Orlando

Scott PowersApril 21, 2016

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs may be looking for a way out of the corner she’s painted into involving the multi-faceted controversy over the county’s robust tourist tax. The mayor is calling a joint meeting of the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Orange County Tourist Development Council with the prospect she’ll be seeking a path […]

Scott PowersApril 21, 2016

Darren Soto‘s Democratic colleagues in the Florida Senate are coming to his aid for his run for Congress in Orlando-based Congressional District 9 The Senate Democratic Caucus and almost all of its 14 members individually are endorsing Soto, a Florida senator from Orlando, his congressional campaign announced Thursday. “We’ve worked with Darren and know him as […]

Scott PowersApril 20, 2016

Jerry Greene called his sports column in the Orlando Sentinel “From the Cheap Seats,” and that’s what he provided readers for decades: the fans-eye-view of the action, on and off the field. Greene, 74, an Orlando Sentinel sports reporter and columnist for most of the past 40 years, died Wednesday morning after an extended illness, […]

Scott PowersApril 20, 2016

Republican Thuy Lowe has moved her campaign to Congressional District 10, from Congressional District 5, becoming the lone Republican running in the redrawn district. Lowe, 50, is a businesswoman from Sorrento. She was a resident of CD 5 before last December’s redistricting, and remained filed there, though with a suspended campaign, until now. She had […]

Scott PowersApril 19, 2016

The NFL is talking to Orlando officials about bringing the Pro Bowl All-Star Game to Orlando’s Florida Citrus Bowl as early as next year, but the deal could hinge on tourism tax money. And that money is currently being hotly debated because Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and tourism leaders are butting heads about whether […]

Scott PowersApril 18, 2016

State Sen. Darren Soto raised another $162,000 for his Democratic Congressional District 9 campaign during the first quarter of 2016. Soto’s take plus about $80,000 in expenses during the quarter, left him with $292,000 in the bank at the end of March, according to the Federal Election Commission. That puts the Orlando Democrat behind rival Susannah Randolph, also […]

Scott PowersApril 17, 2016

Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph is seeking a new judge in his lawsuit against Orange County, claiming the current judge has a Republican bias in a lawsuit over partisan politics. The partisan nature of the complaint may be relevant because the entire lawsuit is about an Orange County charter amendment dealing with partisanship. Randolph […]

Scott PowersApril 17, 2016

Susannah Randolph raised $170,000 in the first quarter of 2016 for her Orlando-based Congressional 9 race, leaving her with more than $315,000 in the bank, her campaign reported. The Orlando Democrat’s campaign also claimed that the cash-in-hand total tops the crowded field in CD 9, though rival Democrat state Sen. Darren Soto of Orlando’s campaign […]

Scott PowersApril 15, 2016

Mayor Teresa Jacobs‘ rift with key leaders of Orange County’s tourism industry over the future of the county tourism tax is spilling into her biggest speech of the year, her upcoming State Of The County Address. Jacobs reportedly has stripped Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association Chairman Richard Maladecki of his master-of-ceremony role, even though the hotel […]

Scott PowersApril 14, 2016

Former Orlando Police Chief Val Demings raised more than $210,000 in the first quarter of 2016 for her congressional race in Orlando-based Congressional District 10, her campaign announced Friday. The campaign did not state how much cash it had on-hand at the end of the quarter, but Demings, a Democrat, ended 2015 with more than […]

Orlando
Image via AP.

Teresa Jacobs looking to reopen tourism tax discussions at special meeting

Florida Senate Democrats endorse colleague Darren Soto in CD 9

Longtime Orlando Sentinel sports columnist Jerry Greene passes

Thuy Lowe switches to Congressional District 10 race from CD 5

Pro Bowl may come to Orlando, but NFL wants tourist tax money

Darren Soto takes in $162K in Congressional District 9 race

Scott Randolph claims judge’s GOP bias, seeks new judge in Orange County case

Susannah Randolph reports raising $170K in first quarter for CD 9 race

Teresa Jacobs’ spat with tourism industry spilling into state of county speech planning

Val Demings reports $210K haul in first quarter