Orlando’s biggest park was supposed to open two weeks ago, but now it might not be finished for three more years.

Under a deal with the city, the developers of Lake Nona donated the land and planned to build the park on the south end of the sprawling development in southeast Orlando.

But the park, like much of the country, has fallen victim to the housing slump.

The agreement approved four years ago required the park to open by Aug. 6, 2011, or within a year after the developer built the 1,000th home in Lake Nona South, whichever came first. It was lauded as a win-win deal: Lake Nona would have an amenity to promote to would-be home buyers, and City Hall would get a park long before taxpayers could afford to build one.

And it would be quite a park: At 334 acres, it would be the biggest of Orlando’s recreation areas, more than twice the size of Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake and more than seven times Lake Eola Park.

Continue Reading: Orlando gives backers 3 more years to build city’s biggest park

A new Aldi store is in the works in the Vista Lakes area in southeast Orlando.

The German discount grocery retailer plans to open the 16,657-square-foot store, its 11th in the Orlando area, by August of this year, the company said. Ohio-based general contractor Deerfield Construction Co. Inc. is handling construction work on the store, located in the Vista Palms shopping center on Narcoossee Road south of Lee Vista Boulevard.

Aldi bought the site for $1.5 million in December from Orlando-based shopping center owner Narcoossee Acquisitions LLC.

Source: Orlando Business Journal

The commission’s action officially formed the Gateway Advisory Committee, which replaced the former East 192 Enhancement Advisory Committee. The motion was necessary to broaden the focus on identifying concerns along the various roads leading into the county, including East U.S. Highway 192, West U.S. Highway 192, Orange Blossom Trail and Narcoossee Road, county officials said. The previous committee only focused on the area along East U.S. Highway 192 from Michigan Avenue in Kissimmee to Canal C31 in St. Cloud.

The committee will have 10 members; six have been appointed by the County Commission already while the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud have yet to appoint two representatives each. All appointments will be for four years and no committee member may serve more than eight consecutive years.

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Hundreds of people packed Church Street Station near the tracks to hear the Governor talk about the bill:

“This is a Florida day. A great day for the Sunshine State. This is about jobs, jobs, jobs.”

After the ceremony, Crist was asked by reporters about “Waffle-gate.”

“I’ve asked our inspector general to look into it. I think that’s appropriate. I hope we get a good resolution soon.”

There were protesters in the crowd, some carrying waffles. Orange County Mayor Candidate Matthew Falconer was there to voice his objections. He says commuter rail is nothing but a $10 billion tax burden.

“I just think it’s the most expensive way to move people.”

This new interchange will bring relief to Lake Nona area residents who currently have no choice but to take the often-congested Narcoossee Road to access the Greeneway. This area includes the EastPark and Lake Hart subdivisions.

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Mileham, convicted of sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12 in 2001, previously was living in a field near Osceola Regional Medical Center in Kissimmee.

Mileham is a 6-foot white male, weighing about 175 pounds with brown hair and eyes.

The Sheriff’s Office is in the process of notifying all licensed daycare centers and schools within one mile of his new address.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) – Osceola County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 75 people and issued 275 citations during Operation Zero Tolerance last week in Narcoossee, St. Cloud, and the rest of Osceola County.

On November 5 and 6 deputies from all areas of the agency including aggressive driving, agriculture/marine, aviation, communications, criminal investigations, community response team, evidence, forensics, tourist policing, motors, K-9, narcotics enforcement team, reserves, robbery, traffic and warrants worked all areas of the county. In addition, other local agencies including the Osceola County Corrections Department and Juvenile Probation assisted.

Continue Reading to see a list of all the arrests.

The department will begin to receive doses of the swine flu vaccine to administer to the general public by December and will then hold the vaccination clinic, where eligible residents will be able to receive a free dose of the shot, department spokeswoman Camille Bissainthe said.

To date, most supplies of the vaccine have been shipped directly to local clinics, pediatricians, obstetricians and other healthcare providers who have been administering the vaccine to medical priority groups.

One of the reasons for that, Bissainthe said, is because providers are able to get the vaccine to priority patients quickly. The public sector is still receiving limited quantities of the vaccine as well, she said.

“It’s trickling in,” Bissainthe said. “As the weeks go by, we should start getting an increase in the amount of vaccines.”

On Oct. 23, President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency. According to the Centers for Disease Control, since last week 503,200 doses of the vaccine have been shipped to Florida.

The CDC is recommending the vaccine for priority groups, who can verify with their health providers and receive the shot before it’s given out by the public sector.

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A deadly fight broke out between two teenagers during a house party in Osceola County early Saturday morning. Osceola County Sheriff’s deputies say a large party got out of hand on Boston Avenue.

Investigators say 16-year-old Adam Herring, a Harmony High School student, stabbed 17-year-old Chandler Clark to death.

“It’s giving me chills talking about it,” said neighbor Kyle Saley. He ran up to the boy and saw him bleeding on the ground after the stabbing. “Somebody just got murdered right there in front of me, it’s just nerve racking.”

Herring told detectives Clark approached him at the party and attempted to punch him, while Herring was opening a can of tobacco with a knife. Herring began fighting back and during the altercation Clark was stabbed multiple times.

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Florida officials like their chances of winning billions of federal dollars for a high-speed train, but almost every contender from California to Georgia insists its rail pitch is the best.

Actually, the proposals are far from equal. Some applicants bring money, land or potential passengers. Others offer little more than what they think to be a great idea.

The Federal Railroad Administration is checking out the plans right now, sifting through 45 requests from 24 states seeking a total of $50 billion. An additional 214 applications from 34 states are asking for $7billion for planning and smaller projects.

The official word out of FRA offers little insight into what the agency really wants.

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