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In an effort to improve road safety, Mount Dora may make three major downtown thoroughfares into one-way streets.

Alexander Street, Baker Street and Tremain Street are narrow roads located in the heart of Mount Dora where on-street parking competes with two-way traffic.

Mount Dora councilmembers voted 5-2 this week to support a plan that could see one block of Alexander Street and two blocks of Baker Street and Tremain Street realigned into a one-way configuration, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

Adam Sumner, CRA Administrator in the City of Mount Dora’s Office of Planning and Development said planning staff hired a consultant to look at existing street conditions and the feasibility of angled parking earlier this year.

Sumner said a licensed engineer informed them that changes need to be made on those three downtown streets to “meet safety standards” and said only two options would satisfy the safety criteria.

“We were given notice by a license engineer that we have a concern and we need to address it,” he said. “The only two options to address it are removing the parking and keeping two-way traffic or putting in proper parking and going to one-way. Those are the only options we have.” read more

Rollins College’s vision for an “Innovation Triangle” in downtown Winter Park took a big step forward Friday as ground was broken on the new Rollins Museum of Art and an adjacent leadership institute.

The new structures, at New England and Interlachen avenues, will form part of the “triangle,” with the third “point” being the college’s Alfond Inn, an art-driven boutique hotel.

“It’s quite forward thinking,” said Rollins Museum of Art director Leslie Anderson, “and plays to the strengths of our college.”

Anderson, named the museum’s director in July, envisions a strong connection between the leadership institute, part of the college’s Crummer School of Business, and the museum.

“There are lots of opportunities for collaboration around art and business,” she said. The project “creates this space where the museum can provide data-driven research for the business school.”

For the public, the new museum will offer multiple benefits. At 31,000 square feet, the new building will be three times the size of the current on-campus museum. Its enhanced gallery spaces will be able to accommodate major traveling exhibitions, as well as display more of Rollins’ extensive permanent collection of works. Anderson also envisions more community programming, especially as the complex attracts thought leaders and other speakers to Winter Park. read more

By KEN SWEET

NEW YORK (AP) — For nearly three years, JPMorgan Chase has picking up the legal tab of Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, the two convicted fraudsters who sold their financial aid startup Frank to the bank.

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But the two have racked up an astronomical, nine-figure legal bill that far exceeds any reasonable amount the two may have needed for their defense, the bank said in a court filing late Friday. Chase shouldn’t have to pay and its agreement as part of the startup purchase to shoulder the costs should end, the bank argued.

According to the filing, Javice’s team of lawyers across five law firms have billed JPMorgan approximately $60.1 million in legal fees and expenses, while Amar’s lawyers have billed the bank roughly $55.2 million in fees. read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and CHRIS RUGABER, AP Business Writers

It’s getting more expensive for Americans to get their caffeine fix.

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The average U.S. price of a pound of ground coffee hit $9.14 in September, a 3% increase from the August average of $8.87 and 41% higher than in September 2024, according to U.S. government figures. Coffee prices have been increasing sharply since the start of this year.

Consumer prices for food purchased for home use and away from home were 3% in September compared to the same month a year earlier, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The consumer price index, which measures a broader sample of all coffee products, including instant coffee, showed U.S. coffee prices up 19% from September 2024 and flat compared to August. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown now in its fourth week likely means there won’t be an inflation report next month for the first time in more than seven decades, the White House said Friday, leaving Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without crucial information about consumer prices.

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“Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history,” the Trump administration said in an email. read more