Things To Do In SW Florida

Three Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of July 1-7, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Orange

Station 441 A Paradise Inc. at 2 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando shut down on July 2 because of rodent activity. Inspectors had returned to the restaurant after a July 1 visit that was a follow-up in itself from violations found in April. While no new high priority violations were found on the initial return visit, the existing violation from the April visit, operating without a license, was married with eight other lesser violations for nine total, that required a follow-up visit but didn’t merit a closure of the restaurant.

The next day, though, inspectors did close the restaurant when they found among six remaining violations two deemed high priority. They included the license issue, but also the discovery of 33 rodent droppings throughout the restaurant. Inspectors returned on July 3, and found no further evidence of rodent activity, and allowed the restaurant to reopen, although a follow-up inspection will still be required. read more

Disney Cruise Line announced Tuesday it had partnered with Japan’s Oriental Land Co., which has ordered and will operate a new ship to be based in Japan for year-round service.

The deal with OLC, which owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort, calls for a sister ship to Disney Wish to be constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany for sailing expected to begin in early 2029.

While technically the yet-to-be-named ship will be the ninth vessel in the DCL fleet, it’s OLC that has entered into the construction contract, and will operate the vessel under a licensing agreement with Disney.

It would be the fourth Wish-class ship for the DCL fleet following 2022’s Wish, this year’s Disney Treasure and next year’s Disney Destiny. Wish will be joined by Treasure later this year with both sailing out of Port Canaveral while Destiny’s home port has yet to be announced.

New cruise ship Disney Treasure gets 1st taste of water

Disney is also set to welcome in 2025 the Disney Adventure, which is headed to Singapore. read more

Westgate Resorts is cutting more than 350 jobs at one of its Orange County locations, according to a layoff notice filed with the Florida Department of Commerce.

A total of 357 employees who work at the 8680 Commodity Circle offices of Westgate Resorts will be laid off by the company, effective August 30, the June 28 notice said.

In a statement, Westgate said the layoffs were part of a merger between the company’s marketing and operational support teams to “provide a better experience for owners and guests”.

The timeshare resort company urged employees affected by the layoffs to apply for other open and available positions throughout Westgate. It had to report the pending layoffs to the state as they impact at least 50 employees.

Westgate owns seven resorts in Central Florida and 22 others across the country, as well as the Cocoa Beach Pier. It employs more than 10,000 people, according to its website.

Members of the tele-sales team at Westgate will take the biggest hit, with 59 individuals laid off from their department. Other sales representatives, concierges and reservations are among others to be laid off. read more

Lebawit Lily Girma | (TNS) Bloomberg News

Amy Froelich and her wife, Marla, have been Airbnb, Inc. hosts since 2015. They started in Iowa City, Iowa, and continued on to Madison, Wisconsin, where they own a four-bedroom home in a lush neighborhood within walking distance of trails and shops. On weeks their house isn’t rented out, they open it up for free home swaps through HomeExchange — an online travel hack they stumbled onto three years ago that lets them leverage their place for free accommodations elsewhere.

“We were just in a home exchange outside of Glasgow, Scotland. This beautiful couple, Claire and Michael, greeted us at the door with homemade bread that she’d just pulled out of the oven,” says Amy Froelich, speaking to Bloomberg from the U.K., a day after her stay concluded. The hosts couldn’t vacate on the agreed dates, but they offered the couple up a loft area with a master bedroom and en suite bath. In exchange, they’ll get to stay at the Froelichs’ home at a future date of their choosing. “It’s much more than monetary value,” says Froelich. “We departed as lifelong friends.” read more

John Rossheim | (TNS) KFF Health News

“You had to pay the fee, or the doctor wasn’t going to see you anymore.”

That was the takeaway for Terri Marroquin of Midland, Texas, when her longtime physician began charging a membership fee in 2019. She found out about the change when someone at the physician’s front desk pointed to a posted notice.

At first, she stuck with the practice; in her area, she said, it is now tough to find a primary care doctor who doesn’t charge an annual membership fee from $350 to $500.

But last year, Marroquin finally left to join a practice with no membership fee where she sees a physician assistant rather than a doctor. “I had had enough. The concierge fee kept going up, and the doctor’s office kept getting nicer and nicer,” she said, referring to the décor.

With the national shortage of primary care physicians reaching 17,637 in 2023 and projected to worsen, more Americans are paying for the privilege of seeing a doctor — on top of insurance premiums that cover most services a doctor might provide or order. Many people seeking a new doctor are calling a long list of primary care practices only to be told they’re not taking new patients. read more