Pulp Non-Fiction

Reading time: 4 minutes

Good morning, Orlando! I hope the weekend was good to you. Enjoy the issue.

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🌟 In today’s issue: 🌟

• Pulp Non-Fiction

• The “Tube”

• Oysters since 1950

• ….and more

Let’s do this!

- Philip

ORLANDO REWIND ⏪
Citrus Pulp Non-Fiction: Orlando's Tart History With Oranges

Before Disney World turned Orlando into a major tourist destination, the central Florida city was actually known for a different industry - citrus. During the late 1800s, Orlando, specifically, became a hub for citrus growers, with acres of orange groves and fruit packing houses surrounding the small downtown area.

The period from 1875 to 1895 represented the heyday of citrus production in Orlando. Fertile soil, a warm climate, and proximity to railroads and waterways made the region ideal for cultivating oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus crops. By the 1890s, Orlando was shipping over one million boxes of citrus each year, earning it the nickname "The Citrus Capital of the USA."

Sadly, Orlando's citrus boom went bust after the catastrophic Great Freeze of 1894-1895. During that frigid winter, temperatures plunged below freezing on multiple nights, decimating the citrus groves. Tree trunks split open, fruit froze solid on the branches, and entire crops were lost. The freeze was so destructive that many citrus farmers simply abandoned their groves and moved to South Florida or California in search of more hospitable climates.

While citrus is no longer king in Orlando, traces of the city's citrusy heritage can still be found. Visitors looking for a taste of old Florida can head to the Showcase of Citrus, a working citrus grove and museum located just outside the city limits in Clermont. Here you can take a tractor-drawn tour through fragrant rows of oranges and grapefruits, sample fresh-squeezed juice, and learn about the region's storied citrus history. The citrus legacy lives on in Clermont.

So next time you sip an orange juice or slice up an orange in Orlando, take a moment to reflect on the city's overlooked past as a citrus boomtown. Those sunny groves and fruit-filled railroads tell an important story about how Orlando emerged long before Mickey Mouse moved in.

THE SQUEEZE 🍊
The "Tube" - FDOT's Recipe to Unclog I-4 Congestion

The Florida Department of Transportation is cooking up a new dish to help relieve the ongoing traffic jam near Mickey's house. It's called the "Tube," and it's a single toll lane being added to westbound I-4 from Sand Lake Road down to Epcot. Construction on this express lane casserole is already underway, with an expected completion date of 2027.

While the Tube aims to ease congestion heading toward the Mouse, funding limitations mean the eastbound side will have to wait its turn for relief. FDOT says westbound needs are more pressing based on projections that hordes of new tourists will keep swarming Orlando. An eastbound express lane is still possible down the road if FDOT can pull in enough coins from the tolls.

Further down I-4, FDOT is cooking up another batch of toll lanes heading into Osceola County. It's the transportation agency's recipe for helping harried drivers bypass backups on this clogged tourism corridor. Just be prepared to warm up that EZ-Pass if you want to speed past the gridlock.

City Takes Matters Into Own Hands To Build Pulse Memorial

After years of stalled plans to build a memorial at the Pulse nightclub site, the city of Orlando is taking action. The city council will vote on a $2 million deal to purchase the property where 49 people were killed in the 2016 mass shooting. Orlando previously sought to buy the land for a memorial, but owners declined to instead establish the onePulse Foundation. Despite talk of a museum and memorial, the foundation recently ended its lease and split with Pulse owner Barbara Poma when an investment partner refused to donate the site.

With no memorial progress made, Orlando now aims to secure the property before deciding on next steps. As Mayor Buddy Dyer explained, "We think it's important to let families and victims know the memorial will be on that site." By purchasing Pulse, the city can provide survivors and families with the closure of a memorial on the actual location, after years of unfulfilled promises.

The vote takes place today.

You'll Need Pixie Dust to Afford a Home in Orlando

That white picket fence dream is turning into a nightmare for Orlando homebuyers. Housing prices are soaring faster than a rocket at Cape Canaveral thanks to low inventory and rocket-like mortgage rates.

Redfin reports you now need a six-figure income of $108,597 per year to afford Orlando's median price of $398,175. That's an 18% increase from last year, proving home prices are rising higher than a Florida afternoon thermometer in August.

As if rocketing prices weren't bad enough, Orlando ranks 5th least affordable out of 9 major Florida cities. Only South Beach ballers, Palm Beach aristocrats, North Port snowbirds, and Fort Lauderdale yacht club members have it worse. So unless you're a hot shot Mouseketeer or aspiring Orlando Magic player, owning your slice of the American Dream may soon be pure fantasy. Forget the white picket fence - renters may have to settle for a white flag of defeat!

