Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More — Officials with the city of Winter Garden are planning to host a discussion next week about a proposal to adopt a new Downtown Residential Overlay District to limit home expansions and rebuilds on existing lots This would be in Winter Garden’s historic golf cart district where many residents say they are upset about the proposal Whether someone is a new buyer or potential buyer for home right near the heart of downtown Winter Garden the proposed ordinance could alter future plans Many of the homes that are a golf cart drive away from downtown were built in the 1960s and 1970s Isabel Sheeter has been trying to get her hands on a home in the golf cart district and recently purchased a 1,500-square-foot home on a quarter-of-an-acre lot “I want to be able to make these houses beautiful,” Sheeter said basically adding a little square footage on the inside She says her newly purchased home is now a blank canvas which Sheeter hopes to turn into her masterpiece Her plan would nearly double the home’s current size But the proposed ordinance the city is considering could impact what Sheeter wants to do “What they want us to do is take the square footage from the house to the south average that square footage and then take 125 percent of that,” Sheeter said “That’s the number of square footage I would be able to add to this house.” the ordinance would aim to “preserve the character of the residential areas within and surrounding the city’s historic downtown area by limiting the size of structures and imposing other requirements.” I would move into a neighborhood,” she said This shouldn’t have HOA restrictions.”  there would be an opportunity for a special exception permit — but even those would add time and costs to any potential project The community discussion will be held at Winter Garden City Hall this coming Monday at 6:30 p.m The meeting is being run by the city’s planning and zoning division but one or more members of the city commission may be in attendance.  — Construction to begin on the AdventHealth Cancer Institute at Winter Garden a $43.2 million investment designed to meet the growing demand for cancer care in West Orange and South Lake counties “As part of our commitment to meeting the evolving health care needs of our community we are expanding access to comprehensive cancer services,” said Kari Vargas CEO of AdventHealth Winter Garden and the Northwest market “We recognize the importance of providing high-quality The new space has been designed to prioritize patient comfort ensuring that every individual receives the care and support they need to feel whole.” the demand for cancer care in Winter Garden is projected to rise significantly and the need for radiation therapy anticipated to grow by 7.6% These local trends mirror national projections which indicate a rising demand for specialized cancer care “The diagnosis of cancer is always devastating for patients and their families,” said Dr a thoracic medical oncologist and medical director of the AdventHealth Cancer Institute “Our responsibility is to ensure access to state-of-the-art cancer care delivered in the most convenient way possible with therapies that can be lifesaving and life-prolonging.” Located on the campus of AdventHealth Winter Garden 60,000-square-foot facility will provide a full range of cancer treatment services advanced therapies such as immunotherapy and personalized and targeted treatments tailored to each patient’s genetic profile A dedicated team of board-certified oncologists specialized nurses and highly trained nurse navigators will collaborate to provide comprehensive The AdventHealth Cancer Institute at Winter Garden will also feature the Eden Spa and Boutique offering specialized products and services to support patients experiencing hair loss lymphedema and post-mastectomy needs — ensuring care that extends beyond physical treatment to emotional wellbeing This new institute location will connect residents to AdventHealth’s globally recognized cancer specialists with Brasfield & Gorrie as the general contractor Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2026 Baby Mattie needed a liver transplant but was too sick to even get on the list For the nurses at AdventHealth for Children her organs were shutting down and her little body was fighting a battle that seemed insurmountable AdventHealth is expanding its nursing workforce enhancing hands-on training programs and reinforcing its commitment to exceptional patient care our organization embarked on multiple global mission projects that made a significant impact on the lives of two families in need AdventHealth Carrollwood has been awarded an “A” Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group a national nonprofit upholding the standard of excellence in patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory.. Dozens of community members and several organizations came together to help support the AdventHealth Lake Placid and Wauchula Foundations during the 11th annual Clays and Camo fundraiser we honor the extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion demonstrated by our nurses across the region Three remarkable nurses from AdventHealth Avista's surgery