America’s child care crisis is holding back moms without college degrees
By MORIAH BALINGIT and SHARON LURYE of The Associated Press and DANIEL BEEKMAN of The Seattle Times
AUBURN, Wash. (AP) — After a series of lower-paying jobs, Nicole Slemp finally landed one she loved. She was a secretary for Washington’s child services department, a job that came with her own cubicle, and she had a knack for working with families in difficult situations.
Disney sets August start date for Epcot Food & Wine fest
Walt Disney World has announced the dates for the 2024 edition of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. The event will be held daily from Aug. 29 — the Thursday before Labor Day — through Nov. 23.
This marks a return to the pre-pandemic scheduling of Epcot festival. Last year, Food & Wine began in late July, a quick turnaround from the end of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival on July 5. This year’s Flower & Garden, currently underway, ends on Memorial Day, May 27.
The festival calendar became skewed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and the four-month shutdown of Walt Disney World. When Epcot reopened in July of that year, the park presented a sort of mash-up festival. Since then, Epcot has been close to an all-kiosk/all-the-time operation thanks to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays in November and December as well as the Epcot International Festival of the Arts in January and February.
The official Disney Parks Blog indicated the return of a handful of food offerings but did not share a full lineup of marketplaces. It also showcased some event merchandise (mugs, salt and pepper shakers, Figment-themed bags and tumblers). The Eat to the Beat concert series will be held nightly, although no performers have been announced.
SpaceX launch marks 300th successful booster landing
SpaceX sent up the 30th launch from the Space Coast for the year on Tuesday evening, a mission that also featured the company’s 300th successful booster recovery.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites blasted off at 6:17 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.
Engines full power and liftoff! pic.twitter.com/FeW78mZio2
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 23, 2024
The first-stage booster set a milestone of the 300th time a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy booster made a successful recovery landing, and the 270th time SpaceX has reflown a booster.
This particular booster made its ninth trip to space, a resume that includes one human spaceflight, Crew-6. It made its latest recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, completing Falcon’s 300th landing! pic.twitter.com/1YHqiHWjkN
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 23, 2024
The company’s first successful booster recovery came in December 2015, and it has not had a failed booster landing since February 2021.
Orlando firm designs Dragon Ball theme park in Saudi Arabia
A themed-entertainment design company in Orlando is planning and creating a major theme park in Saudi Arabia. Falcon’s Creative Group is turning Dragon Ball, a Japanese manga franchise, into a real-life experience expected to be a few acres larger than Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park.
The attraction is part of the Qiddiya City development, an entertainment push by the Saudi government. Its effort includes stadiums, theaters, a Formula One race, e-sports venues, a water park and several theme parks, including Dragon Ball and one developed by Six Flags Entertainment Corp.
“Qiddiya has a huge ambition to really create this whole city for play,” said David Schaefer, chief development officer of Falcon’s Creative Group.
Falcon’s has said it is hiring up to 200 additional workers for its Orlando headquarters for the park and other projects, another example of Central Florida being a hub for theme park creation beyond Disney, Universal and SeaWorld.
The Dragon Ball theme park, announced at AnimeJapan 2024 in March, will feature seven lands and more than 30 attractions, including a roller coaster built around Shenron, a dragon character more than 220 feet high. The entire park is expected to cover more than 120 acres. Magic Kingdom is about 107 acres.
Royal Caribbean breaks ground on Nassau beach club
Royal Caribbean and the government of the Bahamas broke ground Monday on the joint venture to develop a strip of land in the cruise port of Nassau called Paradise Island.
The government in 2023 gave the OK for the cruise line to develop a 17-acre portion into what will be called Royal Beach Club Paradise Island when it opens in 2025. Cruise line executives and government officials, including Prime Minister Philip Davis, grabbed shovels along the white sandy beaches with turquoise water in the background.
“With the signing of the deal [for] Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, we embark on this project to further enhance the vitality of our tourism product,” Davis said. “Signing today’s agreement, we add another world-class experience to our tourism offerings. And even more importantly, we take a bold step toward greater Bahamian empowerment in the tourism industry.”
The site is on the western edge of the strip of land that runs alongside the waterway through which ships brought nearly 4.5 million passengers in 2023, making Nassau the world’s busiest cruise port of call.