🌱 Omicron Drives Long Testing Lines + Second Harvest Winter Break Kids Meal Drive

Good day, neighbors! Carlos Hernandez here with a fresh Orlando Daily.

First, today's weather:

A t-storm around in the p.m.. High: 77 Low: 64.

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Here are the top five stories in Orlando today:

1. The CEO of Orlando-based Darden Restaurants Inc., Gene Lee, will be retiring in May 2022 and be replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer. Lee is credited with guiding the company through the COVID-19 pandemic. Darden is the parent company of Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Bahama Breeze, and more. (Tampa Bay Times)

2. Long lines were spotted at Orange County’s Barnett Park on Sunday after the COVID-19 testing and vaccination site already closed early for the last several days due to it reaching capacity as concerns are raised about the Omicron COVID-19 variant. (Click Orlando)

3. Second Harvest of Central Florida plans to pass out 2,600 meals to K-12 students at 7 school sites to hold families over until classes resume in 2022. Residents can also use the food finder on the Second Harvest website to locate other food pantries near them. (WMFE)

4. The Orlando Magic beat the Brooklyn Nets 100-93 on Saturday. Both teams were short-handed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols as well as injuries. The victory ended a 7-game losing streak for the Magic. (Spectrum News 13)

5. I-4 express lanes will be launching in 2022 and offer dynamic pricing. The maximum price to travel all 21 miles will be about 17 cents per mile or around $3.50 from Universal Studios to Longwood. (WESH)

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Today in Orlando:

• National Sangria Day at Bulla Gastrobar. (9:00 AM)
• Orlando City Hall Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine Site. (9:30 AM)
• Painting With A Twist's Holiday Class: Frosty At Painting With A Twist Orlando. (11:00 AM)
• Audubon Park's Community Market. (5:00 PM)
• Christmas in Color At Island H2O Waterpark. (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Retired U.S. Army COL Mike Zarbo accepted a posthumous degree at UCF this past weekend on behalf of his son Ryan who took his own life in early 2021. (Twitter)
• Orlando Weekly has a list up of restaurants that closed in Orlando during 2021. The pandemic continued to challenge the restaurant industry this year. (Orlando Weekly)
• Orange County Sheriff's Office is looking for a 911 call taker/dispatcher. It is offering a $2,000 bonus upon completion of training and specialty pay at start. (Twitter)
• All Orange County parks, facilities and campgrounds will be closed from December 24th to December 25th for the holiday, and will re-open on December 26th. All sites will be open on New Year's Day, January 1st. (Twitter)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Monday. I'll see you around!

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.