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Along the Fairways

Whether you’re a scratch player or a weekend golfer, the area’s premier golf clubs have lots to offer. When the pandemic took over last spring, folks couldn’t wait to get out and about and find a slice of normality to life. Which is why it wasn’t surprising that the golf course became such a popular escape once restrictions were loosened and players were welcomed to return.... Read More

Sibling Revelry

As far as we know, there is no official title for “world’s most athletic family,” but the Kordas would have to be in the running if there were. They are not the first nor the most famous family with multiple generations or siblings reaching the professional ranks, to be sure. But unlike, say, the Mannings in football, the Williams sisters in tennis or the Currys in basketball,... Read More

It’s Academic: The 2021 Public High School Report Card

To put together our annual public high school report card, we gleaned information from the Florida Department of Education to gather key data in areas like graduation rates and senior class size. Due to COVID-19, the average SAT scores were not available to us at press time, so we are running the most recent numbers and encourage you to visit our website in the near future after... Read More

Palate

TOP FIVE:  HOT DOGS A quintet of tasty things to try this month   THE KING AT DOGHOUSE COLLEGE PARK Fit for a “king,” this dish features a skinless, all-beef Nathan’s hot dog served in a fresh semi-toasted bun and topped with beef chili, cheese sauce, bacon bits, onions, crushed Fritos, ketchup and mustard. The beef hot dog can be replaced with an Angus beef hot dog... Read More

Dishes that Dazzle

True to its roots, Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe not only serves exquisite cuisine but also a piece of Central Florida history. While the name belongs to an early settler of Lake Ivanhoe named George Russell, this shore-hugging eatery is brought to us by an Orlando-based restaurant group, VO Hospitality, which is co-owned by Kevin O’Donnell and Philippe Villain. The pineapple featured... Read More

Getting Personal

Melissa Wiggins, a former lawyer turned life coach and now podcast host, on creating the Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation with her husband Michael, their young son’s battle with the disease and her journey to find happiness.   Eight years ago, while 38 weeks pregnant with twins, my husband and I heard the words no parent wants to hear, “Your child has cancer.”... Read More

Parenting Guide: Family Fun

With the COVID-19 vaccine more readily accessible, many people have confidently begun to return to their pre-pandemic routines. Now that summer is upon us and several travel restrictions have been lifted, some are wondering if it is truly a good time to start vacationing once again.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that domestic travel is... Read More

Playing By Her Own Rules

Viola Davis was always an integral part of Denzel Washington’s plan.   Having secured the rights to direct August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, Washington knew Davis would bring some of Wilson’s most memorable characters to life. Davis won the 2010 Tony Award for best actress for playing Rose Maxson in the Broadway revival of Wilson’s play Fences, and an... Read More

Beating Burnout

The 2020-2021 school year was challenging for everyone involved. Due to the pandemic, administrators, teachers and students had to quickly revamp school protocols, teaching styles and learning methods. Parents struggled to decide between face-to-face instruction or at-home learning for their children. Even with the school year now over, many parents are still stressing over whether... Read More

Parenting Guide: Education

This past school year was by far one of the toughest years for learning. The challenges posed by the pandemic resulted in some degree of social and academic loss for all grade levels. Though teachers and administrators worked tirelessly to create as normal of a year as possible, many kids have fallen behind. Now many schools are looking to help students regain what was lost before... Read More

Special Needs

No two children are the same and no diagnosis manifests in the same ways, as parents of children with special needs know well. As if parenting weren’t already fraught with doubt, worry and frustration, the added stressors of tirelessly advocating for a neurodiverse or disabled child in order for their needs to be satisfied—in school, at the doctor’s, on vacation, or anywhere... Read More

The Right Notes

One month before the pandemic, Paul Helfrich became the new executive director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra after a nationwide search. The year had a lot in store as the Philharmonic prepared for its 28th season and the much-anticipated move into Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, but COVID-19 had cast a shadow over it all.   “In hindsight... Read More

BOUNCING BACK

As most residents would attest to, Central Florida is an incredible place to live. With its close proximity to major theme parks, beaches and world-class entertainment, there is always something exciting to see or do. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic threatened the lives and safety of residents and caused major setbacks to the area’s much-relied-upon tourist industry.   2020... Read More

2021 Super Men

It takes a special kind of person to not only recognize a need in the community but to take action and do something to help, whether it’s working to end racism, assisting the homeless, bringing awareness to mental health issues or spreading a love for reading. It just comes naturally to these nine local individuals, who continue to go above and beyond on a daily basis to make... Read More

GETTING PERSONAL

Orlando resident Yuko Matsuzaki, a long distance swimmer and International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer, on her Guinness World Record, admirable persistence and future goals.  I was almost cut from my high school swim team, in Tokyo, Japan, for swimming too slow. That motivated me to work harder. I made sure I was always the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave.... Read More

Taking the Right Steps

It’s well known that when it comes to men, there are a lot of places they’d rather be than inside of a doctor’s office. Unlike their female counterparts, males are more reluctant to look after their personal health and often put off medical visits, opting instead to manage symptoms or simply live with the pain. But, of course, that “manly” mentality can lead to even bigger... Read More

It Just Takes One Storm

A disturbance with the potential to become the year’s first named tropical storm developed in the Atlantic Ocean days before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) formally issued its predictions for the 2021 hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center (NHC), the Florida-based division of NOAA/National Weather Service dedicated to tracking and predicting... Read More

Special Guest

Billed as the largest humanitarian event in Florida history, the Special Olympics USA Games will arrive in Orlando 13 months from now and are expected to bring over 4,000 athletes, 10,000 volunteers and 125,000 spectators to the City Beautiful. Sanford’s own Brittany Tagliareni will almost certainly be one of the stars of the show, wowing fans both with her dominance on the tennis... Read More

Super Women 2021

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of lending a helping hand to those around us, and that gestures both large and small can go a long way toward impacting our community. For these 14 local ladies, standing up for what they believe in, assisting people in need and trying to lift up others just seems to come naturally. They have not started nonprofits or... Read More

Reaching for Resources

Spring has brought much hope to the country. More than 200 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increasing number of schools are reopening for in-person learning and families are reuniting after too many months apart. However, just as the COVID-19 pandemic seems as if it’s under control, there is another wave to be aware of, according to mental health professionals. In... Read More

True to Life

Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP/Shutterstock When Kate Winslet first considered playing a detective in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, she knew the role would pose more than a few potential stumbling blocks. To start, she would need to learn how to speak “Delco,” a peculiar accent native to the suburban Philadelphia county. She would also have to go makeup free, walk with a... Read More