Florida tends to churn out cringy headlines like a socialite on a weekend bender. But how closely were you paying attention to the news beyond the headlines?
Time for another pop quiz to find out.
The office of Florida’s new tough-talking CFO Blaise Ingoglia, who’s fond of calling names and using profanity to insult others, recently dispatched two armed guards to the home of a man who sent Ingoglia a postcard. What words were on the postcard that prompted the police response?
A. “Watch your back, Blaise.”
B. “Consider this a threat.”
C. “You lack values.”
D. “You’re a man-boy who loves to dish it out, but sure can’t take it.”
Answer: C. Ingoglia’s office lamented what it described as “an increasingly hostile political environment” … after Ingoglia posted a video of the Miami-Dade mayor, saying he was “allergic to bullsh*t,” called a journalist who wrote something he disliked a “disingenuous leftist clown” and nicknamed his office FAFO, an acronym for “F*ck around and find out.” But man, those mean postcards.
Armed investigators visit man who sent postcard critical of CFO Ingoglia
Disney announced it’s raising ticket prices again. What is the new price for an annual pass with no blackout dates?
A. $489
B. $849
C. $1,229
D. $1,629
Answer: D. So a family of four can buy Disney passes for all — or a 2017 Ford Focus. For those willing to accept blackout dates, there are cheaper options, all the way down the weekdays-only “Pixie Dust Pass” for $489.
Disney World raises prices of annual passes
The Space Coast keeps getting busier. And with SpaceX hoping to launch its Starship and Super Heavy rocket as many as 120 times a year, the crowded airspace could lead to more delayed airline flights in and out of Florida. On the high end, how many commercial flights did the FAA say could be impacted each year?
A. 120
B. 1,200
C. 12,000
D. 120,000
Answer: C. Elon Musk’s SpaceX says the FAA’s estimate is high and that the actual number of impacted flights could be much lower. Still, any additional delays for Orlando’s airport might be especially painful, considering it already ranks as one the most-delayed in America. (MCO, as you may know, stands for Making Connections Optional.)
How will SpaceX’s massive Starship affect you when it comes to Florida?
The new United Football League announced it’s adding a franchise called the Orlando Storm to play this spring in the Orlando City Soccer Club’s stadium. Through the years, Orlando has seen a slew of non-NFL football teams come and go. In fact, all of the following were actual teams that played in Orlando at one point or another except for which one?
A. The Breakers
B. The Tuskers
C. The Rage
D. The Renegades
Answer: A. The Breakers was the name of the fictional NFL team in Orlando that Craig T. Nelson led in the old ABC sitcom, “Coach.”
Storm warning: Orlando gets another shot at spring football in UFL
Publix made national headlines for its new policy allowing customers to openly carry firearms inside its grocery stores. In its official company statement, why did the Florida-based chain say it made the change?
A. “We have big plans for a buckshot BOGO.”
B. “We’re guessing the associates in our deli departments won’t be late anymore with your pre-orders if they know you might arrive with an AR-15.”
C. “Our priority is creating a safe and welcoming shopping experience for all customers and associates.”
D. “Publix follows all federal, state and local laws”
Answer: D. The store was oddly evasive about the issue, only responding after reporters with the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel confirmed on their own that local stores around the state had changed their policies. Quote “C” above was actually part of the statement from Winn-Dixie, which still isn’t allowing open carry in its stores.
Florida allows open carry of guns, so Publix will too, workers say
A new Florida bill would rename roads after Charlie Kirk at which Florida university ?
A. The University of Florida
B. The University of Central Florida
C. Florida State University
D. All of the above — and every single other college and university in the state.
Answer: D. House Bill 113, filed by South Florida Republican rep Kevin Steele, says every state-funded school and college must rename an existing street something like “Charlie James Kirk Drive,” “Charlie James Kirk Avenue” or “Charlie James Kirk Street” or lose state funding. The bill details which existing road names would be axed. At UCF, for instance, “Charlie James Kirk Boulevard” would replace the school’s well-known Gemini Boulevard.
Florida lawmaker wants every university to rename roads after Charlie Kirk
The Orlando Magic are going through their annual exercise of telling fans that this season will hopefully be better than the last. But this year, a number of analysts say the team may be right. Which player is the most veteran member of this year’s optimistic squad?
A. Wendell Carter, Jr.
B. Jonathan Isaac
C. Franz Wagner
D. Jalen Suggs
Answer: B. The Magic picked up Isaac as a No. 6 pick in the 2017 draft. Since then, the team has lost more games than it’s won, but has high hopes coming off a .500 season.
Florida’s CFO Ingoglia also made headlines for swinging through Seminole County to accuse the county of “over-spending” by precisely $48,445,891. What kind of audit did the guy in charge of the state’s auditing division conduct to arrive at that very specific number?
A. A forensic audit
B. An operational audit
C. A compliance audit
D. No audit at all
Answer: D. Yeah, traditional accounting methods aren’t really this guy’s jam. The Sentinel reported that the governor’s hand-picked chief financial officer hadn’t actually conducted an audit of Seminole County but had instead used a formula that compared spending to inflation. Nor did he offer specific examples of waste in Seminole with the Sentinel reporting that Ingoglia “acknowledged that his team had not looked into Seminole’s expenditures to determine what was excessive. And he did not provide any examples.” Maybe if someone put them on a postcard and mailed them to his office …
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia accused Seminole County of overspending by a very specific amount last week, but admitted his office hadn’t actually conducted an audit to arrive at that number. Nor could it cite any actual examples of wasteful spending. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
