Spring training in Florida is in full swing
(Central Florida Future © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
Only about a week and a half remains until the Major League Baseball season kicks in, but there’s plenty of time to take a one-tank trip in Florida to check out your favorite team during spring training. Aside from catching a first glimpse of some future all-stars, promising prospects and, of course, a fair share of career minor leaguers, spring training is all about relaxing in the Florida...
Ormond beachside hotel has date with wrecking crew
(Daytona Beach News-Journal © 03/25/2010)
ORMOND BEACH -- City officials and the owner of the Surfside Hotel and Suites have reached an out-of-court settlement to demolish the long-abandoned beachfront building. FCB Properties in Jacksonville has agreed to begin work by May 17. The previous owners -- Bray & Gillespie -- filed for bankruptcy in 2008, and FCB Properties became the holding company for Park Avenue Bank in August. The ...
Rides OK'd for Boardwalk lot
(Daytona Beach News-Journal © 03/25/2010)
A Ferris wheel, giant slide, drop tower, a small roller coaster and other rides are planned for the 48,000-square-foot lot that has been empty since 2007. N-J file DAYTONA BEACH -- For years, an empty Boardwalk lot has been the butt of sarcastic jokes comparing it to a demolition site or war zone. Those wisecracks are probably going to die a quick death in ...
Marco Island Seafood fest reels in crowds
(Ft. Myers News-Press © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
Crowd was the operative word at the Marco Island Seafood Festival Saturday: Cars crowded into the paved parking lot and spilled out onto adjacent grassy swales on Park Street. People came in droves to pay the $6 admission to support this second annual humanitarian event benefiting local children's charities, which was the brainchild of both the Sunrise and Noontime Rotary Clubs of Marco Island as...
Museum gets on 'Dinosaur Train'
(Gainesville Sun © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
Children who love dinosaurs will have the opportunity to meet a dinosaur paleontologist and his dinosaur friend at the Florida Museum of Natural History's "Dinosaur Train" Pre-K Day on Friday. Kids can meet Buddy, a character on the PBS show "Dinosaur Train," and Scott Sampson, the paleontologist/author who, as "Dr. Scott," appears on the popular children's show. "Dinosaur Train" follows the life...
Obama toughens his stance over Cuba's crackdowns
(Miami Herald © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
President Barack Obama, in his harshest censure of Cuba's repression of dissent, Wednesday said Havana had used ``a clenched fist' against ``those who dare to give voice to the desires of their fellow Cubans.' Obama also appeared to hint that his efforts to improve U.S. relations with the Raúl Castro government have lost steam in the face of the recent string of tough actions by Havana....
Museum home to world’s largest bunny collection
(MSNBC © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
PASADENA, Calif. - It started 18 years ago with an endearment and a plush bunny....
Severe dune erosion on Okaloosa Island threatens homes (PHOTO GALLERY)
(Northwest Florida Daily News © 03/25/2010)
OKALOOSA ISLAND — When Dave Davis bought his townhome in the Cloisters development, the back of his home overlooked more than 100 yards of sand and a strong dune system. Over the years, the beach has eroded so much that the state Department of Environmental Protection declared it critically eroded in 2006. The beach’s condition outside Davis’ home has worsened in just the past ...
Spring breaker killed in PCB balcony fall
(Northwest Florida Daily News © 03/25/2010)
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A spring breaker was dead after falling five stories from a motel balcony Wednesday night, police said. The victim was a 19-year-old man from Georgia, according to Beach police Maj. Dave Humphreys, who said the agency was “nowhere near notifying next of kin” by 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Rescuers responded just before 8:30 p.m. to a fall at the Holiday Terrace Mot...
Tiger, ape sanctuary gets OK from Lake County Commission
(Orlando Sentinel © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel March 25, 2010 TAVARES – An animal sanctuary that cares for endangered apes and tigers won a permit from Lake County commissioners this week to house the captive exotic animals, which cannot be returned to the wild. The Animal Preservation and Education Sanctuary ...
Universal Announces Opening Date of Wizarding World of Harry Potter
(Orlando-WFTV (ABC) © 03/25/2010)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Universal Orlando has announced its newest attraction, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, will open to the public on June 18th. Harry Potter is the largest book and movie franchise in the world, with millions of fans. Experts believe it is big enough to draw even more tourists to Central Florida. The Harry Potter themed attraction will feature restaurants from the franchise includ...
