Your Gateway To Beach

City’s Beach Season Off To Rainy Start

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:22:40 +0000

Updated 4:34 PM

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Beachgoers will likely be trading swimwear for sweatpants this weekend, but all 14 miles of city beaches are now officially open for the season.

Lifeguards will be on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day.

Even with the cool weather, the beaches reopening is an accomplishment after Hurricane Sandy.

More than 40,000 cubic yards of debris was cleaned from city beaches after the storm.

“It’s a first step. The mayor has committed the money for the boardwalks to be rebuilt. For the protection to be put in. And we’ll be doing that – and it will be a long job ahead,” said City Parks Commissioner Veronica White.

In the Rockaways, the cold and rainy weather means there will likely not be a lot of people on the beach or in nearby stores this weekend.

Business owners tell NY1 things have been slow this season, with the community still recovering and that the bad weather is not helping.

“All of my friends that own homes, they’re still battling with insurance companies and all that kind of stuff and it has been a particularly rough road for a lot of people,” said Richie O’Connor, a Rockaway resident.

“It was a little downfall because people are fixing their houses and surfboards right now, t-shirts right now may not be important to other people because they’re healing. They’ve got to fix their houses. It’s hard. People lost a lot,” said one Rockaway surf shop worker.

Meantime, business owners still say they are hopeful things will pick up soon. They say the Rockaways will come back better than ever and they will be ready.

“They’ve been working so hard down the block to put the boardwalk back together and the lifeguard structures back together. They really have been working throughout the night for the past through months,” O’Connor said.

The city says more than $270 million was spent getting the beaches ready.

Almost $400 million more is budgeted for restoring boardwalks and protecting the shoreline.

A Long Road to the Beach This Holiday Weekend

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:22:37 +0000

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Alex Rodriguez sells Miami Beach home for $30 million

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:22:36 +0000

A-Rod’s former Miami Beach home. (Newport Property Construction)

Embattled New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is setting records away from the diamond.

The 37-year-old sold his Miami Beach home for a record $30 million Friday, one of the largest purchase prices ever for a home in south Florida.

A-Rod purchased the plot three years ago for $7.4 million, according to ESPN, doling out roughly the same amount of cash for the 20,000 sq.-ft. home.

“When you’re offered the highest price for a home in a city’s history, you have to take it,” Jose More, A-Rod’s business partner, told ESPN.

While More protected the identity of the purchaser, he said the home’s new owner is not an athlete.

“Alex was ahead of his time in his design of the modern, clean, elegant structure,” More said. “There are eight houses in the area that are now being built exactly like this.”

Actor Matt Damon and Miami Heat players Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also have homes on the same street.

Rodriguez hasn’t played for the Yankees this season after undergoing hip surgery during the offseason.

He’s expected to make his 2013 debut following the all-star break.

Sarah Hyland shares her beach-bound thoughts

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 15:21:08 +0000

NEW YORK — You might not be able to take the New Yorker out of Sarah Hyland, but the actress — and now swimsuit model — is happy to be parking herself at the beach.

Hyland, of ABC’s “Modern Family,” lives in Los Angeles, blocks from the ocean, and she stars in the OP ad campaign.

The 22-year-old, who has done film, TV, theater and commercial work since she was a toddler, moved West when she was 18. Before that, she recalls spending many hot summer days “laying out” in Central Park, with an occasional trip to the beach at Coney Island.

She doesn’t know how to surf — and it’s not high on her to-do list. It would take away from her time on the sand.

Hyland shared some other beach-bound thoughts in a recent interview with The Associated Press:

Q. What’s your swimsuit style?

A. I like fun things. I like the fruit prints OP has come out with — pineapple and watermelon! Something I like for my body type is a bikini with fringe. When you’re small-busted, it adds more to it. I like the illusion. I’ve always liked to cover up the top and show my legs more.

Q. What goes in your beach bag?

A. Definitely a cover-up, towel, sunblock and iPod, which is really my phone. It’s really minimal. I’m an overpacker for everything else, but the beach is truly a break for me.

Q. What’s playing on your iPod?

A. My recent stuff is Jessie J, Ed Sheeran, Pink.

Q. Self-tan or suntan?

A. I don’t really use self-tanners. I do lay out in my backyard to get my base tan.

Q. Is your closet more New York or California?

A. I’ve always loved California style. I like mixing and matching, which is how people dress here. Sometimes, I’m still a New Yorker, all in black, but I’ll go VERY California-y … laid-back and fun.

Q. What’s your dream beach to visit?

A. The beach vacation I’d like to take is Jamaica. I imagine it the ultimate laid-back place.

RPD To Increase Beach Patrols For Holiday Weekend – 13WHAM

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 15:21:06 +0000

Rochester, N.Y. – Following violence outside of the Lilac Festival, the Rochester Police Department announced Friday that it will increase beach patrols over the Memorial Day weekend.

Officers from Special Events, Impact, Mounted, and Traffic units will be on foot, bike, ATV, and in marked patrol cars.

Additional assistance will be provided by the Sheriff’s Office and Juvenile probation.

Fitness Beach Challenge a Heavy Success

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:18:06 +0000

Fitness Beach Challenge a Heavy Success

Details

more sports

Saturday, 25 May 2013 02:30

By Press release

Antigua St. John’s – The Fitness Beach Event hosted by the Amateur Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Federation (ABABWF) on Whit Monday was a resounding success.

The event, at Millers By the Sea, was a less intense but just as exciting version of the annual, internationally renowned Cross Fit Games held since 2007.

After weeks of intense training and preparation, four teams and eight individual athletes participated in the event co-ordinated by Turbo Byers.

The highlight of the 2013 Fitness Beach challenge was the pulling and pushing of one of the latest Kia vehicles, provided by Harney Motors. Glenroy Aaron emerged winner in both events as he posted the fastest time. Jenelle Lewis and Tarik Stevens walked away with the most outstanding female and male, respectively, in the individual event.

