🌱 UCF & NASA Partnership + Orlando Nazi Rally Sparks Concern + Ukraine Worries

Hello, people of Orlando! Carlos Hernandez here with today's copy of the Orlando Daily.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and pleasant. High: 72 Low: 54.

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Here are the top five stories today in Orlando:

1. The graduation rate of all Orange County Public Schools, which includes traditional and charter schools, is 90.4%. This rate continues to outpace the state's 90.1% average. Apopka High School increased its rate by 3.7 percentage points from 93.9% to 97.6%, the largest gain in the district. (Patch Orlando)

2. A partnership between UCF and NASA is helping students launch their career with the Kennedy Space Center. Since March of 2021, NASA has added 52 interns to the program, with another 16 starting this month. UCF says around 30% of Kennedy Space Center employees are UCF alumni. (WMFE)

3. Nazis held a rally at Waterford Lakes Town Center in Orlando this past weekend. Videos and photos showed the squad of less than 20 ganging up on a motorist who jumped out to confront them. Police said they are investigating the matter and that hate "has no place in our society." The incident led to arguments online between local politicians the press secretary of Governor Ron DeSantis, who floated conspiracy theories about the rally. (Orlando Weekly)

4. People in Central Florida with ties to Ukraine worry the country could soon lose its independence to Russia. Vasyl Boichook, a Ukraine native who owns a woodworking business in Volusia County called European Woodart, hopes the U.S. stands by Ukraine as it faces a possible Russian invasion. (Spectrum 13 News)

5. A 25-year-old woman, who was already wanted on a felony charge of child neglect, is now facing additional charges after Brevard County deputies said they found a child locked in a hotel closet wearing a filthy diaper. When deputies arrived, the child was sitting in the dark closet. (Click Orlando)

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Today in Orlando:

• Tai Chi at 1st Unitarian Church of Orlando. (9:00 AM)
• Open Skate at RDV Ice Den. (12:00 PM)
• School Board Work Session at Orange County District. (1:00 PM)
• Cirque Du Soleil Drawn To Life at Walt Disney World Resort. (5:30 PM)
• Truffles & Trifles Cooking Class at A Fine Gourmet Cooking School. (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Winter Park Police Chief Michael Deal was released on bail Thursday. The head of the city's police department spent a night in jail after he was arrested on a charge of domestic violence battery.⁠ ⁠ (Instagram)
• Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón was honored as an Orlando Magic Diversity Game Changer. (Facebook)
• Aurora at The Celeste Hotel will be offering a 5-course chef curated menu on Valentine's Day for couples at $95 per person or $120 per person with wine pairings for each course. (Tasty Chomps)
• UCF received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen its renowned School for Modeling, Simulation and Training. (Twitter)
• Here’s a list of Walgreen locations that will distribute N95 masks once they have them: https://www.walgreens.com/imag...

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday. 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.