Crystal Chavez
Crystal ChavezRecent Stories from Crystal Chavez
Spotlight: Orlando Artist Documenting Creation Of First Album
Orlando Musician Casey Brents plays cover music and gigs at bars and restaurants and… any place that will have him. He’s documenting the journey of creating his first album with original music. Brents talks about what the cover artist life is like and shares some of his new songs.
Volusia Schools To Create ‘Mental Health Response Teams’
Volusia County Schools is looking to hire qualified school counselors, licensed mental health providers, social workers and school psychologists. This comes after the state gave school districts funds to beef up security and to expand mental health resources following the Parkland mass shooting.
Spotlight: Inay’s Kitchen
Even with the pin on my phone’s Google Maps app indicating I had arrived at my destination, I had a hard time spotting Inay’s Kitchen, a Filipino restaurant in Ocoee. Despite the open signs in the window, which were covered with bamboo matchstick blinds, I had a hard time identifying it as a restaurant. Once I figured it out, I went inside and was greeted by a sign inside the door instructing me to proceed to the back of the space. That’s where you’ll find the actual Kitchen, tended to by the actual Inay and a couple of other women. The available dishes are on display behind glass in a steam table. Don’t be intimidated by them; any of the …
Indian River Lagoon Cleared For Recreation
The Indian River Lagoon is cleared for swimming, boating and fishing. Residents were told to stay away from a section of the lagoon after a wastewater leak reported July 30.
Spotlight: DeLand Exhibit Highlights Florida Artist Robert Huff’s Life’s Work
Pam Coffman, curator of education at The Museum of Art DeLand, has seen a lot of art. The exhibit “Robert Huff: Retrospective” is one of her favorites. Huff was an influential artist in south Florida.
Spotlight: Antonio’s House of Pizza
I sometimes feel that navigating all the restaurants with Antonio in their names is like playing a pizza version of Where’s Waldo. By my count, there’s a pizzaiolo’s dozen of eateries named Antonio, and that doesn’t count the one’s named Anthony’s. Add now to the list Antonio’s House of Pizza, the new, though not original name for the business that was Maestro Cucina Napoletano. Little has changed about the interior, though tables now have red and white checkered cloths. The old behemoth pizza oven, which still has Maestro emblazoned in white across the bright red exterior, remains in in the kitchen in full view from the small dining area. The pizzas that come out of it are a bit different, …
Central Florida Bear Shooting Under Investigation
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the shooting of a bear in Longwood. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office notified FWC of the incident last week.
