Things To Do In SW Florida

Ted Herbert, a retired business professor from Rollins College, said he was shocked when he got a letter last month from his insurance company telling him that while they valued him as a customer they would not be renewing his policy.

“I checked to see why this was happening, thinking they thought my home was on the coast and subject to hurricanes or rising tide,” said Herbert, who lives in Winter Park.

But to his surprise, his insurance company identified him as a high risk for hurricane damage, along with 100,000 other policyholders.

“That’s puzzling,” Herbert said. “Why would we be at a higher risk than others?”

The closest he got to an answer was that the company was re-balancing its Florida portfolio “due to a reduction in our hurricane exposure.”

Herbert is among the thousands of homeowners hunting for a new insurer after their companies shed them like winter jackets as hurricane season starts on June 1. And this year is expected to be one of the worst on record.

A forecast released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave an 85% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, which goes to Nov. 30, with up to 25 named storms. read more

Tom’s Watch Bar is up on its perch and open for business above Orlando’s International Drive.

Interstate 4 travelers may have spied the sign for the sports bar from the Sand Lake Road overpass, calling for customers from the top of the pinkish Hollywood Plaza Garage and just beyond the ribboned digital billboard that advertises Walt Disney World theme parks.

“It was kind of a novel idea to open this on the top floor of a parking garage,” co-founder Tom Ryan said during a tour of the 13,000-square-foot space this week.

That goes with the business’ outlook.

“The brand mantra is all the sports, all the time. The concept is all about creating a sports bar for the next generation of sports enthusiasts, who are much different than the old-school ones,” Ryan said.

“Usually it was very male-dominant. I like to say a lot of pennants, a lot of sticky floors, a lot of $3 beers and a lot of fried food,” he said. “What you’ll find here is just very different.”

What you’ll see (inside)

Lots of screens of various sizes, which Ryan estimated in number as “130-ish.” There are 500 seats on two levels, and the capacity is about 900 people. read more

SpaceX is gunning for the fourth launch attempt of its massive Starship and Super Heavy rocket as early as June 5.

The company posted its plans Friday, noting the launch is pending regulatory approval. The launch window opens as early as 8 a.m. EDT with the 396-foot-tall stacked rocket aiming to lift off again from SpaceX’s test launch site Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

After two explosive tries to reach orbit in 2023, SpaceX was finally able to send its upper Starship stage partway around the Earth with a reentry attempt over the Indian Ocean in March of this year.

SpaceX’s 3rd Starship launch makes it to space without exploding, but breaks up on reentry

Stunning video of the reentry relayed to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites orbiting above showed the massive heat buildup around the spacecraft as it ventured back into the atmosphere. The upper stage eventually broke up over the ocean, not achieving the goal of staying in one piece before splashing down.

Its first stage also had issues on its descent over the Gulf of Mexico crashing into the water, although it avoided the explosions like the previous two Super Heavy booster flights. read more

A familiar summertime pattern is already upon us: High humidity with a high probability of a surge of tourists traveling to Orlando for theme-park vacations.

Central Florida’s attractions are opening several new lures at Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and beyond. But experts are split on how travel plans may be affected by Epic Universe, a new theme park scheduled to open in summer 2025. It will be Universal Orlando’s third theme park.

“I don’t think people are waiting to come to Florida,” said Tarah Chieffi, senior writer with The Points Guy, a travel-media platform. “Orlando is always one of the most popular summertime destinations, obviously, especially for families and that is really no different this year.”

She pointed to Bank of America’s summer travel report, which expected the number of visitors to Florida to be about the same as in 2023, and up 15% from 2019, the summer before pandemic hit the U.S. Orlando is the No.2 searched destination on Expedia, she said. read more

If bets were to be placed, which would come first for Florida travelers? An FAA approved system for flying cars? Or a completed Orlando-Tampa extension for Brightline, the high speed railroad?

In late October of last year, Florida Secretary of Transportation Jared Perdue, an aggressive advocate for the development of a statewide system for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,  penned a sharply worded letter to his counterpart in Washington complaining that the Federal Aviation Administration, which is tasked with setting up rules for the aircraft to fly, is not acting fast enough.

“Last month, Florida released a report detailing our efforts, equipping our public and private sector partners to embrace [Advanced Air Mobility] as soon as the technology is ready to launch,” Perdue told Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation. “Unfortunately, Florida faces one roadblock to begin putting our plans into motion: the continued delay of your Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).” read more