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The College Park Cafe has been a mainstay in Orlando for more than 70 years. But in one instant on Christmas Eve morning, everything started to go catastrophically wrong.

First, a buildup of grease behind the stove caught fire. Then the fire-suppression system failed, with the sprinklers not producing the solvents specifically designed to put out such fires. The fire extinguishers, supposedly serviced and ready, were the last fail-safe.

“They were all empty,” said co-owner Joey Eckenfels. “So we didn’t have a choice but to run.”

The result was a total loss of the kitchen, including the primary cooking line where all the food is prepared.

But thanks to the generosity of the community it has served for decades, the beloved neighborhood restaurant is slated to reopen as soon as Jan. 10.

“We sold coffee on the street yesterday, just to bring in a little cash for the employees,” said co-owner Joey Eckenfels. “Someone threw a $100 bill out the window.”

The College Park Cafe calls itself the oldest diner in Orlando, dating back to 1951 when it opened as Clara Johnson’s College Park restaurant, with an Orchid Room banquet hall next door. It became the College Park Cafe in the 1980s under a new family’s ownership. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writers

Value was in vogue in 2024.

TALLAHASSEE — Pointing to issues such as growth and a need to continue expanding its system, Florida Power & Light on Monday said it will propose a four-year plan to raise base electric rates.

FPL will seek increases of about $1.55 billion that would take effect in 2026 and $930 million that would take effect in 2027, according to a letter filed with the Florida Public Service Commission. It also will seek additional money in 2028 and 2029 to pay for solar-energy and battery projects, though the filing did not detail specific amounts.

In the letter, FPL said, for example, that it has “experienced significant growth in our customer base” during the past four years and expects such growth to continue.

“While this growth will ultimately have a positive impact by spreading existing fixed costs over a larger customer base, it also means that FPL must invest significant capital to meet the needs of these additional customers by building transmission and distribution infrastructure, including poles, wires, transformers, substations and other components,” the letter, addressed to Public Service Commission Chairman Mike La Rosa, said. “The costs of meeting these obligations have substantially increased due to the impact of inflation.” read more

Walt Disney World will again offer hotel deals that include two Disney Dining Plan options on select dates in 2025.

The offer will be available from Jan. 2-Feb. 10. It will be valid for “most arrivals” between May 27 and June 26 and then again from July 7-Aug. 6.

Visitors can get free dining plans with the purchase of a nondiscounted three-night, three-day (or longer) Walt Disney Travel Co. package that includes a room at select Disney resort hotels and a ticket with the park hopper option.

Options include a plan with two quick-service meals per day or a plan with one quick-service meal plus one table-service meal per day. The plans work at more than 200 locations on property, including at theme parks and in hotels, Disney says. The plans also include mugs that can be refilled with drinks at Disney World.

Pricing varies with dates and accommodations. For more details, go to DisneyWorld.com/dineoffer on Jan. 2.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently tried to use my Chase points to book an airline ticket on Aeromexico. After seeing and confirming the availability of an award flight on its partner airline, Virgin Atlantic, I made two transfers of 37,000 Chase points to Virgin Atlantic to book the flight. When I went to click “purchase,” I received an error message and could not complete the booking.

I called Virgin, which said that Aeromexico had not released the flight to them, and there was no button they could push to book the flight, despite it being advertised in multiple locations, including their website.

I tried to get the points refunded, but Chase now says it can’t return the points to my account. Can you help me?

— Carlye Siegel, Chicago

ANSWER: Chase is right — and wrong. Yes, the points only go one way, but there are times when rules like this shouldn’t apply.

For the uninitiated, here’s how these transfers work: You earn points by making purchases on your credit card. Then you transfer those points to the airline loyalty program. And as I’ve already mentioned a few times, once you push the button on those transfers, there’s no going back. read more