spenser1058

Joel Strack - a leader in Orlando’s LBGTQ+ community who was involved at the start of everything you could imagine from Gay Days to the Orlando Gay Chorus, has passed at 59. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-joel-strack-lgbtq-leader-obituary-20190715-gfq2p6q4p5b7doscmj6w3qds7i-story.html From the Sentinel

UCF Athletics doubles the amount of fundraising pledges over last year and quadruples the take from just three years ago: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/os-sp-ucf-record-fundraising-20190715-oa4vurd73fdu5euwmq3bvsy2sa-story.html From the Sentinel Charge On!

Remember the old Pace picante sauce commercials on TV where the guy picks up a bottle of a competitor’s sauce and, upon reading the label, finds out it’s from NEW YORK CITY? Whereupon, he cocks his pistol and points it at the offending product and the naïf holding it? (And to think the NRA wasn’t nearly as powerful back then, but I digress...) Well. Now we have Brother Jimmy’s North Carolina Barbecue coming to Pointe Orlando. Only thing is, the chain is from... NEW YORK CITY. The sacrilege apparently continues... https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/news/4813-carolina-barbecue-by-way-of-new-york-planned-for-pointe From Scott J

One thing that came to mind - the number of people who actually have any idea that Colonial Drive between Mills and OBT is 17-92 is minuscule (most also couldn’t tell you for that matter that OBT from Colonial Drive down through Kissimmee is also 17-92). It would totally confuse most Orlandoans who think 17-92 is just Mills and points north. As smileguy points out, the only folks for whom it might matter are those trying to make heads or tails of a map. Even worse, if that was what you were doing, it’s the worst possible route to get back to 17-92 as, on its best day, Colonial Drive is a complete abortion. It would make infinitely more sense to guide them to Princeton as traffic is much better. When that designation was done in the ‘50’s, it was to get people off the predecessor, Orange Ave. It was a brand new road with lots of capacity. Today, it’s just an anachronism.

“I love strolling along multi lane highways!” said no one ever. There’s a reason folks have always preferred to walk along the Central Blvd side of Eola instead of the Robinson St. side. But, to each their own, so I say go for it. The other thing that’s curious to me is that the clustering effect is everything. It’s why cities are successful. In none of the things she is proposing (agricultural research, medical facilities, etc.) is there even the slightest hint of others wanting to do the same thing. Compare that with the extensive discussions of clustering before anything ever got built at Lake Nona. The whole thing has just been odd from day one. Nevertheless, I keep waiting to be proved wrong but the date keeps being pushed back. Now we’re up to 2023. I just don’t get it at all.

https://images.app.goo.gl/dXkFNhcdFuuvBHbW7 ME LIKE COOKIES

If we’re going to create roadways as crooked as a dog’s hind leg to reconnect downtown with what’s now known as SoDo, someone under the dome needs to reconnect what used to be the primary access and link Delaney back with Rosalind. That was arguably the biggest screwup of downtown traffic since the East-West obliterated the north/south grid access.

Disney makes it official: Skyliner to open September 29. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/07/disney-skyliner-takes-flight-on-sept-29-2019-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

Old people who can’t wait to live out their lives jammed in between major highways- how idyllic!

Disney let them go and they took over downtown Orlando! (Full disclosure: I dated one of the Turtles in the ‘80’s - he usually played Donatello...)

*Ponders it painted white with black trim*

It seems a permit has been filed with FL DEP at long last for a walkway between MK and the Grand Floridian. Tom Bricker’s “backstory” about ELP is priceless! It will be interesting to see what sort of bridge is constructed over the canal. Let us all pray the nightly water pageant is not doomed. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-building-magic-kingdom-to-grand-floridian-walkway/ From Disney Tourist Blog

It is.

The Very Stable Genius keeps trying to figure out just how many folks came to see him last month at the Am: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/07/13/brilliant-mathematical-genius-continues-lying-about-the-crowd-size-outside-of-his-orlando-rally?media=AMP+HTML From Orlando Weekly

More on the expansion of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in east Tampa: https://www.tampabay.com/business/seminole-tribe-continues-to-evolve-with-tampa-casino-expansion-20190711/ An interesting fun fact: the facility is now the most successful individual casino based on operating profits. Fron the St. Pete Times