From Med School to Math: How One Detour Led to a Teaching Dream

Cherese Fussner of Winter Park was all set to be the next Dr. Quinn, with visions of med school dancing in her head. But a desperate plea from Mom to help her math-challenged brother. After Cherese whipped up some quadratic equations and simmered some slope formulas for her bro, she had an epiphany spicier than Cajun gumbo. This teaching thing was fun!

So Cherese swapped her sci-fi textbooks for math textbooks and started shaking up lesson plans like a wild-haired Einstein. At Winter Park High School, Cherese seasons her classes with wit, mixing a pinch of humor into proofs and theorems. Sure, her students may never use cosines again, unless calculating how much TP they need to TP the principal's house. But Cherese’s class whips up essential life skills from following recipes to solving problems...not that she recommends using math for TP mischief.

Cherese pays forward the encouragement that once fed her own dreams, serving up an extra helping of potential. She's proven that one fork in the academic road can reroute you somewhere unexpected. For Cherese, that unexpected detour revealed a teaching talent ready to bake up some inspiration...and maybe a pie for the principal, so he forgets about the TP thing.

From Drab to Fab: Orlando Survey Shows Public Eager for I-4 Underpass Glow-Up

The city of Orlando recently dropped the results of a survey asking people how to jazz up the sad, empty space under I-4 between Church and Washington in Downtown, affectionately named Under-i. Apparently, over 1,800 folks took the time to chime in, making it Orlando's most hyped survey in years. Talk about excitement for infrastructure projects!

The data shows people want the usual stuff:

• Pedestrian walkways: 95.03%

• Safety and Security: 95.01%

• Landscaping and Green Space: 91.42%

• Bike Paths: 79.94%

• Different types of transportation: 71.25%

• Community gathering or festival space: 70.79%

• Immersive Art: 65.18%

Though some more daring suggestions like funky public transit, art installations, and event spaces did crack the top responses. The city is now reviewing the data, with promises that whatever ends up under I-4 will be a "spectacular" draw. No pressure there.

Local business owner Scott Kotroba is pumped for the project. He's seen the vacant lot languish for 17 years while running restaurants downtown. Kotroba is open to anything that makes downtown more lively, usable, and safe, even if it's not his brilliant suggestion of more parking. The city plans to show off the final design by the end of this year before starting construction next fall. Then Orlando residents can finally have a fun reason to hang out under the interstate!

#ORLANDOSIGNAL 📸

Strollin’ down Park Ave.

📷 via @orlandosignal |📍Winter Park

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FOODIE FIND, FORK YEAH! 🤩
Lee and Rick’s Oyster Bar

📍5621 Old Winter Garden Rd. Orlando, FL 32811

Monday-Friday: 9am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

Lee and Ricks Oyster Bar is an old-school Orlando gem that has been shucking up fresh bivalves since 1950. With no trendy social media presence or glitzy decor, this old-school joint lets its briny offerings speak for themselves.

Originally just a nine-stool establishment, Lee and Rick's has blossomed into an 80-foot oyster spectacle, with room for 50 slurpers at the iconic concrete shucking bar. Watching the skilled shuckers ply their trade is entertainment in itself, while also providing diners assurance of an oyster's freshness.

The menu has expanded over the years, but the real star remains those plump, juicy raw oysters. The combination of tangy cocktail sauce, tart lemon, and spicy hot sauce atop a Ritz cracker creates a sublime salty, creamy bite. It's an experience this oyster aficionado eagerly repeats again and again.

While some may dismiss Lee and Rick's lack of Instagram, its commitment to quality and tradition keeps devotees coming back. No trendy gimmicks needed for this Orlando classic. Just the simple pleasure of a perfect oyster, shucked to order as it has been for over 70 years.

🗺️ Map to this location, right here.

ORLANDO WEATHER 🌤️

Monday

73 🌡️ 57 | 🌤️ | Partly sunny and cooler but pleasant

Tuesday

74 🌡️ 60 | ☀️ | Pleasant with plenty of sunshine

Wednesday

79 🌡️ 60 | 🌤️ | Mostly sunny and pleasant

THANKS! 🙏

Many thanks for reading the Orlando Signal today. If you found something useful or interesting, please share this edition with someone you know! We’ll see you on Thursday with some great weekend recommendations.

My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal