29 swans died, but Lake Eola’s avian flu outbreak may be over

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/16 8:17A Ryan Gillespie

It’s been nearly a month since any swans have died at Lake Eola Park amid a bout with avian flu, signaling that perhaps the deadly outbreak among Orlando s iconic swan population has run its course....

Pictures: Lake Eola swans update

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/16 6:52A Joe Burbank

Visitors enjoy watching swans at Lake Eola Park in Orlando, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. With no new swan deaths reported at the lake in several weeks, city officials and swan advocates are cautiously...

Orlando police: 4 teens wounded in Sunday afternoon shootout

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/16 4:40A Ryan Gillespie

Four minors were wounded in a Sunday afternoon shooting outside of a Parramore soul food restaurant, in what police suspect was a shootout between teens, Orlando Police said in a news release. Orlando Police officers responded to Sister Soul Food...

Orlando Sentinel 150: When the presidents came to Central Florida

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/15 11:05P Roger Simmons

President Richard Nixon declared, “I am not a crook.” President Ronald Reagan coined the phrase “evil empire.” President Chester A. Arthur crankily said, “We shall not stop. What do those statements...

Orlando Family Stage unveils new Florida Children’s Book Festival

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/15 10:00P Matthew J. Palm

Chris Brown knows children s theater owes a debt to children s literature. So Orlando Family Stage , where Brown is executive director, is about to repay that debt — in a really big way. As part of...

Bills targeting ‘terrorism’ could threaten Islamic schools, group says

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/15 12:00A Annie Martin

Florida lawmakers are pushing new legislation targeting groups they consider terrorist, but some fear the proposals will cost Islamic schools millions of dollars by cutting them out of state voucher...

As feds eye a potential Orlando ICE facility, records show detainees might stay for 7 days

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/14 12:00A Ryan Gillespie

ICE s new processing centers, like the one it is eyeing in a massive warehouse in east Orlando, would each hold up to 1,500 immigrant detainees for as long as a week before they are transferred to other facilities or deported, according to an...

Christy Martin boxing benefit fights domestic violence

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/13 10:00P Matthew J. Palm

Trailblazing boxer Christy Martin has been in a different kind of fight since her retirement from the ring in 2012. The International Boxing Hall of Fame honoree is today a crusader against domestic violence. Martin s latest fundraiser in support...

Friday for Central Florida has warm temperatures and drought concerns

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/13 1:04A Garfield Hylton

Friday is seasonable and dry with warm temperatures. Patchy fog is in the air, but expected to dissipate around 9 a.m., according to NWS Melbourne. Otherwise, skies will be sunny with a temperature high of around 77 degrees. Drought conditions...

Orlando Sentinel 150: Friday Flashback to opening Universal Studios Florida

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 11:42P Compiled by Orlando Sentinel Sta

Director Steven Spielberg had the honor of cutting the ribbon to open Universal Orlando, then called Universal Studios Florida, on June 7, 1990. For the debut of Central Florida s third major theme...

Maxwell: Readers sound off on Florida attorney general, accessible parking and ‘abysmal’ columnists

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 11:00P Scott Maxwell

I agree with your column today. [ Accessible parking wasn t created for pregnant moms . ] Three kids here. I didn t need an ADA parking space when pregnant. I wasn t disabled. My son, however, had a traumatic brain injury that left him on a...

Sanford gets free mental health clinic for residents who can’t afford care

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 11:00P Michael Cuglietta

A free mental health clinic opened in Sanford this month offering counseling in a neighborhood with few therapists and many residents who cannot afford care. The Mental Health Association of Central...

Orlando Rep. Maxwell Frost gets Epstein files assist from Reddit sleuths

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 8:00P Katelyn Ferral

When the U.S. Department of Justice late last month released more than 3 million new files from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, its redactions — widely criticized for being haphazard and sloppy — left many questions. This week, members...

CFX board member frustrated by Orange County’s ‘frivolous’ fight over Split Oak

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 7:18A Natalia Jaramillo

A war of words broke out on the Central Florida Expressway Authority board at its first meeting since Orange County s decision to resist the agency s latest efforts to build a controversial toll road through the Split Oak Forest. Christopher...

Dense fog advisory across east Central Florida, rain chances in afternoon

Local News : Orlando Sentinel 2/12 2:20A Garfield Hylton

On Thursday, Central Florida is under a dense fog advisory. The low clouds and patchy areas of dense fog cover much of east Central Florida and should dissipate around 10 a.m., according to NWS Melbourne. Rain chances are at 30 percent, mainly...