Florida seeks to head off challenges to law suspending local growth limits

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 4:05A Jim Saunders

TALLAHASSEE — With a judge slated to hear arguments this week, the state is trying to short-circuit constitutional challenges to a new law that blocks cities and counties from approving more restrictive or burdensome changes to growth plans....

Oviedo Hanukkah celebration offers healing insight with Jewish traditions

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 3:02A Rich Pope

Rabbi Dubov, of Chabad of Oviedo–Winter Springs, at the forefront of a Hanukkah celebration held at Center Lake Park in Oviedo on Monday night, greeted and mingled with those in attendance. Young...

I got to help release a bald eagle back into the wild, and it was amazing

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 2:31A Roger Simmons

I was invited by the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland to help release a rehabilitated bald eagle on Dec. 5. And it was an amazing experience. The female eagle, who was about 5 years old,...

Preschool expulsions target of counselors working in Orange daycares

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 2:00A Michael Cuglietta

When Dawn Orsaeo dropped her son Gabriel off at preschool, the boy would usually cry because he didn’t want his mother to leave. For much of the day, the three-year-old would remain upset, often...

Cool start will have pleasant and cloudy afternoon

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/16 1:46A Garfield Hylton

Tuesday starts cool, but pleasant weather will arrive during a cloudy afternoon. The day will be mostly dry, but a few sprinkles could move onshore, according to NWS Melbourne. Orlando and the surrounding areas have peak temperatures at 71...

Driver dead, passenger injured after rollover crash in Winter Garden

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/15 3:44A Elainie Barraza

Two men from Orlando are dead after a fatal crash Monday morning on State Road 429 southbound at mile marker 17 in Orange County, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The fatal crash happened in the southbound lanes of S.R. 429 near Winter Garden...

Pictures: Best of 2025 feature photos by Orlando Sentinel photographers

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/15 1:34A Joe Burbank, Stephen Dowell, Wil

A great egret makes a snack out of a bluegill sunfish on Lake Sybelia in Maitland on April 30, 2025. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) Dancers from Visit Orlando entertain with colorful balloons as the...

Florida’s new immigration policies are upending lives, USF study finds

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/14 11:00P Juan Carlos Chavez

Immigration policies in Florida and under President Donald Trump’s administration have not only upended the lives of unauthorized immigrants, but have also deeply affected those with legal status, according to a new study by researchers at...

Weather might cause issues, but ULA, SpaceX could fly 3 launches within 12 hours

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/14 2:21A Richard Tribou

Dicey weather could cause issues, but three rockets from SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are lined up to launch from the Space Coast beginning Sunday night that could set a record with three Florida-based missions launched within 12 hours. Up...

Former Sheriff Marcos Lopez faces racketeering charges alone after others take pleas

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/14 12:00A Cristóbal Reyes

Six months after seven people were arrested and accused of running a Central Florida gambling enterprise , only one is left to face trial on racketeering charges: former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez. Lopez is accused of helping establish...

Save our ‘beloved’ schools: Orange parents protest campus closures

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/14 12:00A Steven Walker

Amanda Weber met her husband in the halls of Bonneville Elementary School when they were in fourth grade. Now her son is a second grader on the same campus. The east Orange County school, which opened...

Uncontested Winter Park commission races spell victory for political newcomer, incumbent

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/13 12:00A Brian Bell

Residents of Winter Park won t head to the polls in March because the races for two City Commission seats were uncontested — meaning automatic wins for a political newcomer and an incumbent. Elizabeth Ingram, a trained opera singer who has...

Replacing septic tanks near Wekiva could cost Seminole homeowners thousands

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/13 12:00A Martin E. Comas

Seminole commissioners were hit with a stunning dose of sticker shock this week after learning a state requirement to convert most septic tanks near the Wekiva River and Gemini Springs to sewer...

Florida inmates were denied eye surgery for years. Some were left blind

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/13 12:00A Christopher O Donnell, Justin Ga

Randall Barde’s eyesight wasn’t right. The light in his cell had a blue ring around it. His vision was blurry. After a two-year delay, a 2019 eye exam revealed advanced cataracts in both eyes. He needs surgery “soon,” the specialist wrote in his...

Central Florida to see temps jump from 40s to 70s on Friday

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 12/11 11:57P Richard Tribou

Central Florida will see a big shift in temperatures with 40s climbing into the 70s on a sunny Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Most of the region saw chilly temperatures in the low to mid-40s although some areas...