In the group category, teams – aptly named Buff Up 1, Buff Up 2, and Wellness – placed first, second, and third in that order.

President of the Antigua and Barbuda Amateur Bodybuilding and Weightlifting Federation, Beverly Percival-Tonge said she was pleased with the tremendous support received from sponsors and patrons alike for the event, and expressed appreciation to Harney Motors, LIME, Columbian Emeralds, Athletes Foot/Heritage Sports, Beach Stuff, George Hourani/Cool and Smooth, Stacy of Stacy’s, Veron Edwards, Dimensions, Velvet Touch, and local media houses.

The president also conveyed the association’s heartfelt appreciation to the Ministry of Sports for the sports medical services provided by William Richards and his team from the National Institute of Sports and Acting Director of Sports Evans “Jawaki ” Jones, who was on hand to make presentations to the winners.

In response to the series of events hosted by the ABABWF over the past few months, Acting Minister of Education, Sports, Youth and Gender Affairs Winston Williams Jr, an avid fan of the body building and fitness sport, commended the ABABWF for the work in not only bringing greater attention to the disciplines of body building and weightlifting but to the benefits of physical fitness in general.

Williams stressed the ministry’s continued support for all sports and recreational entities, in keeping with the national goal of increasing participation and performance in sports and recreation.

RI to open four beaches for holiday weekend

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:18:01 +0000

Rhode Island is reopening its beaches for Memorial Day weekend. The state will open Scarborough North, Roger Wheeler, East Matunuck, and Misquamicut state beaches from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The freshwater beach at Lincoln Woods State Park will also open Saturday. All remaining state beaches will be open beginning Monday. Superstorm Sandy caused significant damage along Rhode Island’s southern shore, and crews have since fixed beach facilities and replaced much of the sand that was lost to erosion. This year’s residential beach parking passes cost $10 on weekdays and $14 on weekends and holidays. Nonresidents pay $20 for weekdays and $28 for weekends and holidays.

Long Beach Island Is Ready for the Summer After Sandy

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:18:00 +0000

Though its been just over half a year since Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc along the New Jersey coast, this Memorial Day weekend looks to be a typical start of the summer season on Long Beach Island: Families will fill homes that were vacant for months, renters will flood in on weekends, and year-round residents will grumble about the stop lights that are turned back on to handle increased traffic.

In January, three months after the storm, I reported how the hazards of oceanfront living laid bare by Hurricane Sandy didn’t appear to be scaring away home buyers. I spent time on LBI with real estate agent Nathan Colmer, a fourth-generation Long Beach Islander.

“The storm is still on everyone’s mind,” Colmer says. Prospective buyers ask questions about Sandy—largely about the costs of flood insurance—but he says the real estate market continues to be active.

In the months following the storm, most buyers were looking for damaged homes they could purchase at a discount and demolish to rebuild from scratch. With fewer distressed properties on the market now, “more recently sales have been houses that are more move-in ready,” Colmer says. The storm has sharply reduced the volume of sales on the island, according to stats he has compiled. During March and April, 36 single-family homes sold, exactly half as many as in 2012. Prices, however, are up for homes that weren’t damaged in the storm because fewer are available. In March, for example, the average price for an undamaged home was just over $1 million, compared with $822,691 a year earlier.

LBI has a large vacation rental market. Colmer says rentals are down about 20 percent, largely because property damage has kept units off the market. And while the rental process was conducted largely online or over the phone, “this year it’s more people coming to see in person,” he says.

All told, “the island is doing well,” says Colmer. “Things are up back and running.” Supermarkets have reopened, as have stores and restaurants. On Monday, the stop lights will flick on per their regular schedule—slowing traffic, “much to our chagrin.”

Memorial Day freebies aplenty this weekend

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 03:17:46 +0000

HOUSTON (KTRK) —
Friday is our favorite day of the week because it’s Free Stuff Friday. You don’t have to spend a dime to have some fun. And there are some great freebies for active duty military in honor of Memorial Day.

If you have loved ones stationed abroad, send them a free photo book. Friends and family can create a 20-page personal photo book and ship it to any APO, FPO, or MPO address for free. These 5×7 soft-cover books fit perfectly in a soldier’s cargo pocket and hold 60 photos. Rocketlife prints the books for free, and the USO pays for shipping.

If you are active military, take advantage of free admission to more than 2,000 national parks, thanks to America the Beautiful. This free pass is for all active members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Reserves. This free pass will include up to three extra guests. All you need is your military ID.

Get your dancing shoes on and head over at the Miller Outdoor Theatre for the show “Dancin’ in the Street… Motown More Revue.” It’s a soul-filled Memorial Day weekend with shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday, starting at 8:15pm each night. This concert spectacular will feature a tribute to Chaka Khan and a return to the music of James Brown. Free tickets will be available at the box office the day of the event or there’s open seating on the lawn.

The summer heat is here so head over to Galveston Island to kick off the grand opening of East Beach on May 25 with five local bands on the Bud Light Stage from 2-8pm. At the end of the night, there will be a fireworks show presented by the Galveston Park Board. Dash of the Titans will be there to set up a challenging beach obstacle course and proceeds will benefit the Boot Campaign.

Finally mark your calendars for May 31. That’s because the Little Bitty Burger Barn is celebrating National Burger Month with a free burger. It’s one free basic burger to each customer from 5-8pm. And remember, kids 10 and under eat free from 5-8pm every Wednesday.

Here’s another fun freebie for next week at all 13 Houston-area Smashburgers. They’re giving away free burgers next Tuesday for National Burger Day. But, to get your free burger, you have to have the word “burger” in your last name or a variation of it. You also have to show an ID to prove it’s your last name.

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Moonlight Beach upgrades wrap up in time for holiday – U

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 03:17:40 +0000

$4.8

million

Cost of construction project that gives Moonlight Beach two new buildings

The much-anticipated makeover of Moonlight Beach’s restrooms and other public facilities will mostly conclude Friday just in time for the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend.