center have embarked on.. AdventHealth is proud to join Nemours Children’s Health System as the official medical services provider for the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona A local nurse and a CEO were recognized by the Central Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce The spring 2025 Leapfrog grades have been released and four AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region hospitals have achieved top honors for patient safety AdventHealth North Pinellas achieves elite national status as a straight- ‘A’ for patient safety  All AdventHealth hospitals in Pasco County continue to earn straight ‘A’ hospital safety grades from The Leapfrog Group Our website uses cookies. Please review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use Browsing our website means you accept these terms WINTER GARDEN – A beloved community stage in Winter Garden may soon get a second act The Garden Theatre, which closed last fall after its former operator dissolved due to financial issues city leaders are expected to discuss a new plan to revive the historic venue — focusing on concerts [Watch video below to hear community reaction] “We both grew up coming here,” Allison said They’d play old kids’ movies during the summer The new proposal leans toward a “presenting model,” where city-led programming — like events through the Parks and Recreation Department — would have priority access to the calendar The plan also suggests hosting concerts and one-off performances tied to downtown festivities “It’s a really big part of old downtown Winter Garden The Sagalinis say the Garden Theatre has remained a constant as the downtown area has evolved and they hope its next chapter reflects the heart of the community “We’ve seen a lot of the restaurants and stores change but this has always been the same,” Allison said “It would be nice to still have it — perfect City officials are withholding public comment until after Thursday’s meeting but the proposed business plan is already stirring hope for a revival among longtime residents Details from the city’s presentation will be posted here on ClickOrlando.com as they become available Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us / Follow on Social Media Careers at WKMG Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications EEO Report Disability Assistance Copyright © 2025 ClickOrlando.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group Subscribe now to get new articles and updates in your inbox » HOW’S WINTER shaping up where you are so far or more to the point: How’s the winter garden looking What’s your view out the window this time of year and could it be improved with some strategic enhancements creating a true four-season garden no matter where you are That was the subject of a recent chat I had with Warren Leach, the author of a new book called “Plants for the Winter Garden: Perennials, Grasses, Shrubs and Trees to Add Interest in the Cold and Snow” (affiliate link) Warren, a nurseryman and landscape designer, is based in Rehoboth, Mass., where he and his wife operate Tranquil Lake Nursery We talked about a range of ideas for enhancing the wintertime scenes in our gardens from using winter bloomers like witch-hazels (above Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page to enter to win a copy of his new book Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyPodcasts | and for many years you’ve lived in eastern Massachusetts So was it just being a citizen of the cold-winter zones that kind of got you interested in the subject of winter gardens originally not wanting to look out the window at blah for five or six months a year winter’s actually five months long in New England if you count the killing frost in November and through March we always look to have interest all year long And having plants that bloom in the wintertime is just adds magic to the garden they’re not all plants that bloom in the winter There are plants that do lots of different things structurally and color-wise and I’m sort of across the Massachusetts border all the way across into New York State as being December-January; I think of it as being a little later And we’re talking not about the native witch-hazel but about the intermediate Chinese or Asian witch-hazel There’s a wonderful cultivar called ‘Amethyst,’ which is a very different color It is amethyst color as opposed to yellow and orange which you may think of as other witch-hazels And that can actually start blooming in January it really varies depending on what the cold and the rain and the climate has been prior to this time of year And so what color are the ‘Amethyst’ blooms Warren: So if you think of the gem amethyst I could have sworn I went through the whole book [laughter] I’ve got to put that on my wanted list Warren: And right now I’ve got the Chinese witch-hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme,’ is beginning to come into bloom and that has large yellow flowers and very fragrant And the funny thing is that they’re like tiny little ribbons the flowers; it’s not that they’re substantial-looking But if you’ve put your nose up against them they’re quite lovely—the scent is quite lovely Warren: And in mass they show off and they last; the bloom season can be for four or five weeks the flowers kind of curl up like little thermostats and then they unfurl again on warmer winter days is with some of the ones that I have of the intermediate Asian types and this is a word that’s also in your book: They’re marcescent Warren: They don’t drop their leaves Margaret: And sometimes that looks a little kind of ugly In some in things it’s very beautiful to me to see And so when I’m wanting to look at those beautiful little flowers at this time of year or shortly if the big leaves are hanging… I forget but I think maybe ‘Pallida’ is one that I have that is a yellow-flowered one is ‘Jelena.’ And you had it looking very different from- some witch-hazels absciss their leaves better than others And there are cultivars that are known for dropping their leaves and being more attractive in the garden But I love to have witch-hazels top-grafted as small standard trees because it allows you to situate other plants underneath them in the garden Margaret: And what do you graft them on to make them do that Warren: So they’re grafted on Persian ironwood which is Parrotia persica [top of page photo] You can graft plants of related species onto each other So you can graft witch-hazels on the native witch-hazel Margaret:  Because most of the ones I have are multi-stemmed almost vase-shaped the different stems break low from the base And so I have to always be watching out for some of those naughty rootstock sprouts that come up and want to sort of take over the situation or at least make a mess the Parrotia foliage is markedly different than the witch-hazel foliage so you still have to patrol that graft union but it’s a lot easier to identify and prune off in the late summer I didn’t know that it could be top-grafted as a tree form onto a different species ‘Jelena,’ I have that right outside beyond my front porch So it’s like right out the living room window It’s the first thing I can see in the winter that it’s just so inviting and so beautiful and vivid that’s a good way to think about the winter garden is within views from inside So the entry garden is also a prime location for perhaps analyzing your garden and adding things for this winter interest in particular Early on when I started gardening decades ago here And I have four big groups of 10 or so shrubs each and they’re gigantic now and so forth And my belief at the time was that those were going to be my winter-garden view and I sited them accordingly so that I would see them from certain sight lines of areas of the house that I used in more in the winter and so forth But the birds had a different idea [laughter] Margaret: The cedar waxwings—oh my goodness you have a whole section in the book about fruit for winter and there are some fruits that hold up a little better Warren: So one that is excellent is the red chokeberry which is Aronia arbutifolia; the cultivar ‘Brilliantissima’ is particularly nice [above] So red chokeberry is a native shrub that you would find growing in perhaps a moist meadow on the edge of a woodland but it’s actually very drought tolerant And I have sandy soil at Tranquil Lake Nursery So I’ve been growing drought-tolerant gardens for decades Aronia will grow in full sun as well as partial shade but the fruit is very persistent and will last through the winter so it’s not appealing until it’s really but I enjoy it in season when the fruit’s fresh and those little white flowers of the Aronias So you can grow other either herbaceous perennials or other woody plants at its base So it adds that layered effect in the garden Margaret: So that’s a fruit that’s going to last a little longer there’s some things that have persistent color And you have a bunch of different areas of the book that talk about conifers in different ways You have one section called “The Gestalt of Groves,” and you suggest the idea that we make groves and another chapter just called “Fastigiate Forms.” One thing I did right in the beginning that the birds didn’t mess around [laughter] with was planting a sort of a hillside slope above my backyard—a difficult spot a transition zone where it was steep—was planting some groundcovering conifers including one I think one that you have in the book I forget what we call the common name of that Because people are always asking for not just herbaceous groundcovers And of course the deer don’t eat the plum yew is Taxus baccata ‘Repandens,’ which has glossy black-green foliage And especially when situated next to plants that have or shrubs or small trees that have colorful bark So whether you had red twig dogwoods like ‘Westonbirt’ with cardinal-red stems next to the dark green yew or a paperbark maple Margaret: And I think that’s important Speaking of juxtaposing things consciously really to enhance the effect I mean those witch-hazel flowers that we were talking about earlier about having those against a backdrop of something dark green and beautiful like a conifer nearby means that those little beautiful flowers in their various colors really really stand out even at this time of year Warren: And there are some low-growing shrubs with broadleaf evergreen foliage I think it’s underused in New England so is sweet box Sarcococca hookeriana humilis and you