Ha! You're funny poonther! They hid her pregnancy quite well while she was on camera for sure.

This is her first child. Her husband is Zach Gibson & he stated on the news clip that it's a great feeling & he can't wait for #2...Julie didn't say anything....Ha!

Yes, but I can't remember the name of it. May need Jack on this one.

I heard that if Orlando got this CSX deal to go through that it would help Tampa and Lakeland get rail transit. I did not here how that would work out though. If you have more freight demand on those rails in Tampa-Lakeland how is that goning to leave room for Transit? Sorry, if I missed the answer on a previous post. The word did not get out here in Tampa as to HOW we benefit.

The price of premium here in South Beach has already hit $4.23/gallon so I wouldn't be surprised to see $5 by the end of the year.

...not all of us get the stupid, political welfare check written on borrowed funds.

how about that lovely, small stage on floor 2 of the cityarts factory? any opinion as to why it's not used as much as it could be?

Don't get me wrong, I like when the check passes through me first, but it is only making up for the increase in the cost of goods.

On Friday (today), May 9th, the entrance ramp from Orange Avenue at Lucerne Circle to westbound SR 408 will close at 7:30pm so construction crews can mill and resurface Lucerne Circle and the approach to the SR 408 entrance ramp. The ramp will remain closed 24 hours each day until Tuesday, May 13th. A few parking spaces in front of the OUC Building will be closed during the same period.

think about it, though, Urban Flats and Bento are gangbusters during lunch... lines going out the door.

Cool Blue Burrito also attracts a decent lunch crowd. Volcanos sees action during morning hours and lunch. and now Cold Stone is joining the fray.

But Bento and the Flats are always busy--- from the get-go.

and in late afternoon and evening, Corona and the Flats are both packed with patrons, and Bento sees action as well.

Plaza is doing better than people realize... you gotta be here during the day and early evening to see what I'm talking about. there's always people down in the plaza of the plaza.

I was out riding my bicycle the other day and saw a D'Lites Ice Cream shop going in the new plaza on Mahan just West of Capital Circle and across from the old Ryan's restaurant. Does anyone know anything about them? It appears they might be a dieter's type of place based on the website.

You are obviously referring to a water fountain. We use them for drinking, but those are usually inside the stores. </wise remarks>

You are obviously referring to a water fountain. We use them for drinking, but those are usually inside the stores. </wise remarks>

I can't say for sure, but there is supposed to be a sculpture out front there by the Publix entrance. I wonder if the original plans didn't call for it and someone forgot to look at the newer plans that do.

Happy to hear that the Plaza has slowly picked up the pace.

Thanks for that info , PA! Do you know if TLH has ever had 757's fly commercially?

Some good news for all of you who are looking forward to seeing aircraft with jets under wing return to the airport. FedEx currently operates 727s out of the airport and is replacing their ageing fleet of 90 727s with new 757s that will completely replace the 727s. FedEx currently has 7 757s with 83 orders, FedEx started adding the new 757's at the beginning of this year and will completely have the fleet replaced by 2016.

Being the night owl that I am, I do a lot of driving in the late night, particularly 11:00-3:00. COT should start having all of its traffic signals flash at midnight or 1:00am until the morning. Traffic isn't heavy enough to justify normal signal times. Dade County does this to most, if not all of its signals.

I talked to someone on site a few weeks ago and he said they will finish in June. When asked about the Publix, he said that would obviously take much longer due to buildout, but he did say June for the building. I don't know what that means as far as buildout for individual condo units, though. I didn't buy into it and therefore didn't care to ask about that. I only care about the Publix and the WAMU.

Pic added

The few times I catch the 6pm news, I too didn't realize Julie was preggers. Is this her first child? Ranicky didn't have anything to do w/this did he?

^Yep you are correct GG. The City/County Commission more times than not follows the recommendation of the Planning Agency, but not always.