Recreation Supervisor Nick Buck said this week that there may be some plants still waiting to go in the ground, but the buildings will be usable and new walkways will be open by 8 a.m. Friday.

On Monday, contractors working with a crane installed several large palm trees at the C Street beach overlook area. Other workers ran saws, lugged buckets about, or scrutinized construction paperwork. A family of baffled beachgoers stared down at all the construction activity from the beach’s upper parking lot, then eyed the still-closed pedestrian pathway that runs from the lot to the beach before finally deciding to use the less-direct, but now-open, C Street beach access point nearby.

Located at the western end of Encinitas Boulevard, Moonlight Beach is popular with both locals and tourists. Memorial Day weekend is the start of the beach’s busy summer season, when parking spaces and beach blanket spots are hard to come by on sunny afternoons.

Having the new showers, restrooms, fire pits, picnic tables, walkways and other facilities ready in time for the holiday was the city’s goal when the work began 10 months ago, Buck said.

While Moonlight Beach’s surf conditions and playground area are very popular with families, the condition of its old restrooms and other public facilities has been a source of many complaints in recent years. In recent publicity material, city parks officials themselves even described the old bathroom complex as “moldy.” And that’s far kinder than some of the comments offered by parents of small children with urgent bathroom needs.

“It was getting to the point of ridiculous,” said Buck, who has small children of his own. “It was truly decaying back into the earth.

The city’s $4.8 million construction project gives the beach area two new structures. One is a 3,600-square-foot building that contains restrooms, a concession stand, a beach equipment rental area and storage for the city’s beach recreation programs. It’s tucked into the hillside, freeing up about 14,500 square feet of beach sand space.

The other new structure is much smaller — an 850-square-foot lifeguard storage building at the end of C Street — but it has a rooftop that people can walk on.

And that’s where the city will host its open-to-the-public, ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-June.

“It’s a really great space with a view of the cove at Moonlight Beach,” Buck said.

Given that the beach is known for its beauty in the moonlight, city parks officials have decided to hold their first-ever ribbon-cutting ceremony in the evening, Buck said. It’s set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 13.

“We wanted it to be the fun thing, the hip thing to do that night,” Buck said, adding that the plans keep growing.

Once envisioned as a simple affair, the event has morphed into a two-hour beach party with live music by the Ladies Love Outlaws band.

The 101 Artists Colony plans to spend the day creating a huge sand sculpture, but the artists aren’t telling what their sand creation will look like, Buck said.

“It’s going to be a big surprise to us and everyone else,” he said.

The city has also chosen a new concessionaire for the site: Moonlight Beach Deli Dogs, owned by Corinne Hackbart and her husband, David. Their company — Kihack Management, LLC — operates Uptown Touchless Car Wash and Encinitas Chevron and Car Wash, where their concession business started.

Battle of the Beach

admin — Sat, 25 May 2013 03:17:38 +0000

By CHRISTOPHER RHOADS

Reuters

Homes in Mantoloking, N.J., on March 22, five months after superstorm Sandy. In some towns along the Jersey shore, homeowners have abandoned their damaged properties.

With debris cleared, beaches replenished and boardwalks repaired, many New Jersey shore towns will be putting up open-for-business signs this holiday weekend, just seven months after the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. The Jersey shore is back for another summer.

Before and After Sandy

The New Jersey shore cleanup is a big job. Take a look back at the initial damage.

View Graphics

The Wall Street Journal

But Thomas Anzalone of Long Branch, N.J. is not reassured. For those parts of the shore still fighting to recover from the disaster, he thinks that the real battle for survival has yet to begin. On a recent afternoon, the 57-year-old accountant was fixing the storm-damaged roof of the waterfront bungalow that he shares with his father. He fears that developers will take over what Sandy left behind and sees an ominous precedent in a 1987 fire that destroyed a Long Branch pier. The town invoked eminent domain—the power to appropriate private property for the public good—to replace a fire-damaged neighborhood with a new luxury complex of shops and condos.

“What Sandy has done to many towns, a fire did to Long Branch,” says Mr. Anzalone. “Eminent domain came for us, and it will come for them.”

Despite upbeat public messages, local officials along the 126-mile-long Jersey shore privately say that the aftermath of one of the worst storms ever to hit the U.S. may require a host of far-reaching solutions to preserve the long-term viability of their towns. These include sensitive measures like merging services with other towns and even merging towns themselves. Eventually, shore communities may also use the power of eminent domain, a politically explosive issue across the nation and nowhere more so than in Mr. Anzalone’s town.

After the 1987 fire in Long Branch, local officials declared that the surrounding neighborhood had become blighted, a designation allowing them to seize dozens of waterfront homes—including those of longtime and low-income residents who did not wish to sell—for an upscale project that they hoped would signal the city’s revival. The centerpiece of the development, called Pier Village, opened in 2005 amid protests and lawsuits. Today, the $400 million complex, which sits on 16 acres of oceanfront property, includes a boutique hotel and a members-only beach club called Le Club.

Beach season has arrived and seven months after Superstorm Sandy, most of the Jersey shore is open for business. But some towns still struggling with recovery fear the real fight for their future has not yet begun.

“What happened in Long Branch is what I would call socio-economic cleansing,” says Peter Dickson, a Princeton, N.J., lawyer who successfully argued a 2007 case before the New Jersey Supreme Court that slowed the use of eminent domain in the state. Should some of the towns not find a path to recovery, he adds, “this could come back with a vengeance.”

In a March meeting on recovery efforts hosted by New Jersey state officials, a resident of Seaside Heights, about 30 miles south of Long Branch, said she was worried that she could lose her damaged home to “major developers who will take over our neighborhoods.” At a February meeting in Sea Bright, just up the shore from Long Branch, the town’s mayor acknowledged, “People fear a heartless government coming in and taking away their land. They fear a plastic look and that the downtown will wind up looking like Pier Village.”

The power to take private property for the common good, typically for things like roads, schools and bridges, dates back to biblical times. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bestows the right on the federal government but also requires just compensation. State constitutions typically extend the power to local governments. Since the urban decline of the 1960s, courts have expanded the definition of “public use” to mean “public benefit,” allowing developers who promised higher tax revenue and jobs to seize property considered blighted.

The practice took off during the real-estate boom of the 2000s, as developers flush with cash, working with investment-hungry town governments, turned so-called underutilized properties into big-box retail stores and in many cases upscale residential-commercial developments. The activity prompted growing complaints of abuse.

Concerns came to a head following the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case of Kelo v. City of New London, in which the justices allowed the taking of property from low-income residents for a condo-retail project in Connecticut. The case triggered a backlash. Nine state supreme courts and 44 state legislatures subsequently strengthened criteria for allowing eminent domain, according to the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm focused on property rights.

Enlarge Image

Ross Mantle

Old homes were seized to make way for the upscale Pier Village in Long Branch, N.J.

“It is hard to think of a more fundamental American principle than the sanctity of the home and private property,” says Robert McNamara, an institute attorney. “Frequently the word blight has been a cover for government officials giving property to someone they like better—and that’s why it’s a dangerous practice.”

Despite the restrictions imposed by state courts and legislatures, eminent domain continues to be invoked around the country. In National City, Calif., south of San Diego, a developer is seeking to take a large area designated by the city as blighted, including a youth athletic center, to build condominiums. Last fall, Denver officials authorized the use of eminent domain for redevelopment in the city’s historic Five Points district. The developer behind the Barclays Center, the new home of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, was able to seize properties under eminent domain to get the structure built.

Even opponents agree that, when used properly, eminent domain can be an effective tool. “Eminent domain is like a knife,” says Vince Lepore, a Long Branch activist who fought against Pier Village. “It has its uses, but when used carelessly, it can hurt.”

Superstorm Sandy has already brought the issue to prominence again in New Jersey as the state tries to strengthen the shore against future disasters. Earlier this month the state supreme court heard a case involving a couple who, before the storm, won a $375,000 judgment from a lower court as compensation for their town’s building a dune on their property. The town, Harvey Cedars, had paid the couple just $300 for an easement, seized through eminent domain. The action, they argued, had hurt the value of their property.

More towns since Sandy have wanted to build dunes, but they have been slowed by the case, fearful of lawsuits and of having to spend millions of dollars to waterfront homeowners.

At a March town hall gathering on the matter, Gov. Chris Christie won applause when he blasted such “selfish” people for standing in the way of what he called the “greater good” of improved dune protection.

Development lawyers expect to hear similar arguments from towns recovering from Sandy. With 565 municipalities, New Jersey has one of the highest numbers of towns per capita in the nation. Many of them have their own boards, police departments and other services, which contributes to some of the country’s highest property taxes. Some towns now are reckoning with a reduction of 10% or more in the value of their taxable property from Sandy, and at least one, Mantaloking, with more than a 30% decline, according to the latest tax assessments.

“These clobbered towns may get some interim relief from Congress,” says William Ward, a Florham Park, N.J.-based lawyer who specializes in eminent domain cases. “But the long-term issue is going to stay: They have lost a significant portion of their tax rate base but still have fixed costs for police, fire and schools.”

That means finding ways to attract developers to rebuild.

Tom Neff, director of local government services in the Department of Community Affairs, a New Jersey state agency, says he does not foresee instances of eminent domain in the near term. However, “five years from now, if an entire swath of a community becomes blighted and not rebuilt and there are people not paying their taxes—well, time will tell.”

About 20 miles up the coast from Long Branch, largely blue-collar Union Beach appears to be a leading candidate. Abandoned homes dot one neighborhood where Sandy swept more than a dozen houses out to sea, leaving behind driveways leading nowhere. The town, which has mostly primary residences (unlike wealthier summer communities to the south), has torn down 167 condemned houses since the storm and has at least another 57 to go, according to the town administrator.

In the long run, officials say, neighborhoods where occupied houses are interspersed with vacant lots will not be viable, and entire areas will need to be rebuilt. Paul Smith, Union Beach’s mayor, says that the priority for the moment is to get people to come back. The problem is getting the money they need to rebuild.

“A lot of people here live paycheck to paycheck,” says Mr. Smith, who works in shipping for a fragrance company. “That is the scary part—people won’t be able to rebuild.”

Patricia Wood, a 60-year-old homemaker, still hasn’t moved back into her residence of 34 years in Union Beach that she shares with her husband, a driver for a phone company. The flooded home was recently elevated by 13 feet to comply with new regulations, a $35,000 cost covered by a federal loan. She has no idea where she will get the additional $25,000 needed for remaining repairs. Some neighbors have just disappeared, abandoning their damaged homes, she says.

With exceptions like a hardware store and a clothing store, most of the businesses in Sea Bright remain boarded up. One recent evening, almost the only source of light in the town’s commercial district was Harry’s Lobster House, which has been serving lobster bisque since 1933. A single diner ate in the main room.

“It feels like the end of the world,” said Lou Jacoubs, chef and owner of Harry’s, flipping a steak on his industrial stove, which somehow survived 5 feet of flooding in the restaurant’s kitchen. Mr. Jacoubs confirmed rumors that a real-estate investment company, Besen Associates, had made him an offer. The firm has since withdrawn the offer, but Mr. Jacoubs says that he is still looking to sell. Besen Associates says that it made offers on many businesses in areas affected by the storm.

Today, a town in New Jersey can designate a neighborhood as an “area in need of redevelopment,” the current vernacular for blighted, giving officials certain revitalization tools. These include measures like tax exemptions and abatements, a waiver on competitive bidding for developers and—in areas where residents don’t want to sell—eminent domain.

A bill working its way through the New Jersey legislature would provide two tracks for towns considering redevelopment measures: one allowing the use of eminent domain but requiring stricter scrutiny and a more demanding approval process; and the other forbidding eminent domain but requiring less oversight. Local officials seeking the revitalization tools that accompany a blight designation, but without frightening residents about the possibility of using eminent domain, could opt for the second track.

For now, the weakened real-estate market has put the brakes on eminent-domain takings by developers. “The power to do this is still there, but the market isn’t,” says Mr. Ward, the lawyer. When the market comes back, so will the blight takings, he adds.

Should that unfold, such actions could recall what happened in Long Branch with Pier Village.

Long Branch was once a thriving summer resort of sprawling farms and open vistas, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with U.S. presidents and film stars.

In the 1960s, urban decay set in from failed public housing projects and demographic shifts. The devastating 1987 fire destroyed a long-standing pier, a local landmark that held an amusement park, and accelerated the decline. Drugs and gangs proliferated.

City officials came up with a master plan in the mid-1990s, designating much of the waterfront an “area in need of redevelopment.” In 2000 the city awarded the contract to a developer. Residents, many of them elderly and living on retirement savings, soon realized their homes were to be destroyed.

Some of the locals caught in the cross hairs lived in a middle-class enclave of well-kept bungalows and cottages that had been in the same families for generations. Some sellers received payments considered well below market value, but they lacked resources to sue. Many moved away. Others banded together and tried to fight in the courts.

Bruce MacCloud says that armed police officers forcibly removed him from his three-story home of 25 years in Long Branch in 2002 just days before Thanksgiving. A builder, Mr. MacCloud says that he had spent years restoring the shingled, 100-year-old Victorian home, a few hundred feet from the ocean.

“What happened in Long Branch to achieve Pier Village is an atrocity,” says the 53-year-old Mr. MacCloud, who now lives in Tom’s River in a ranch-style home a couple of miles from the water.

The strain contributed to his divorce from his wife, who received custody of their two children, he says. The town offered him just $189,000 for the house in compensation, he says, which was increased to $220,000 after a lengthy court battle. “I paid off my home, restored it, started a family there, and then I lost it all,” says Mr. MacCloud. “I know this was not for the good of the people.”

The condo development in Long Branch moved ahead, with hundreds of units, many priced above $500,000. Shops and restaurants followed.

Plopped on a shoreline noted for its diversity—from the honky-tonk boardwalk scene to stately mansions—Pier Village and the connected development stand out for their uniformity: street after street of identical four-story condos in tan. The development hasn’t made the waterfront a year-round community, as hoped, but the area is busy in the summer months. Work recently began on the last phase of the project, a 68-room hotel. A spokesman for the developer says that all 283 for-sale residences in Beachfront North, a part of the redevelopment area, have been sold.

The Pier Village complex weathered Sandy well because of its up-to-date building materials, according to David Barry, the president of Hoboken-based Ironstate Development Co., which built the complex. The Long Branch mayor who spearheaded the strategy has since been re-elected many times, Mr. Barry points out, and the sale of beach passes in Long Branch has increased.

Eminent domain “serves a very useful purpose,” says Mr. Barry. “These badly damaged towns will need to figure out a way forward. If they don’t want a patchwork recovery, they may find such tools necessary.”

Write to Christopher Rhoads at christopher.rhoads@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared May 25, 2013, on page C1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Battle of the Beach.

TV producer Arthur Smith keeps his ‘Kitchens’ in balance

admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:17:23 +0000

Being around all that food all the time, as well as putting in long hours every week, makes it challenging to eat well and exercise regularly. That’s why Smith sticks to a schedule and diet during his busiest months. Here, he talks about making time to stay healthy, his favorite workouts and what food he calls his “kryptonite.”

How do you make time for exercise?

I’m not going to say it’s the most important thing I do, but I’ve always been into working out and fitness. I love it. I’m always into the newest craze. I pretty much go every day, except maybe Sunday. My philosophy is, try to go every day and your chances of going five times a week are even better.

I always know when my day is going to start, but I don’t know when it’s going to end. So I can’t work out at the end of the day. Instead, I get up at about 6 or 6:30 to exercise. It’s a huge release for me. When I’m working on all these shows, it’s the one time I’m on my own. So the physical part is great, but the mental part is equally important for me.

What do you like to do to work out?

I’m really into Pilates. I do it twice a week. I’ve been doing it for a few years now, and it’s great, because it just attacks your core. It’s brutal punishment. I would never work my stomach or my core as hard as I do with Pilates. Then I do free weights and some aerobic stuff the rest of the days.

Several of your shows deal with gourmet food. How do you resist temptation while on the set?

It’s brutal, absolutely brutal. There is food everywhere. On “Kitchen Nightmares,” it’s a restaurant, and we are always trying new things, coming back with new menu items and preparing challenges, and then we have to look after our crew, so we have craft services. I’ve never worked on something where there is so much food everywhere you turn. It’s quite easy to blow up! So I try to have healthier snacks in my office, because you’ve got to eat. You’re tired and you’re working long hours, so you’re going to snack because eating makes things easier.

I have my nuts and my dried fruit, my pretzels, but listen, I have all the good stuff too. I just try to balance it and keep myself in check.

What do you allow yourself to indulge in?

On set I love the mashed potatoes. I know that I’m going to have a certain amount of them, so I just try to pace myself. But the food that I cannot resist is pizza. Pizza is my kryptonite; it brings me to my knees. I will never order a pizza because I know that any time I’m somewhere and there’s pizza around, I will eat too much of it.

How do you relax?

For me, relaxing is being with friends and family. I always say it’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with. We really work hard and are very precise on all our shows, so when I’m off work I’m happy to be relaxing with friends and family. I could be doing anything as long as I’m with the people that I love being around.

I also love to golf, and working out is a big part of my down time. My favorite vacation is working out, golfing and going to the beach.

health@latimes.com

Young athletes hit the beach for holiday tournaments – The Birmingham News

admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:17:21 +0000

View full sizeThe Gulf Coast Region Beach Series will play on the beach by the Gulf State Park Pavilion and the Flora-Bama on Saturday, May 25, 2013.

GULF SHORES, Alabama – You know folks flock to Alabama’s beaches for Memorial Day weekend. But did you know some of them are youngsters coming to play volleyball, basketball and baseball?

Around 230 youth sports teams will be on Pleasure Island this weekend playing in tournaments sponsored by the Gulf Coast Region of USA Volleyball, Youth Basketball of America and United States Specialty Sports Association.

The 2013 Gulf Coast Region Beach Series returns to Alabama on Saturday. The beach volleyball action will include boys and girls pairs and also is open to co-ed and adult play.

The entry list includes 124 pairs from five states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The girls’ 12 and Younger and 14 and Younger divisions are playing at the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion. The girls’ 16 and Younger and 18 and Younger divisions as well as the boys, co-ed and adults pairs will play at the Flora-Bama.

The series played in Gulf Shores three times to open its season before visiting Waveland, Miss., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Youth Basketball of America’s sixth annual Gulf Coast Challenge is a boys’ tournament with 46 teams playing in seven age divisions from 10 and Younger to 16 and Younger.

The basketball action takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Bodenhamer Recreation Center in Gulf Shores, Foley High School, Gulf Shores High School, Gulf Shores Middle School and Orange Beach Recreation Center.

The United States Specialty Sports Association has Global Sports World Series tournaments scheduled in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach June 19-23, June 26-30, Aug. 3-7, Aug. 10-14, Aug. 17-21 and Aug. 29-Sept. 2.

But before that flood of baseball hits the beach, it’s the 2013 USSA Global State Baseball Tournament, which will feature more than 60 teams playing in 12 divisions at three sites on Saturday and Sunday. The teams comes from six states and feature names such as Delta Force, South Alabama Bullsharks, Southern Thunder, Gulf Coast Storm Chasers and Mobile Cobras.

The Orange Beach Sportsplex is hosting the tournaments for 14 and Younger Open, 11 and Younger AA, 11 and Younger Open, 9 and Younger Open, 9 and Younger A, and 9 and Younger AA.

The Gulf Shores Sportsplex is hosting the tournaments for 12 and Younger A, 12 and Younger Open, and 8 and Younger Coach-Pitch AA.

The Foley Sports Complex is hosting the tournaments for 10 and Younger Open, 10 and Younger A, and 10 and Younger AA.

Coastal Alabama teams in the tournaments are coming from Bay Minette, Daphne, Elberta, Fairhope, Foley, Grand Bay, Mobile, Perdido, Robertsdale, Saraland, Semmes and Spanish Fort. Other Alabama cities represented include Brewton, Dothan, Excel, Huntsville, Opelika, Pelham, Sweet Water, Thomasville and Vestavia Hills. Out-of-state teams registered are coming from Milton, Navarre, Pace and Pensacola in Florida; Atlanta and Marietta in Georgia; Brandon, Ecru, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Lucedale, Meridian and Sherman in Mississippi; Baton Rouge in Louisiana; and Chattanooga and Memphis in Tennessee.

Follow Mark Inabinett on Twitter: Follow @AMarkG1

A-Rod Sells Home For $30 million

admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:17:19 +0000

A-Rod Sells Home For $30 million

Alex Rodriguez is a bit richer today.

The New York Yankees third baseman closed on the sale of his Miami Beach home on Friday morning, ESPN.com has learned. The confirmed sale price of $30 million is one of the highest purchase prices for a home in Miami.

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Rodriguez, who has earned approximately $360 million to date in salary alone, more than any U.S. major sports athlete in history, will make a $15 million profit.

In 2010, Rodriguez bought the 54,000-square-foot plot of land on the water for $7.4 million. He then put roughly the equivalent amount into the 20,000-square-foot modern, minimalistic home that his own construction company, Newport Property Construction, built in 11 months.

It has nine bedrooms and 11 bathrooms with the oft-coveted European white oak flooring throughout. Its most impressive feature is at the rear of the house, where clear, glass windows can be adjusted so that someone can walk straight outside. The house also features a zen garden and rooftop deck.

Rodriguez moved in in October 2011 and, encouraged by the rebound of the Miami real estate market, listed the home for the first time at $38 million a year later. Failing to get a nibble, he took the home off the market in December 2012.

Rodriguez never listed the home again, as he was personally offered the deal that was consummated Friday.

“When you’re offered the highest price for a home in a city’s history, you have to take it,” said Jose More, a business partner of Rodriguez who is the vice president of his construction company.

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Confidentiality agreements protect the buyer’s identity, but More did reveal that the buyer is a businessman, not an athlete.

That’s an important distinction, since so many athletes customize their homes so much that they find trouble selling them to anyone outside the sports world. The only feature in the house that is obsolete to the new owners is an indoor batting cage.

“Alex was ahead of his time in his design of the modern, clean, elegant structure,” More said. “There are eight houses in the area that are now being built exactly like this.”

The home is on the same street as houses owned by actor Matt Damon and Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

More says that A-Rod has not picked his next home site, but he will very likely demolish what he buys.

“He really enjoys the design process,” More said.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez, who has not played for the Yankees this season after getting surgery on his left hip in January, is currently rehabbing in Tampa and is expected to return after the All-Star break.

When he comes up to play in New York, he will be living in a rented apartment in Manhattan.

In October 2011, A-Rod bought a condo on Manhattan’s upper west side for $5.5 million, but flipped that, too — for a $2.5 million profit less than eight months after buying it.

Darren Rovell | email

ESPN.com Sports Business reporter

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ESPN.com’s sports business reporter since 2012; previously at ESPN from 2000-06
Appears on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and with ABC News
Formerly worked as analyst at CNBC

Freebie Friday: Free stuff to do in Orlando

admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:17:16 +0000

Free events around Orlando to keep you moving this week.

Events

ROCK‘N’ ROLL CAR SHOW AND CONCERT: featuring vintage cars, retail and food vendors, and live rock bands: 5 p.m. Saturday; Lake Concord Park, 95 Triplet Lake Drive, Casselberry; free; 407-262-7700, Ext. 1507.