can step out and have that wonderful scent in the garden broadleaf evergreen that might look like a very dwarf Leucothoe I didn’t know about the fragrance aspect whether the witch-hazels are blooming or perhaps hellebores are blooming And so having plants that will bloom in the wintertime or a very late winter is important for the bee population as well It’s a plant that I actually have growing in gardens in the Worcester than the coast of Massachusetts and the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut which we refer to as the banana belt [laughter] where you can grow- Margaret: That’s a little optimistic of course John Gwynne at Sakonnet Gardens in Little Compton has a great collection of camellias that are just enviable in bloom in December and January the Taxus baccata ‘Repandens.’ And a million years ago—I mean long time ago—a friend who had Heronswood Nursery it was like their roots were in little sandwich bags with a little ball of soil almost like less than a 3-inch pot kind of amount of soil tied with a twisty tie or rubber band like these little balls of soil and these little tiny And they’re the size of hippopotamuses but hippopotamuses nonetheless these days; they’re so big And they’re only gold in the warm season They’re not gold at this time of year It’s like a beacon during the growing season and it’s too bad a lot of things that are gold are either herbaceous or deciduous trees and shrubs especially at a distance on an axial view or whatever And the only thing I have that really does that 100 percent is it’s an Abies It’s a little Caucasian fir called ‘Golden Spreader,’ I think Abies nordmanniana is the genus and species A lot of other things are dulled down in the winter there are some conifers that actually become even more accentuated And one of them is a Pinus virginiana ‘Wates Golden’ [above] It’s kind of the Southern equivalent of our jack pine in northern New England And it can be a tree that gets to be perhaps 25 feet but it could be pruned even at something that was more like 15 or 20 feet and kept in scale in a smaller garden that’s an interesting one to look up because as I said I feel like it just gives me such a lift in the lower light season Warren: And if course there are some herbaceous groundcovers that also are bright gold One of my favorites is a golden form of sweet flag So a Japanese sweet flag is Acorus gramineus And so it’s a plant that is mostly associated with moist conditions and bog gardens but it’s actually very drought-tolerant and very evergreen makes a low groundcover the rabbits have been eating all of the sedges Margaret: I’m not a big rabbit lover over here they’re even eating woody plants to the ground Margaret: They don’t mutilate something Another thing that I love for the gold are some of the twig or shrub willows and dogwoods that have colorful twigs—that are deciduous and have colorful twigs in the winter and there’s this wonderful screaming thing Warren: There’s a couple of different forms of Salix alba and I was recently at Wave Hill in the Bronx and they had a display of both the willow as well And then they regenerate with wonderful wands of new growth that is brightly colored in the wintertime because all you do to maintain these plants—once you have the one I’m talking about is a multistem sort of pollarded so it’s like maybe five stems that are as tall as I am but then shooting up on top of those are 10 feet of these bright twigs It’s Salix ‘Britzensis’ that I have I think and that’s the coralbark willow or whatever is just take off that old colorful stuff—behead it depending on the level you’re talking about Then you have this lovely plant in the growing season Warren: There’s another small maple that also has bright yellow stems Acer negundo ‘Winter Lightning.’ And I saw that at the National Arboretum probably about 30 years ago The boxelder is a small tree and also can be pollarded and I have it planted with a white pine in the background Margaret: So you said something earlier on kind of about how we should be conscious and think about the areas of the garden that we do view at this time of year the axial views from key windows where we do sit or…  So how about some guidance from your designer self kind of building on what you said earlier about that if people or a client wants to enhance their winter garden small-scale trees that a lot will fit into fairly small landscapes and even fairly close to the house So Stewartia pseudocamellia with its wonderful mottled bark Of course it has camellia-like flowers that bloom the 4th of July But the winter aspect of stewartias are what you grow them for so you have it backlit in the late afternoon in the winter garden The other thing is we’ve talked about is evergreens So combining green plants on the ground plane and it could be as simple as Pachysandra terminalis Sometime it is frowned upon as being too common but the cultivar ‘Green Sheen’ has lacquered leaves And that was actually selected by a Connecticut nurseryman And ‘Green Sheen’ is luxurious as a groundcover So if you had a Stewartia and you underplanted it with something as simple as Pachysandra and then perhaps had another low-growing conifer or holly next to it Margaret: And the key with that is if