A bit of chatter lately surrounds Tampa International Airport’s international flare – or lack thereof, maybe. Mitch Perry provides a good post about the status of international flights at TIA and the relatively turbulent discussion that opened the dialogue again. There are certainly some unresolved questions after all the flap: Are there not enough international [...]
My life has changed dramatically (and traumatically) in the past twelve months. Has anyone ever told you: “wow, you look like you just lost your best friend?” I’ve looked as if I just lost my best friend for 11 months. I did. His name was Randy. He profoundly changed my life, and his death upended [...]
I did go to Gaylord Palm's ICE and was it cold (as expected for an all ice event)! Parkas with hoods are provided but be sure to take your mittens. It was a great event and worth going to this year if you have not been yet. If you have been in the past, this year the Florida hotel has brought new ice sculpture themes into the event and even "whimsical winter wonderland of larger-than-life, three-dimensional hand-carved ice monuments and sculptures, including fantastic frozen creations, slippery ice slides..." What I found interesting was that the 40 member team who carve the ice are from Harbin, China! Gaylord Palms ICE!, in Kissimmee, till January 2, 2010. Nice and cold with a free small hot coco waiting for you after. View more pics on Flickr
Recently a woman I was dating dragged me to torturous evening event in town. The scene was a hot dark room where someone ordered me to put my body into strange positions....
Night of Joy at Disney and Rock the Universe at Universal Studios just happen to be tonight and tomorrow. The only hard part will be choosing which park and what bands to see. There are even a few morning concerts at Universal Sunday morning. Can't make it to Orlando? Cypress Gardens has an admission special for $5 bucks on Saturday and Sunday. Stay tuned for a recap of Rock the Universe and live tweets while at the park tomorrow night.
I do think that building a publicly controlled rail corridor, high speed or other, linking Tampa, Orlando, and ultimately, Miami, will carry important long-term benefits for the state. And of all the rail routes discussed for Florida, the Tampa-to-Orlando stretch has greatest potential ridership. So, I'm happy to see everyone moving forward on it. (Everyone, that is, except JD Alexander and the Winter Haven folks.) But, in the interest of intellectual honesty, and embracing the uncertainties and potential consequences of what I support, I want to make a few points.
In case you missed it, the Orlando Sentinel has a new series on the commuter rail project. Read the full article for the pertinent links...
Orlando area twitter-ers and those interested in becoming one have their own "Tweetup". On Thursday, February 19th at 5:30 PM at Scruffy Murphy's Pub in College Park come meet with your fellow tweeps.
I've cross posted a piece I did for Lakeland Local. Now, before you skip it because it's "Lakeland" and you're all about Tampa, Orlando, or Winter Haven, rest assured it touches on the failure of your newspapers to keep their audience. Only the names would change if I wrote it about the Sentinel, Tribune, or News Chief. As a matter of fact, I do mention the Winter haven paper. I promised to count the locally written stories in the same manner as I did for the Ledger. However, I found a mere four local bylines in today's News Chief. That's what you get for your quarter. On to what I wrote about the paper of record for Polk County...and by example...your paper.
We’ll make this a bit of Metro I-75 News, though the CenterState angle brings it too metro Orlando, too. Here’s the Star-Banner story, and the FDIC press release. Not much else to add, except that my impression is that community banks, which I guess is how one would classify Ocala National, have generally faired better [...]
If you read yesterday's Sentinel, you would have found this headline: National survey ranks Orlando 4th most popular city in U.S. But did you get the whole story?
Regal Cinemas Pointe Orlando will be showing some great flashback films in the next couple of months. The showtimes are at midnight on Friday and Saturday with a 9:00 PM showing on Wednesdays. This is a great chance to catch some of your favorite films back on the big screen. I'll definitely be catching Ferris Bueller as well as Ghostbusters! The tickets are only $5! The schedule is inside...
This morning The Ledger, a Polk County daily, wrote an editorial that should be read by every taxpayer in Orange County. In every editorial the Sentinel has pushed hard to give CSX $795 million dollars. At least the Ledger editorial board realizes this isn't a plan to build a commuter railroad, it's a plan to railroad the commuters.
This morning we updated the Metro i4 News look to reflect our other sites. Mi4 and sister sites, Lakeland Local and The Arts in Lakeland use Wordpress and the Digital Statement theme. The color scheme is consistent on all sites, but some small changes to reflect different focus.
I feel like I'm standing in front of the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld, I've been told No ICE for me. I'll try not to mention the name, don't want to give them too much publicity but I'm sure you can figure it out... This all started with a phone call at the start of December, then e-mails for media access to the "nearly two million pounds of ice" and I just got the answer today. From the PR director – "regretfully will have to decline media tickets." This is a news media website not just a blog. We cover news and events of all types in Orlando, Tampa and between. I like to think we can provide stories from a different perspective and give you more than other local media and news outlets. But for this story, that would have had pictures and video, we cannot. And I was looking forward to covering this event in "a frigid 9 degrees Fahrenheit."
Bio: I’m a Christian, a husband, a father, a son, a real estate consultant, and now, an amateur writer. As well, I am a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 63, or parts of Polk and Hillsborough Counties. My goal in this space is to provide my insight and comment on events shaping our larger region. I hope to consistently remind my community that we live in a connected world and that our commitment to being a player in the Metro I-4 super-region will make all the difference in the world. Selfishly, I also hope to further develop my skills as an amateur writer - a muse with which I’ve always tinkered but, until now, never published. I hope you find depth in my insights and sincerity in their offering. And I hope you’ll let me know how I’m doing… email: mckeel@metroi4news.com