Things To Do In SW Florida

Health care

John Gerhold was appointed chief executive officer at HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital, Sanford.

Jessica Glover was appointed assistant vice president and chief operating officer at Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital.

Dr. Bennett Scaglia, urologist, has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will perform procedures at AdventHealth Daytona Beach and AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach, with a clinic location at the Port Orange Health Park.

Dr. Shawn Thomas, urologist, has joined AdventHealth Medical Group and will perform procedures at AdventHealth Daytona Beach and AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach, with a clinic location at the Port Orange Health Park.

Law

Julianna Burchett has joined ShuffieldLowman as an attorney in the firm’s Orlando office.

Public relations

Despina McLaughlin has joined the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts as director of Communications/PR.

Awards

Seminole State College of Florida Biology Professor Laila Nimri received the Association of Florida Colleges 2023 Professor of the Year award.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com. read more

If 2023 felt like a lot of launches, by the time 2024 is over, Floridians may hurt their necks looking over their shoulders for the tell-tale streaks of light carving their way up from the Space Coast.

With seven launches in the books by the end of January from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the Space Coast is on pace for 84 launches for the year, which would surpass the record 72 it saw in 2023, which was in turn a big jump from the 57 it had in 2022.

But a new number is being tossed around this week by Florida officials.

“We have no signs of slowing down. So we look to 2024. We’re anticipating over 111 launches from Florida Space Coast,” said Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez during a speech Wednesday during the commercial space symposium SpaceCom at the Orange County Convention Center. “On any given day,  you can look up and see one of those amazing launches.”

Núñez chairs the board of directors for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency. She noted that the state accounted for nearly 68% of all U.S. launches in 2023. The state also has about 160 business development projects worth about $3 billion in statewide capital investment, she said. read more

NASA announced the four members for the planned August SpaceX mission to rotate crew on the International Space Station and it includes the first member of the U.S. Space Force flying to orbit.

The crew member, which Space Force calls a guardian, has already been to space, but for NASA as a member of the Air Force.

Piloting the SpaceX Crew-9 flight will be U.S. Space Force Col. Nick Hague, who previously had a scary initial ride the Air Force technically considered having reached space in 2018 that ended with an abort. It happened as he and a Russian crewmate cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin aboard a Soyuz capsule blasted away from a malfunctioning booster after launch from Kazakhstan.

“It went from normal to something was wrong pretty quick,” he said after the abort. “We weren’t going to make it to orbit that day, so the mission changed to getting back down on the ground as safely as we could.”

The altitude of the Soyuz capsule passed the 50-mile mark the U.S. considers for awarding astronaut status, although it’s shy of the Karman line, which is the internationally recognized line for having made it to space at around 62 miles high. read more

Oviedo’s growing foodie cred takes two giant leaps forward this week as Kai Asian Street Fare‘s long-stalked spot at The Food Factory will start serving on Friday, Feb. 2. Brock’s Florida BBQ, the popular local food truck, has signed on to have a permanent spot there as well, with owner Jason Brock’s pulled pork, mojo pork steak and more enjoying service through The Factory Bar.

“It’s been a long time coming,” says Kai chef/owner Quan Van, whose plans were delayed first by COVID-19, then post-pandemic issues including shortages in construction materials and labor.

“But things began picking up toward the end of 2023 and now, finally, here we are.”

Fans can expect all the Kai favorites, including the multiple Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award-winning wings (soy garlic, spicy tang, Vietnamese garlic, habanero and dry rub) along with garlic noodles, drunken noodles, ramen and some small bites.

“We’re going to start with the core menu we’ve had at Winter Park and will expand the offerings as we get comfortable,” says Van. read more

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney’s free speech lawsuit accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials of political retaliation in response to the entertainment giant’s criticism of a law limiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled that Disney did not have legal standing to sue DeSantis and Florida’s commerce secretary.

He also wrote that Disney’s claims against members of the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board “failed on the merits.”

Disney issued a statement signaling that it will appeal the decision.

“This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a company spokesperson said in an unsigned statement. “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.” read more