you’re going to use ‘Green Sheen’ or any Pachysandra you’ve got to be… As Marco Stufano said to me a million years ago when I was lamenting some plant that was escaping its boundaries he gives me a lot of that baloney all the time because it’s a terrible invasive that will run up trees in the woods if you’re adjacent to woodlands It’s like we have to use it ethically besides witch-hazels: Mahonia bealyi [above] sometimes blooming even the end of December And the flower buds sometimes don’t open fully but will hold and then continue to open throughout the winter with the kind of a fireworks shaped inflorescence of yellow bell-like flowers Margaret: Speaking of things that get invasive in the Southeastern and Southern United States that one’s proven to be a woodland invader And this is where in each choice of a plant we all have to do our homework depending on where we garden and how we garden I believe Pacific Northwest species as well The Mahonias are an interesting group of plants but I’m glad to speak to you and meet you Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. I’ve recently been thinking about adding more winter color to my gardens For the past several years I’ve added more hellebores to my flower beds I have a coral bark maple that I adore and some blue and green evergreens I’m trying to find some orange or red to add I’m sure this book will give me many ideas Had to screen grab almost the whole conversation Looking to landscape a hillside at my new property and I thought the conversation was filled with ideas to consider for me My Edgeworthias in bloom are my favorite sight in my winter garden (silver tassel like buds growing larger by the day and just waiting for a warm spell to open the gold flowers and release that heavenly fragrance interesting cinnamon bark and trichotomous branching) Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’ whose berries start gold and are more coral by this time of year I have over 70 cultivars of Camellias including Koto no kaori in bloom with cold-hardy small pink fragrant flowers Snow Blizzard also pretty with tiny white flowers and pinkish buds Crimson Candles with pinkish red large buds) Higan flowering cherry which blooms off and on from October to April during warm spells early daffodils such as Rijnveld’s Early Sensation and February Gold Japanese coral bark maples ‘Bihou’ with gold-apricot bark and ‘Sango Kaku’ mottled bark on my Stewartias and Lagerstroemias (Crepe Myrtles) Oakleaf Hydrangeas with exfoliating cinnamon bark and still hanging onto some burgundy fall leaves I learned so much and feel so inspired to redesign my small plot….adding more winter eye-candy shrubs for me and the birds Can’t wait for the library to order Warren’s book I liked that someone spoke up for pachysandra it’s one of the best evergreen ground covers and for creating a background for other plants I used it to connect various planning areas including creating a ribbon of green to set off a rockwall where it’s planted it keeps soil moist and rich while where it stops is usually dryer and soil harder An entomologist in my Master Gardener class was asked about his favorite plant for pollinators To our group’s shock it wasn’t an Oregon native plant His answer was winter-blooming heather because it fed the bees on those warmer winter days Now I’m obsessed with getting some into my landscape…and also witch hazel after reading this interview Thanks for news of all your special winter views This has made me imagine my garden looking different in the winter I look forward to working on this for next year I love looking at my whole garden in winter but most of all I like my little greenhouse and dream of spring and another excellent garden A WAY TO GARDEN is the latest horticultural incarnation of me birthed in March 2008 with my own words as its primary DNA mingled with ideas shared in weekly expert interviews I have been the garden columnist for “The New York Times,” where I began my journalism career decades ago I host a public-radio podcast; I also teach online plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 6A garden and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants Design by Purr — The Garden Theatre is one step closer to opening its doors again after the Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved a business plan to reopen the former entertainment venue.  This comes after the theater shut down suddenly last October after the nonprofit that ran it dissolved The city worked with third-party consultant Alauna Friskics to put together this now approved recommendation Winter Garden officials will team up with a third-party company to share the responsibilities of running the theatre “I think we’ll have an opportunity that really focuses the theatre back on the community will have a variety of different options available for everybody to enjoy,” Winter Garden City Manager Jon Williams said Now begins the process of finding the right operations partner The empty marquee and vacant poster cases outside the Garden Theatre are hard for local actor Landon Summers to look at Having given up on his dreams of performing he fell in love with the theater shortly after moving to Winter Garden even starring in productions of "Big" and "Parade." like it brought back that spark in me,” said Summers That’s why it was so devastating when the theater made its final curtain call last year as the nonprofit that ran it cited financial issues Summers believes it left a huge hole in the community powerful venue for us all to come together and really participate in something that transcends human nature,” said Summers city leaders are taking steps to light up the stage again Commissioners will decide on approving a new business plan for the theater a consultant laid out three types of business models but is ultimately recommending the presenting model with limited rentals as this would allow them to find a company to manage the space while sharing the financial burden and control over the artistic product “I really hope that they reopen it and see the value that it adds,” said Summers the consultant recommends the theater stay away from fully run theater productions for at least the first year camps and classes as they are shorter and less costly events I’m totally fine with that if they want to wait a year but as long as there is a goal to bring it back I think that’s what matters,” said Summers he can’t wait for the next production that is held here “I would be first to sign up on that audition list,” said Summers Spectrum News reached out to city leaders ahead of tonight’s meeting they said they could not comment at this time Christie Zizo – A beloved community stage in Winter Garden will soon get a second act city leaders unanimously approved a plan to revive the historic venue — focusing on concerts You can read the full business plan at the bottom of the story and movies would also be part of the programming A third-party management company would work with the city on a calendar request process The plan would be to enter into a short-term agreement and then extend the deal based on how successful the plan is “It would be nice to still have it—perfect Winter Garden Garden Theater Business Plan by Christie Zizo on Scribd Christie joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021 Winter Garden Garden Theater Business Plan by Christie Zizo on Scribd WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — After hearing the concerns of dozens of residents during a community meeting Monday, officials with the city of Winter Garden said they may have to go back to the drawing board for a proposed Downtown Residential Overlay ordinance The community meeting was held Monday to hear from residents about the proposed ordinance which would limit the size of new construction or the expansion of existing structures in part of the city's Golf Cart District With close to 200 people attending the meeting to voice their opinions on the proposal it was standing room only at Winter Garden City Hall Dozens of those in attendance were given the opportunity to speak The meeting started with a presentation on the proposed ordinance by the city’s Planning and Zoning Division City officials said the goal of the ordinance is to preserve the character of the residential areas around the city's downtown area by limiting the size of buildings Ben Grossman said he has lived in Winter Garden for a little more than a year and is looking to start a family in his current home He wants to eventually expand his home from 1,000 square feet to about 1,600 square feet he’d only be able to expand to about 1,250 square feet “I think it pushes away a lot of young people," Grossman said And a lot of these regulations put caps on how large you can expand your home We’d like to have kids one day and have kids here but with our current spot and not being able to expand it would be pretty tough for us to stay here.” McWilliams said the large homes being built in the area are taking away from the “old timey” city she has called home And she said the construction has had other consequences as well.  We have dirt and a river," she said of water runoff from nearby properties "We had to take out flood insurance on our property for the first time ever this year because of the water problem that we are having There’s been five of these houses built in our neighborhood While some residents disagreed on the state of the city many agreed that the ordinance is too restrictive They said they hope the city can come up with a plan that can put caps on home size to keep the feel of Winter Garden while not putting undue restrictions on property owners who want to expand existing homes City officials said after the meeting that based on public input it’s obvious they need to go back to the drawing board They said they could revise the existing proposal or start over from scratch — Changes to how residents recycle in Winter Garden will take effect on Saturday after city officials announced they will no longer provide curbside pickup services after the new year there will be four drop-off sites to which people can take their recyclable materials The only location available in Winter Garden is AMT Recycling which will only take cardboard and paper products It’s a change that General Manager Eric Watts said he hopes doesn’t deter people from recycling in the area. According to the city’s website last year’s recycling program cost around $1 million they found that most of the recyclable materials were not being processed by residents properly and treated as trash The research found that only about 1% of recyclable materials were actually being recycled we have a customer right now coming through,” said Watt as he walked through the AMT plant for a close look at how drop-off and processing works “They will come in and drop off their cardboard and their paper We will take it to our back area where we process our cardboard and paper for processing.” Watts has been working in the recycling industry for more than a decade and says that he has seen the desire to recycle slowly dwindling With residents now having to drop the materials off themselves he hopes residents will keep in mind the importance of recycling and all the positive impacts it has on our environment There are always new and innovative ways to turn recyclable materials into new products it helps to be able to avoid going to the landfill,” Watts said he said he has already seen an increase in customers dropping off cardboard materials and he doesn’t see it being an issue to continue processing residents’ cardboard and paper materials going forward 4 will be the last day for curbside pickup There is a schedule listed on the city’s website that reflects when recycling bins will be picked up and residents are encouraged to check the schedule so they know when to put out the bins – Winter Garden will stop collecting recyclables next month The commission voted to end the program starting Jan Residents who want to recycle will have to find a collection location otherwise all waste must be disposed of through traditional trash services City leaders cited rising costs for collecting materials and issues with contamination If contaminated items are mixed in with recyclables it could lead to all of that waste ending up in a landfill because it’s not usable for recycling The contamination issue has led to local governments rethinking recycling programs around the country Need help understanding what items are recyclable and what aren’t? We have a story explaining it HERE on ClickOrlando.com. Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved — City officials in Winter Garden voted to enact an alcoholic beverage ordinance that will add restrictions for late-night alcohol sales throughout the city Even though certain provisions of ordinance No city officials recommended delaying certain sections including the hours of sale and the extension of hours permit The hours of sale section notes that the sale and consumption of alcohol will be limited to midnight unless the establishment has an approved extension of hours permit issued by the city The seven businesses that would be the most impacted given their hours of operations, would need to have an extension of hours permit in order to sell and consume alcohol until 2 a.m.  Some of the major changes made to the ordinance since the last reading include the extension of hours permit which only applies to on-premises drinking establishments Package sale vendors are exempt from the new hours of sale rule and can continue to sell alcohol from 7 a.m The city says it rewrote the suspension of extension of hours of permit section because of some concerns over the language being too vague It clarified that violations would include illegal activities (particularly related to drinking Any violation must be able to be traced back to that particular establishment in order to constitute a violation against that said establishment It also gives law enforcement discretion to issue warnings to any establishment in the event of a violation The city also announced a suspension procedure for the extension of hours permit announcing the addition of a 3-strikes policy The first noted violation would result in a warning the second in the city meeting with the business to create a mitigation plan to fix the issues.  the matter will be heard in front of the city’s code enforcement board to consider suspension If an establishment is suspended twice in a 12-month permit period then the city may recommend relocation for the remainder of the permit period Suspensions are not permanent and can be reinstated or restored during the next application cycle The city says this ordinance allows them to be more responsive to reported issues related to late-night alcohol consumption  This follows a claim that the city received persistent complaints from the public about issues related to the sale of alcohol by businesses after midnight City staff did not provide records of those complaints but they said there have been issues with trash in downtown and have video footage showing illegal activities who has owned Market to Table on West Plant Street since 2016 said an ordinance like this will hinder businesses like his I think that we shouldn’t want to lose that opportunity I mean you come but I mean people are going to lose the ability to do that,” he expressed Even though his restaurant is open from 5 p.m he says he works in conjunction with Pilars Martini and Loft located a few feet away from his restaurant by providing them food for their late-night service Pilars are among those seven businesses that will face late-night alcohol sale restrictions starting Jan The city believes this ordinance will encourage businesses to self-regulate and take the burden off of the city to use taxpayer funds to respond to these issues They add that the goal is to maintain public safety and foster a family-friendly environment throughout downtown and all of Winter Garden.  