Comedy

STANDUP COMEDY: comedy competition: 10:15 p.m. Saturdays; Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows, 8267 International Drive, Orlando; free (one drink minimum); 407-363-1985.

OPEN MIC COMEDY: 8:30 p.m. Mondays; The Other Bar, 18 Wall St., Orlando; free (21 or older); 407-843-8595.

COMEDY NIGHT: with Gramma Rich: 8 p.m. Tuesdays; The Alley, 114 S. Park Ave., Sanford; free; 407-328-4848.

CENTRAL FLORIDA STAND UP: open mic comedy night: 8 p.m. Wednesdays; Fox Hound, 3514 W. Vine St., Kissimmee; free; 407-847-9927.

Film

CINEMATIQUE UNDER THE STARS: outdoor screening of “Jaws”: 8 p.m. today; Riverfront Park, 150 S. Beach St., Daytona Beach; free; 386-252-3778.

Literary

DI-VERSE WORD: open mike: 8 p.m. Tuesdays; Dandelion Communitea Cafe, 618 N. Thornton Ave., Orlando; free; 407-362-1864.

WEDNESDAY OPEN WORDS: open mike poetry: 8 p.m. Wednesdays; Austin Coffee and Film, 929 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-975-3364.

BETSY E. SUMMERS: lecture featuring author of “Daughter of Appalachia”: 2 p.m. Thursday; Gateway Center for the Arts, 880 N. U.S. Highway 17-92, DeBary; free; 386-668-5553.

15 VIEWS OF ORLANDO: readings by authors from the Burrow Press anthology series: 6 p.m. Thursday; Park Avenue Compact Discs, 2916 Corrine Drive, Orlando; free; 407-447-7275.

“FIELD TO FEAST” AUTHOR TALK: discussion with the authors of the locally-sourced cookbook: 7 p.m. Thursday; Winter Park Public Library, 460 E. New England Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-623-3300.

Wine/food

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays; RDV Sportsplex, 8701 Maitland Summit Blvd., Orlando; free; 407-916-2442.

WINTER PARK FOOD TRUCK FIESTA: food truck gathering: noon-5 p.m. Saturday; Fleet Peeples Park, Lakemont Avenue, Winter Park; free; 407-296-5882.

FOOD TRUCK CRAVE: 1-4 p.m. last Sundays monthly; Central Park, 142 W. Lakeview Ave., Lake Mary; free; 407-324-3090.

TRUCKING TUESDAYS: food truck gathering: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays; First United Methodist Church, 142 E. Jackson St., Orlando; free; 407-849-6080.

TASTY TUESDAYS: food truck gathering: 6-10 p.m. Tuesdays; The Milk Bar, 2424 E. Robinson St., Orlando; free; 407-896-4954.

WILD WILD WEDNESDAYS: food truck gathering: 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays; Parking lot, 34301 S. Conway Road, Orlando; free; 321-750-6820.

FOOD TRUCK CAFE: 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays; Lake Lily Park, 840 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland; free; 407-539-6268.

Art

Shows/events

SANFORD ART WALK: with exhibits and music at participating venues: 6-9 p.m. today; Downtown Sanford, First Street, Sanford; free; 407-302-2586.

Galleries

ALICE AND WILLIAM JENKINS GALLERY AT CREALDE SCHOOL OF ART: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 600 St. Andrews Blvd., Winter Park; free; 407-671-1886. “13th Southeastern Photography Invitational: A Sense of Place” (through Saturday).

ARTS ON DOUGLAS: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; 123 Douglas St., New Smyrna Beach; free; 386-428-1133. “Past Perfect” (through Saturday), “Erin Curry: Recent Works” (through June 15).

ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday; 1414 Art Center Ave., New Smyrna Beach; free; 386-427-6975. “24th Annual University Student Exhibition” (through Aug. 10).

CASSELBERRY ART HOUSE: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 127 Quail Pond Circle, Casselberry; free; 407-262-7720. “Figurations: Faces and Figures” (through today).

FIFTH AVENUE ART GALLERY: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday; 1470 Highland Ave., Melbourne; free; 321-259-8261. Works by Nancy Hamlin-Vogler (through June 2).

GALLERY AT AVALON ISLAND: call for hours; 39 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando; free; 407-490-3961. “Imprint” (through July 11).

GATEWAY CENTER FOR THE ARTS: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; 880 N. U.S. Highway 17-92, DeBary; free; 386-668-5553. “Art Springs Eternal” works from the Plein Air Paint Out (through June 22).

HYDER GALLERY CENTER FOR FINE ART: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday; 111 Magnolia Ave., Sanford; free; 407-878-7646. Works by Dr. Katherine Machara (opening with reception 6-9 p.m. today, through June 27).

MOUNT DORA CENTER FOR THE ARTS: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; 138 E. Fifth Ave., Mount Dora; free; 352-383-0880. “Sutra” by photographer Yatin Patel (through June 7).

ORLANDO CITY HALL TERRACE GALLERY: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 400 S. Orange Ave., Orlando; free; 407-246-4279. “Fragments” Works by Kevin Haran and Kyle (through May 31).

OSCEOLA CENTER FOR THE ARTS: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 2411 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee; free; 407-846-6257. Annual Juried Art Exhibit (through May 31).

RURAL HERITAGE CENTER: call for hours; 101 E. Main St., Geneva; free; 407-792-0758. “Storytellers XVI: Geneva” (through June 3).

SHOWALTER HUGHES COMMUNITY GALLERY AT CREALDE SCHOOL OF ART: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 600 St. Andrews Blvd., Winter Park; free; 407-671-1886. “Interstate 4: The Exits Less Traveled” (through June 1).

Colleges/universities

COLLEGE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday; 3001 SW College Road, Ocala; free; 352-237-2111. “Summer Spotlight XVI” (through June 27).

CORNELL FINE ARTS MUSEUM: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-646-2526. “Studio Malick” (opening Saturday, through Dec. 1).

