Health inspections prompt 4 Central Florida restaurant shutdowns

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 11:00P Richard Tribou

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shut down four Central Florida dining venues for health code violations during the week from Jan. 18-24. Orange Checkers at 10500 W. Colonial Dr. in Ocoee shut down on Jan. 21. Inspectors...

With new permits and alarm, Renaisssance Theatre poised to reopen

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 10:00P Matthew J. Palm

After four months, the Renaissance Theatre is just about ready to reopen. The Ren s building, near Loch Haven Park north of downtown, was shut down mid-September by city inspectors. But when it...

Guard at Kissimmee DJJ facility charged in attack on 15-year-old

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 8:57A Cristóbal Reyes

A guard at a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Kissimmee was jailed Tuesday after an alleged attack last week on a 15-year-old housed there. Charles-Edouard Jeune, 33, turned himself in to to the Osceola County Sheriff s Office...

Teen girls ID’d as Lake Brantley High students accused in murder plot

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 8:24A Silas Morgan

A 15-year-old girl and her 14-year-old best friend plotted to kill a classmate at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, according to an arrest report. The suspects were arrested Friday by Altamonte Springs police after officers received...

Seminole commissioners agree to keep funding arts group

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 7:58A Martin E. Comas

After more than a dozen people —  including teachers, residents and PTA members — spoke in support for the arts at a county meeting Tuesday, Seminole commissioners unanimously agreed to continue funding the non-profit Seminole Cultural Arts Council...

OCPS could lose 5,000 more students, close more schools, superintendent says

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 7:58A Steven Walker

Orange County Public Schools. set to close seven schools this year, could lose another 5,000 students and then shutter even more campuses next year, Superintendent Maria Vazquez said Tuesday. As the Orange County School Board considered new...

Orlando punts on trying to stop ICE facility, Orange still exploring options

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 7:16A Ryan Gillespie, Stephen Hudak

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement considers opening a detention and processing facility on Orlando’s eastern edge, city attorney Mayanne Downs said the U.S. Constitution prevents city officials from blocking it. Her conclusion comes even...

Maxwell: ‘Go f*** yourself’ email from Florida legislator could be state’s new motto

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/27 6:36A Scott Maxwell

A few weeks ago, Seminole County resident Greg Loftus did something pretty common when he contacted his designated state lawmaker to share thoughts about an upcoming legislative issue. Specifically, Loftus told State Rep. David Smith, R-Winter...

Alexander Vindman, key figure in first Trump impeachment, runs for Senate in Florida

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 11:00P Anthony Man

Alexander Vindman — the retired Army lieutenant colonel whose testimony provided critical evidence in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump — announced Tuesday he is seeking the Democratic...

Florida could ban foreign H-1B visa faculty at state universities until 2027

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 11:00P Steven Walker

Florida could move Thursday to bar its public universities from hiring foreign faculty on H-1B visas for the next year, just months after after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted to pull the plug on the higher education system s use of those visas....

Parents voice frustrations about planned Orange school closures

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 11:00P Steven Walker, Camila Gomez

Hundreds of Orange County parents packed into school cafeterias in the past two weeks to vent their frustrations about plans to close seven public schools , complaining the decisions were made without...

Orlando Fringe’s Winter Mini-Fest ‘exceeded all our goals,’ leader says

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 10:00P Matthew J. Palm

Orlando Fringe s Winter Mini-Fest had a strong showing in its 2026 outing this month, coming close to selling the most tickets in the event s decade-long history and potentially signalling higher turnout for the nonprofit s signature May festival....

New outdoor music spot in downtown Orlando moves forward

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 8:20A Matthew J. Palm

Orlando City commissioners on Monday approved a legal agreement that keeps a planned downtown outdoor music spot on track. The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is planning to construct a...

Orange commissioner wants new attorneys to fight Split Oak toll road

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 8:03A Stephen Hudak

A key Orange County Commissioner is pushing to hire outside counsel to fight the Central Florida Expressway Authority over its plans for a toll road through Split Oak Forest, after an in-house county attorney declared the battle was unlikely to...

DeSantis blames Minnesota officials for immigration turmoil there

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 1/26 6:06A Anthony Man

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he knows who’s responsible for the turmoil surrounding President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, which has resulted in the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents....