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A Blue Man Group show will move into a new 500-seat theater at Icon Park, the International Drive entertainment complex announced Thursday.

The show’s location is in the development-planning stage and approval process, and the goal is to open in late 2024, officials said. The theater’s entrance would be on the Universal Boulevard side of the 20-acre complex, near the base of the Orlando Eye observation wheel.

Blue Man Group performed in a prominent space at Universal Orlando, accessed through Universal CityWalk for 14 years, before the show was discontinued in 2021. The new production will have a “significant amount of new elements,” Jack Kenn, managing director of Blue Man Group, said Thursday.

“We have our classic things that we have in all the Blue Man shows, but certainly a new look to the show, a new feel of the show and we’re excited about our custom-built theater,” he said. “All of those things are going to make it feel new to our Orlando audience.”

Kenn has worked with Blue Man and Cirque du Soleil for 20 years and has been in his current position for about a year, he said. read more

By TOM MURPHY

Walgreens is finalizing a plan to fix its U.S. business that could result in closing hundreds of additional stores over the next three years.

CEO Tim Wentworth told analysts Thursday morning that “changes are imminent” for about 25% of the company’s stores, which he said were underperforming. The drugstore chain currently runs more than 8,600 in the United States.

Wentworth said the company’s plan could include the closing of a “significant portion” of those roughly 2,100 underperforming stores if they don’t improve.

Company leaders said they’ve already closed 2,000 locations over the last 10 years. Overall, the company runs about 12,500 drugstores worldwide.

“We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require we approach the market differently,” he said.

Walgreens and major competitors like CVS and Rite Aid — which is going through a bankruptcy reorganization — have been closing stores as they adjust to an array of challenges to their businesses. They include include years of tight reimbursement for their prescriptions and rising costs for running their locations. read more

SpaceX got back to a quick pace between launches with another Starlink mission from the Space Coast on Thursday using its fleet-leading booster for a record flight.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of its Starlink satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:14 a.m.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/GH3FjaqbgG

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 27, 2024

The first-stage booster for the flight made its record-breaking 22nd trip off the pad having previously flown crewed missions Inspiration4 and Axiom Space’s Ax-1 as well as 19 other missions.

It made another landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.

Falcon 9 lands on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, completing the first 22nd launch and landing of a booster! pic.twitter.com/8WX1mE4QbH

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 27, 2024

That marks 325 booster recoveries for the company and 294 reflights. SpaceX has three other boosters with 20 or more flights under their belt.

Powerhouse hurricane watchdog satellite launches aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy read more

An out-of-state buyer recently closed on a business park near the Orlando International Airport in what was one of the Orlando market’s largest industrial transactions in recent memory.

Irvine, CA-based LBA Logistics purchased the Lee Vista Business Center for $120 million from New York-based Link Logistics, a subsidiary of investment management company Blackstone, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The 81-acre business park, situated off of Emerald Dunes Drive, includes 635,684 square feet of warehouse, office, and distribution space spread out over four buildings. In 2009, developer McDonald Development delivered phase 1, which consisted of two buildings and 333,300 square feet. The developer completed another 145,800-square-foot building in 2015 as part of the property’s second phase. A year later, Link Logistics bought the three existing buildings for $47.89 million.

In 2018, McDonald delivered the third phase of the industrial park, consisting of a 159,885-square-foot building. In 2019, Link Logistics closed on the final building for $15.5 million, bringing their total investment to about $63.4 million. read more

Denver-based Frontier Airlines, having survived against the odds, will celebrate its 30th year in business by offering customers $29 one-way airfares on 100 routes, the company said Tuesday.

“We want to thank our customers for their loyalty as we celebrate our 30th birthday this year, and what better way to do so than by offering amazing fares to so many incredible destinations,” said Tyri Squyres, vice president of marketing, Frontier Airlines, in a news release.

The promotional fares will be available through 9:59 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, June 27 for travel through Nov. 13 on a page Frontier has set up for the promotion. Blackout dates, including the July Fourth and Labor Day holidays, apply. The best days to travel to obtain the discounted fares are Monday through Thursday and Saturdays.

The cities with discounted airfares out of Denver include Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Mo., Chicago Midway, Milwaukee, Missoula, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, and Santa Ana, Calif. read more