Kevin Spear

2 months ago | orlandosentinel.com | Kevin Spear

Beginning more than a half-century ago, a cancer-linked chemical has been plunging hundreds of feet through sinkholes beneath a telecommunications factory in Lake Mary, spreading for miles through the Floridan Aquifer and invading water wells serving thousands of Seminole County residents. A few local officials and experts began some years ago to discuss the presence of that chemical, without fully understanding the extent of the issue, and the Orlando Sentinel disclosed their concerns.

Jan 19, 2025 | orlandosentinel.com | Kevin Spear

Lil Joe, perhaps the most traveled and best known manatee ever, was bid farewell from Disney's EPCOT on a shivery, drizzly night this past week. The event unfolded as an iconic tribute for an esteemed cast member. Not so "lil" at almost a ton, the animal silently and gracefully levitated as if in a magic act, hoisted by the long cable of a crane with a 101-foot boom positioned on a parking lot outside his aquarium home.

Dec 10, 2024 | orlandosentinel.com | Kevin Spear

A controversial, yearslong quest by the Orlando Utilities Commission to overhaul its electricity billing to accommodate its increasing reliance on renewable energy ended Tuesday with a slam dunk vote in favor of the proposal. OUC's five-member board - composed of four appointees and the city's mayor - is normally allergic to dissension in its ranks.

Dec 8, 2024 | orlandosentinel.com | Kevin Spear

Orlando's power provider plans to vote Tuesday on revamping its billing structure, changing incentives for when and how customers consume power, which has fueled a combative controversy over what's best for local solar energy and electricity users.

Nov 22, 2024 | yahoo.com | Kevin Spear

Why do so many passengers arriving at Orlando International Airport have to wait 90 minutes or more before their bags pop out onto a carousel? How often are departing planes delayed because of luggage holdups? What triggers hundreds of pieces of baggage to be “mishandled,” the term authorities prefer for accuracy but which passengers think of by another label: “lost”?