainment giant is battling Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials on another front: access to public records.

The corporation’s lawyers are demanding text messages, emails and documents related to the DeSantis-led effort to overhaul the special district providing government services to Disney World.

Disney’s lawyers are accusing the governor’s office of engaging in “obstructionist conduct” and stonewalling them on “good-faith” efforts to obtain documents relevant to their legal dispute.

” At every turn, EOG [executive office of the governor] has responded to those efforts with gamesmanship designed to delay and obfuscate the discovery process,” Disney’s lawyers wrote in a court filing.

DeSantis won a significant victory Wednesday when a judge dismissed Disney’s federal lawsuit accusing the governor and state officials of political retaliation. Disney is appealing that decision. The corporation is also defending itself in a lawsuit filed in state court by the DeSantis-backed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District over development agreements. read more

While representatives from NASA, the Space Force and commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin descended on Orlando this past week for the annual SpaceCom conference, there was no shortage of action on launch pads, test sites and 254 miles above the Earth.

Here’s a rundown of 15 nuggets of space news for the week:

1. Lit up: SpaceX managed the seventh launch from the Space Coast on Tuesday, and 10th of the year for the company among Florida and California launch pads. Lifting off from Kennedy Space Center, it carted up competitor Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft that then docked with the International Space Station with 8,200 pounds of science and supplies early Thursday, It was the first time SpaceX has flown Cygnus, making its 20th resupply mission to the ISS. Most of those missions have been flown on Northrop’s Antares rockets from Virginia, but Russian and Ukrainian rocket part supply issues mean SpaceX will be flying at least two more missions from Florida until a new version of the rocket can be built with American-made engines by Firefly Aerospace. read more

Will the grassroots effort to save Split Oak Forest imperil neighboring preserves of spectacular nature?

In all of the years of raging controversy over a road proposed to cross a corner of Split Oak Forest in Orange and Osceola counties east of Orlando International Airport, that question has barely been scrutinized in public.

Road backers are offering to donate a parcel of 1,550 acres to buffer and protect Split Oak and adjoining conservation lands – if the road is allowed to cross the forest. They say they will put intense commercial development on that parcel next to those conservation lands if the road is rejected.

Left undeveloped, that 1,550-acre parcel also could help create corridors for panthers, red-cockaded woodpeckers, indigo snakes and other wildlife, spanning from Split Oak, to nearby Moss Park and Isle of Pine Preserve, to other, bigger conservation lands.

While the road’s opponents have rallied public and political support to defend Split Oak, the future of Orange County’s adjoining treasures hangs in the balance, all but unnoticed. read more

A medical-marijuana dispensary needing permission to set up shop on Edgewater Drive will have to appeal or find another location after a zoning board said no, siding with College Park neighbors and Orange County’s school board chair.

The Plants of Ruskin, a Tampa-area firm which owns cannabis company MÜV, sought a variance to bypass state law and an Orange County rule forbidding a medical-marijuana dispensary from operating within 500 feet of a school property.

Sandwiched between entrances to Bishop Moore and Edgewater high schools, the proposed site of 3550 Edgewater Drive, a former Amscot money store, is far enough from both main campuses to satisfy the law. But it is just 338 feet from 901 Maury Road — a school-owned acre used by Edgewater’s agricultural education program.

Zoning officials said 94 property-owners emailed in opposition to the dispensary’s request and two in favor.

School Board Chair Teresa Jacobs opposed the variance on behalf of the district’s governing panel, citing the harmful effects of marijuana on teen-agers and the state of Florida’s dismal regulatory history with opioids and other drugs. read more

By Sally French | NerdWallet

Vacations to popular destinations can sometimes feel like you’ve been sucked into a tourist trap rather than immersed in a new culture.

Given that, you might seek a vacation spot that has a track record of tourist appeal, but remains off the mainstream’s radar — for now.

American Express Travel’s 2024 Trending Destinations list offers a lineup of 10 destinations that fit that bill. Using global AmEx Card Member bookings through the American Express Travel portal, the report highlighted locations with major increases in bookings from 2019 to 2023.

Here are 10 places from the report that are on the rise, in alphabetical order:

1. Adelaide Hills, Australia

Adelaide Hills, Australia. (Getty Images)

While Australia is usually best known for its beaches, crocodiles and the Outback, don’t overlook its vibrant wine country. Adelaide Hills, a region in South Australia, is all about rolling vineyards, charming villages and world-class wineries.

Adelaide Hills is already booming, marking a record $272 million in visitor spending for its fiscal year ending in June 2023, according to the region’s tourism bureau. That’s more than 1.3 million day trips made, and 737,000 nights spent by tourists. read more