Curator needs help to fulfill dream at Clewiston Museum
(Palm Beach Post © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
Butch Wilson is about as close to being a Glades native as one can be without having been born here. His parents moved to Belle Glade when he was 3 months old. His father built a home in South Bay where Wilson grew up, attending high school in Belle Glade. After graduation, he went to Lee University in Tennessee where he majored in history and theology. "And I never used either one," Wi...
Margate to get South Florida's first luxury RV park, lots marketed to Canadians
(Palm Beach Post © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
A property once occupied by the working poor soon could become home to the mega-wealthy on wheels. In September, Margate is expected to become the first city on Florida's East Coast with an upscale RV park. Until it closed in 2007, Aztec Estates mobile home community filled the 104-acre site on the east side of State Road 7 and south of Southgate Boulevard. On Tuesday afternoon, the ...
Vendors forecast smooth sailing for Palm Beach International Boat Show
(Palm Beach Post © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
"You can't beat being out here in the sun, with all these beautiful boats and the water, can you?" said Mike Bass, a broker with South Florida Yachts. He squinted, the afternoon sun glinting off the watercraft bobbing in the water. The 25th anniversary of the Palm Beach International Boat Show kicks off at noon today along Flagler Drive. The four-day show will be the first major event a...
After shooting, PCB council considering limits
(Panama City News Herald © 03/25/2010)
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The City Council might have a discussion today about “special events” during Spring Break in the wake of a weekend shooting that nearly killed its victim. City Council member Jeff Ferguson suggested city officials might want to ban all special events during peak periods such as Spring Break or Memorial Day weekend. Several business owners and public officia...
Inn site split OK'd
(Pensacola News Journal © 03/25/2010)
Santa Rosa Island Authority leasing and development committee on Wednesday signed off on splitting the Five Flags Inn property on Pensacola Beach so it may be sold. The full SRIA board will vote formally on the item at the 5:30 p.m. April 14 board meeting. Owners of Hotel Indigo on the east of the property and Holiday Inn Express on the immediate west want to buy the premium Gulf-fron...
Parrish woman explores an enigmatic historical site
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
PARRISH - A prehistoric island culture that flourished 1,000 years before the Egyptians built the pyramids may have learned to bend sound waves into mood-altering acoustics. And a Parrish resident is recruiting a multidisciplinary team to illuminate this Stone Age mystery, which resonates below the earth in the tiny Mediterranean nation of Malta. Requiring the expertise of architects, archaeol...
TripAdvisor Survey Reveals Growth Spurt in Family Travel
(South Florida Business Journal © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
The youth of today are better-traveled than ever, according to TripAdvisor's survey. * 75 percent of travelers' children (those under the age of 18) have visited more than six U.S. states – only 37 percent of these children's parents had traveled as extensively by the same age. * 73 percent of travelers' young children have experienced international travel, compared to 44 percent of the...
Jacksonville could lose Carnival Cruise business to Savannah
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
Savannah is making a play to land a cruise ship and its city leaders are closely watching whether Jacksonville remains a homeport for Carnival Cruise Lines. Savannah Alderman Tony Thomas said if Carnival stops sailing the Fascination ship from Jacksonville in the future, Savannah would want to become the Fascination's next homeport. "We would definitely entertain them coming to Savannah,...
Orlando metro area grew a bit more crowded last year, despite recession
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
If not for babies and immigrants, Metro Orlando would be shrinking. The latest U.S. Census estimates show that the growth of Orlando's families, together with its continued appeal to people from other countries, narrowly offset the loss of residents who left the state because of the recession. The four-county metropolitan area grew an anemic 1 percent in 2009, adding 21,198 people. Two-thirds...
Clearwater's Fourth Friday to draw Indy crews here for Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
(St. Petersburg Times © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
CLEARWATER — A pair of sleek Indy race cars will compete in a lightning-fast pit stop contest Friday evening on the streets of downtown Clearwater. The cars, their drivers and pit crews are the featured attraction for this month's Fourth Friday street party. The free event will also offer live bands, hot rods on display, 60 vendor booths, a Gasparilla pirate ship, and games for kids. The mai...
Sesame Street opens at Busch Gardens
(St. Petersburg Times © 03/25/2010) (Registration Required)
We can already hear the tiny tots screaming for Elmo, Big Bird or Bert & Ernie when the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun opens Saturday at Busch Gardens Tampa. To make the wee ones feel extra special, Busch is letting kids ages 5 and younger in free for the rest of 2010. (Before you go, register for that free preschool class at sesamestreetsafarioffun.com.) Plus there will be 44 spots in the pr...
