Things To Do In SW Florida

Chuck Karam anticipates steady sales inside Bulldog Fireworks as the Fourth of July falls on a Friday.

“People are going to be able to celebrate the entire weekend,” owner Karam said..

Although rainy weather kept many customers away in the spring, business picked up when the calendar turned to summer, Karam said.

“Now with the sunshine, people are starting to move around,” he said.

Karam added the volume of sales around Independence Day varies significantly depending on the day of the holiday.

“We’re going into a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which is going to have good traffic,” he said.

Specifically, profits are typically about 20% higher when the holiday is on a Friday or Saturday as opposed to a Tuesday or Wednesday, Karam said.

On average, fireworks sales contribute over $2 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. Additionally, Americans set off 295.3 million pounds of fireworks last year — a nearly 20% increase over the 246.5 pounds ignited in 2023, per the association. read more

Customers who ventured into Rite Aid at Gittings Marketplace during its final week in mid-June found a shuttered pharmacy, empty refrigerator cases and an assortment of greeting cards and beauty products at 90% off, but little else.

Across from the North Baltimore drugstore on York Road, a Party City sign tops a building that the balloon and party supply retailer left in February. Three miles away at Towson Place, vast pockets remain at former Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart stores.

It’s a pattern repeated across the Baltimore region and elsewhere as struggling “big box” and chain retailers accelerate store closures amid intense competition, economic challenges and consumers’ growing reliance on online shopping. Some retailers filed for bankruptcy. Many, backed by private equity, expanded too quickly and became burdened with debt.

Looming trade tariffs and a slowing economy won’t help, but “every retailer that’s closed has had something else that’s not been going quite right for them, and they’ve been pushed over the edge,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a retail analysis and consulting firm.  “Some of the retailers that have failed weren’t really innovating or thinking about the customer very well.” read more

You can’t really be angry while queuing up at SeaWorld Orlando for “Baby Shark Mini Live Show.” You asked for this.

There are tons of strollers. Wandering kids fall into bushes. None of the preschoolers will look at mommy whilst getting their umpteenth pictures taken.

To be clear, it’s not a newborn, real live, swimming shark in the show, but the animated Baby Shark character and family who went viral a decade ago with an earworm song and dance.

Demand remains. On opening day, 45 minutes before showtime, the line of young families stretched from Seaport Theater to the pearl diving tank.

More evidence: The “Baby Shark Dance” video is the most-watched YouTube entry ever — more than 16 billion views. (In a distant second place is “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, with 8.7 billion.)

Here’s what to know before you go. (Pro tip: You don’t need to bone up on the lyrics.)

Soggy sing-along

It’s not all just that one do-do-do-do-do-do song, and even that’s not as pervasive as one might expect. The show has a half-dozen tunes, including one tailored to SeaWorld and its animal residents that’s on-point with the theme park’s conservation messages. read more

AdventHealth has chosen a new leader for its flagship facility in Orlando.

The health care provider announced Monday it had named Abel Biri to lead AdventHealth Orlando along with having executive oversight of AdventHealth for Children. He succeeds Rob Deininger, who was recently appointed president/CEO for the East Florida Division of AdventHealth.

“Abel is a purpose-driven leader who keeps patient care front and center,” said Kari Vargas, CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division – North Market, in a news release. “His leadership not only reflects a deep commitment to our mission, but to building stronger, healthier communities, which makes him the right person to guide AdventHealth Orlando into its next chapter of delivering exceptional, whole-person care.”

Most recently, Biri spent eight years as CEO of AdventHealth Waterman where he led efforts to expand access and improve care throughout Lake County, the release stated. Under his leadership the hospital opened a new patient tower, introduced its first robotic surgery program and launched the county’s first children’s emergency department. read more

By DAVID McHUGH

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the European Central Bank said inflation has become more unpredictable due to shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and that policymakers need to take the possibility of such extreme scenarios into account and communicate them to the public as well.

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“The world ahead is more uncertain, and that uncertainty is likely to make inflation more volatile,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said Monday in a speech opening the central bank’s annual conference in Sintra, Portugal. “It’s pretty basic but that’s the reality.” read more