I understand your point TD, but in the case of the Mahan proposal they were asking for the maximum density. I'm sure someone can come up w/a decent compromise between 50 and 509 units for the development of that parcel.

As for the Bradfordville proposal, the NIMBY's in that area are a strong coalition. When I went to a Board of Adjustment's meeting last year, Kohl's wanted the tiniest change to their sign and about 20 folks from there showed up against it even though IMHO the sign change request was more aesthetically pleasing than what the code called for.

I'm not up that way much so I'd seriously like to ask "Is office development on Bradforville Rd. at Velda Dairy a smart move economically?" Just how far is that intersection from where B'ville meets T'ville?

How many bedrooms/baths do these 300+k townhomes have? If find that to be an incredibly steep price to share walls as josefk stated.

These townhomes will or will not be on the PoH?

^Oh but jpl02 it will make it soooo much easier for folks to get to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Marshall's Sport's Authority etc. from Blair Stone which is really important isn't it??

On another note...Julie Montenaro delivered her new baby today so she'll be out on maternity leave for awhile. Congratulations Julie!

^ Driving around this morning I was amazed at the difference in the gas prices around town. In my brief travel I noticed that Sam's Club was $3.44, Gate was $3.59, COSTCO was $3.51, & Circle K was $3.65...CRAZY!

Do you really need premium for your car? I know some car manufacturers recommend it for their vehicles, but I read somewhere that oftentimes, regular works just fine.

Quite the opposite. If you look at the current cost of a barrel of oil the prices are delayed a bit to market so prices will continue to increase for a few more weeks to reach the current price per barrel (~$123). In fact, the local station that I get gas at (cheapest one too) just raised their price per gallon by $0.07 overnight. My car requires premium so the price now is $3.89. I expect to be paying over $4.00 in the next 2-3 weeks. In fact, I would suspect that regular (87) gas will average above $4.00 within the next couple of months due to the current cost for oil.

Doesn't matter.

Lipstick on a Pig.

Price per barrel of oil must have dropped

i was at sam's yesterday and the gas price was 3.54 , why a 10.cent drop in one day.

Doesn't matter.

Lipstick on a Pig.

The answer to that is quite simple really – Starwoods.

Sheraton is a Starwoods brand and as such members of Starwoods frequent stay programs [Preferred, Gold, and Platinum] can both earn and use points, receive free upgrades, free meals, etc.

During the hurricanes of a few years ago I ended up spending about 10 nights in the Grand Bohemian when it was a Westin property. Westin is also a Starwoods brand and as an SPG Platinum I received a free upgrade to a junior suite, free food and drinks in the club lounge, free valet parking, and a free NYTimes every morning.

When Starwoods heard that several of their Plats were staying at the Westin because of the storms they comped us two nights. My total bill was about $5,700 before savings. As an SPG Plat I received 10 nights in an upgraded room, two free nights, free valet parking, free internet, and free food so, with a single-room rack rate of $300 per night, with a free upgrade to a $450 per night junior sweet and all of the rest I saved a good $1100 over what some schmuck walking in off the street would have paid.

If the Westin had not been there then I would have sought out the next closest SPG property which in this case [though not at that time] would have been the Sheraton and I would have received substantially the same benefits though admittedly in not nearly as nice a property.

Also consider that many vacationers and convention attendees are also SPG members, many of whom would find the Downtown Sheraton a perfect solution, particularly considering that Orlando's other SPG properties [save the Dolphin and Swan] are old, run-down crap tourist hotels. Many frequent travelers, even affluent one can be hardcore about accumulating points and receiving free upgrade perks. I just spent a week in Paris at the Westin - for free, while everyone else was paying 350 Euros per night [$525] for a single. Sure I could have afforded the standard rate but given that I end up staying in hotels X-number of nights a year why not narrow it down to one or two loyalty programs and collect the points to redeem later.

And that is why many a savvy business traveler would stay at the Downtown Orlando Sheraton.