NEWS-JOURNAL CENTER: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach; free; 386-226-1927. “Transient Motel” works by Bryce Hammond (through July 26).

RUTH FUNK CENTER FOR TEXTILE ARTS: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday; 150 W. University Blvd. at Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne; free; 321-674-8313. “Masters 2” (through Aug. 24).

SOUTHEAST MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, 1-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 1200 International Speedway, Building 1200, Daytona State College, Daytona Beach; free; 386-506-4475. “Departures 2013: A Juried Student Exhibition” (through July 28), “UCF Thesis Exhibition” (through July 28), “Steven Spencer: Recent Photographs” (opening with reception 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, through July 28), “Alumni Focus 2013: Rick Lang, David Monroe and Rick Wagner” (opening with reception 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, through July 28).

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA ART GALLERY: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; North Gemini Boulevard, Orlando; free; 407-823-5470. Juried BFA/BA Student Photography Exhibition (through July 5).

Miscellany

HALO SALON SPA: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 1910 Alden Road, Orlando; free; 407-898-4256. “In My Wildest Dreams” art by Kelly Joy Ladd (through June 5).

MAITLAND CIVIC CENTER: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 641 S. Maitland Ave., Maitland; free; 407-647-2111. Works by Whitney Broadaway (through June 1).

MAITLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY: call for hours; 501 S. Maitland Ave., Maitland; free; 407-647-7700. “Equines and Canines” (through May 31).

PEABODY AUDITORIUM: call for hours; 600 Auditorium Blvd., Daytona Beach; free; 386-671-3461. “Divas with Tools” (through June 3).

TAVARES CITY HALL: call for hours; 201 E. Main St., Tavares; free; 352-742-6319. “Art On The Fly … a blank canvas show” (through June 13).

WINTER PARK CITY HALL: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 401 S. Park Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-623-3292. “Terra Blanco” works by Cheryl Mackey Smith (through May 31).

Attractions

Museums

CASA FELIZ HISTORIC HOME MUSEUM, with “James Gamble Rogers II Studio” architecture exhibit: 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday and Thursday, noon-3 p.m. Sunday; 656 Park Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-628-8200.

THE CASEMENTS, historic John D. Rockefeller home: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday; 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach; free; 386-676-3216 or thecasements.net.

CENTRAL FLORIDA RAILROAD MUSEUM: 1-5 p.m. daily; in former Tavares Gulf Railroad Depot, 101 S. Boyd St., Winter Garden; free; 407-656-0559.

DELAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MUSEUM: local medical and historical artifacts: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 230 N. Stone St., DeLand; free (donations accepted); 386-740-5800.

DELAND NAVAL AIR STATION MUSEUM: noon-4 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday; 910 Biscayne Blvd. at DeLand Airport, DeLand; free (donations accepted); 386-738-4149.

DELTONA VETERANS MUSEUM: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. Sundays; 1921 Evard Ave., Deltona; free; 386-789-8247.

GOLDENROD HISTORICAL MUSEUM, exhibits of local history and early pioneers: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday and Friday; 4755 N. Palmetto Road, Winter Park; free; 407-677-5980.

GOLDSBORO HISTORICAL MUSEUM: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 1211 W. 13th St., Sanford; free; 407-416-0416.

HANNIBAL SQUARE HERITAGE CENTER, Winter Park’s African American historical archives, with “Preaching to the Trees and the Animals: The Folk Art of O.L. Samuels.” Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday. (through Sept. 7): noon-5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 642 W. New England Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-539-2680.

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL RESOURCE AND EDUCATION CENTER OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 851 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland; free; 407-628-0555.

LAKE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 317 W. Main St., Tavares; free; 352-343-9600.

LAKE MARY HISTORICAL MUSEUM: “Salute to Our Military” display; 6-8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; 158 N. Country Club Road, Lake Mary; free; 407-585-1481.

LARRY E. SMEDLEY NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; 300 N. Tanner Road, Orlando; free; bunkerflorida.org.

MUSEUM OF THE APOPKANS, Native American artifacts and exhibits on the historic industries of Apopka: noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 122 E. 5th St., Apopka; free, donations accepted; 407-703-1707.

MUSEUM OF GENEVA HISTORY: 2-4 p.m. 2nd and 4th Saturdays or by appointment; 165 First St., Geneva; free; 407-349-5697.

ORLANDO FIRE MUSEUM, displays and equipment from area firefighting hitory: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; 814 E. Rollins Ave. (behind Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park), Orlando; free (donations accepted); 407-898-3138.

SANFORD MUSEUM, exhibits on local history and life of city founder: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday; 520 E. First St., Sanford; free; 407-688-5198.

ST. CLOUD HERITAGE MUSEUM: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday or by appointment; 1012 Massachusetts Ave., St. Cloud; free (donations accepted); 407-957-7587.

MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, historical artifacts: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily; 5210 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy., Kissimmee; free; 407-507-3894.ff

WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE MUSEUM, with displays including citrus history and occupations, schools, businesses, transportation, early residents and pioneer living: 1-5 p.m. daily; 1 N. Main St., Winter Garden; free; 407-656-5544.

WINTER PARK HISTORICAL MUSEUM: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday; 200 W. New England Ave., Winter Park; free; 407-647-8180.

Parks and gardens

ORLANDO WETLANDS PARK: hiking, biking and tram tours: sunrise to sunset daily,25155 Wheeler Road, Christmas; free; 407-568-1706.

U.S. SPACE WALK OF FAME MUSEUM, space-exploration history organized by former Kennedy Space Center workers: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 4 Main St., downtown Titusville; free; 321-264-0434.

Misc.

DOWNTOWN DISNEY, restaurant and entertainment complex including DisneyQuest, AMC 24 Theatres and more: hours vary; East Buena Vista Drive off I-4, Orlando; free; 407-939-6244.

OLD TOWN, entertainment complex with nightclubs, shopping and thrill rides: from 10 a.m. daily, 5770 W. US Highway 192, Kissimmee; free, ride admissions vary; 407-396-4888.