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...

Meta, TikTok and YouTube face landmark trial over youth addiction claims

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 1/27 4:45A Associated Press

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press Three of the world’s biggest tech companies face a landmark trial in Los Angeles starting this week over claims that their platforms — Meta’s Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube — deliberately...

Fed expected to keep rates unchanged as Chair Powell pivots back to economics

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 1/27 4:41A Associated Press

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After two weeks of intense political and legal scrutiny, the Federal Reserve will seek to make this week’s meeting about interest rates as straightforward and uneventful as possible,...

Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy falls sharply in January to lowest level since 2014

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 1/27 4:34A Associated Press

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January, hitting the lowest level since 2014 as Americans grow increasingly concerned about their financial prospects. Related Articles...

Stocks zigzag on Wall Street following mixed profit reports from UnitedHealth, GM and others

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 1/27 4:27A Associated Press

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are zigzagging on Wall Street Tuesday following a rush of mixed profit reports from UnitedHealth, General Motors and other big companies, and the crosscurrents are keeping...

Nominate a Central Florida Top Workplace for 2026

Orlando Sentinel (Brinkmann On Business) 1/27 2:09A Orlando Sentinel Staff

Great workplaces don’t happen by accident. They are nurtured and built to bring out the best in people. If you know of one, nominate it as a Top Workplace in Central Florida. For the eighth year, the...

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....