Journaling with Joe Mario Pedersen

13/10/2021

Why should jury members have to take a financial blow to serve their government? This is a simple solution, says OS editorial board in today's OSN

23/09/2021

A Castle Dungeon built inside of an abandoned Victoria's Secret outlet at the Oviedo Mall hosts the handy work of PattyCake Production - a Central Florida tag team YouTube series that's gone above and beyond with its musical parody production.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/gone-viral/os-ne-orlando-social-media-stars-pattycake-productions-20210923-26gwdywwjnfxrnus7to4zitvhe-story.html

PattyCake Productions is run by two Central Florida men who love music, cartoons and all things Disney. Their YouTube channel hit the internet with beloved musical mashups including one focused on Disney villains, and now their production has found a home inside the Oviedo Mall.

02/07/2021

Good news, Fourth of July may yet still actually happen.
Bad news, Elsa is now a hurricane, and Florida is still in the cone.
Meteorologists say that could change after Sunday, but definitely something to keep on your radar

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-ne-tropical-storm-elsa-friday-update-20210702-b2sesks7fng7zgyu7fbgjbcqmm-story.html

Elsa strengthened into the first hurricane of the 2021 season Friday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. update. Its five-day projection continues to include a projected landfall in Florida on Tuesday morning.

24/05/2021

We're on!
Come hang your hat with us as we talk about police reform, restaurant struggles to hire new employees, and where can you get a good lobster roll?

13/05/2021

Orlando City gives ownership over to the owner of the Minnesota Vikings!

Also, Florida patrons are panic buying gasoline: what you need to know is here. Check it out today on OSN.

13/05/2021

The fallout of the pandemic. Four families tell their stories about their tales in facing eviction - a small story of Florida's much bigger problems.
This is the first of a three part series. A hard story. But an important one.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, Florida's landlord-friendly laws, lack of affordable homes, rising rents and stagnant wages left thousands of suddenly jobless renters exposed. In Central Florida, many low-wage workers who power the region’s tourism economy were particularly vulnerable.

10/05/2021

Much wow.
Elon Musk announced his very real plans to launch a satellite into space, entirely funded with Dogecoin.... For real.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk found another way to keep the moonlight shining on himself after he announced plans for his space-venturing company to launch a lunar satellite paid for entirely by the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

10/05/2021

After Friday's cyberattack on a Georgia pipeline, Florida gas prices stand to take a hit, likely giving the a rise.

Florida gasoline prices are on the rise again, but could get even higher in the coming weeks after a cyberattack on a major U.S. pipeline.

21/04/2021

Moonshot!
NASA's plans to return to the Moon are coming together, and we could see an unmanned launch to the Moon by November,

The Artemis I rocket NASA plans to send to the moon will finally be getting its largest piece when the Space Launch System core stage makes its way to Kennedy Space Center.

21/04/2021

Val Demings spitting fire at Rep. Jim Jordan, accusing him and other Republicans of using police officers as "pawns."

Democrat Val Demings castigated Republican Jim Jordan during a hearing Tuesday for what she said was Republicans using police as “pawns.” “I have the floor, Mr. Jordan,” said Demings, D-Orlando, when Jordan attempted to interrupt. “Did I strike a nerve?’

08/04/2021

Big on Florida prisoners and the plan finally unveiled to vaccinate them!
Some Hurricane Irma updates, four years after the storm hit.
Plus, we're talking about an Orlando park with a lot to offer and doesn't rhyme with kismey world.

02/04/2021

More on Joel Greenberg and Matt Gaetz today, as more information keeps pouring into the news cycle. Martin Comas joins us to keep us up to date on the latest developments.

Also, vaccinations are becoming more available but Florida is on the verge of a 4th wave of COVID spread with a spike in variations statewide.

And lastly, the vulnerable population in state prisons still has no plan as to how vaccinations will be distributed.

01/04/2021

Our first story today is on the ongoing saga of Joel Greenburg, who faces a new indictment and now a total of 33 charges. OS reporter Martin Comas joins us for the story.

29/03/2021

To absolutely no one's dismay, Greek letters will no longer be part of hurricane season.
The question I had, when did we decide to use them, and why? If you really think about it, it's weird play and is counter intuitive to the alphabetic, rotating name system we use every year, which give storms helpful individuality.

What I found is... absolutely no one knows where this idea came from. That may feel like a lazy. I assure you it's not. Running this past archives and experts yields no answers, with some agencies actually stating "nobody knows."

It's apparently an explanation that's lost to history, as this system is about to do, too.
check it out!

Earlier in March, the World Meteorological Organization announced Greek letters would no longer be used in identifying tropical storms and hurricanes. But why and when did we decide to use the Greek letter system is a bit of a mystery.

27/03/2021

Florida is fun to make fun of.
And some people do it really well, like Ben Brainard.
After the pandemic started, Ben channeled his inner Florida man and his best impressions of other states to the delight of TikTok and Instagram. A year later, and his political satire has got nearly 2 million followers on several channels - and politicians are starting to notice. Here's my latest Orlando Social Media Stars:

Orlando comedian Ben Brainard had his career sidelined by COVID-19 as the pandemic spread. That's when he turned to TikTok where his own Florida man has starred in a popular series where Brainard embodies states with a seat at "The Table." Now he's near 2 million fans across all social med...

25/03/2021

We had a busy show today!
From a look at business over the last year.
We take a look at "vaccine tourism"
And a walk through one of Florida's hidden gems.

24/03/2021

A local protester in the wake of George Floyd's death is suing Orange County Sheriff's Office claiming the officers unlawfully detained her, used excessive force in their encounter and battered her, violating her constitutional rights. The latest is from my colleague Grace Toohey, describing the case.
For reference Monivette Cordeiro and I wrote about the incident over the summer:
JUNE STORY HERE:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-driver-wont-be-charged-after-deputy-smashed-window-20200617-ttsyyy2vffeczhokbgs5gug7ue-story.html

The Orange County deputies who smashed a woman’s car window during a traffic stop near a George Floyd protest this summer, sparking community outrage, are now facing an excessive force lawsuit from the driver.

24/03/2021

Somebody is close to hitting Florida bingo this week. Sunshine state animals are on full display in the headlines, I grabbed two of the more fun stories from this week regarding a shark and an alligator racing on video, and a dead snake found in family's dryer.
You know, typical Florida.

Florida's wildlife is on full display this week with a race between a shark and an alligator as well as a dead snake found in a Florida family's dryer.