more: Winter Garden to continue discussing $300M projectProject could bring residential – The city of Winter Garden on Thursday approved a letter of intent to continue discussing a multi-use project that includes an open-air soccer stadium The proposed development includes an open-air soccer stadium with 5,000 seats and up to 10 acres of recreational fields and park areas [EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos] The project will be built on East Plant Street on the Strates Property Documents show the city plans to match the rest of Plant Street’s character design facilitating a “strong pedestrian environment” and a focus on public spaces to “generate a higher level of activity.” The proposal states the project includes a number of benefits to the community including bringing city-owned recreational areas open to the public opportunities for new senior affordable housing and bringing in jobs Federal Finance estimates a $300 million investment toward the project The 70-acre space is currently vacant with agriculture zoning allowing for potential in a variety of mixed-use development the city commission was recommended to continue negotiations with Federal Finance about the potential development of the property will take place at the Winter Garden Theatre My, my, how can we resist them? Complete casting has been announced for Mamma Mia! on Broadway, beginning performances at the Winter Garden Theatre on August 2 ahead of an August 14 opening Twenty-five members of the cast will make their Broadway debuts in the show returns to the same venue where it premiered in 2001 The beloved musical comedy follows a young woman who invites all three of her possible dads to her wedding — much to her mother's surprise — and is set to the songs of ABBA This production also reunites the original creative team: songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and sound designers Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken (Photos courtesy of production; Sherrill photo by Brandon Dahlquist Photography; Weaver photo by Croftography; Sakolove photo by Ricky Gee; Steele photo by Steven Scarpetti; Marnell photo by Curtis and Cort; Wallace photo by Hilary Jones; Reynolds photo by Carey Sheffield) You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy ____________________________________________ The Bella Vista by Emma Ruth Rundle is available via Unnamed Press Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature Masthead About Sign Up For Our Newsletters How to Pitch Lit Hub Privacy Policy Support Lit Hub - Become A Member Lit Hub has always brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall you'll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving — Winter Garden city commissioners are considering an ordinance that would put an end to the city’s recycling services city commissioners held the first hearing for the recycling ordinance and unanimously voted to carry it for a second hearing on Dec A six-part recycling project conducted by city officials revealed that about 7% of all waste that is collected by the city is actually recycled more than 85% of the recycled materials that Orange County had received were contaminated or not recyclable The proposed ordinance has already stirred mixed feelings among residents in the community While some say they’re willing to put in the extra work to maintain their recycling services others say they’re already doing their part and shouldn’t be reprimanded for the contamination of those materials and so one would anticipate that our loads would be growing as well," said Nicole Smith project manager in performance management for the city of Winter Garden over the course of the last five years we’ve actually seen a reduction (in recyclable loads) of about 22%."  Smith said one of the primary causes behind the reduction of recyclable loads is what she calls the "contamination factor." she said people aren’t properly disposing of their recyclable materials.  The city discovered that recycling bins were being used for general trash pick-ups rather than for actual recycling Smith determined that it’s costing the city of Winter Garden roughly $1 million to maintain and keep up with the rising costs of temporary labor and fleet operations She also said that city employees are required to put in a lot of overtime to cover the growing demand which also accounts for those rising costs A financial analysis drafted by the city indicates that tipping fees which includes the costs of taking those items to the landfill The temporary labor category makes up one of the largest cost for these services Smith said the cost of overtime for city employees has grown exponentially to $256,187 She says employees are all working 50-plus hours a week say they’d be willing to pay extra if it means they can keep recycling in their city.  we can reuse this stuff," Diane Rodriguez said "And if it costs us a little bit of money you’re not filling up our landfills." Diane and her husband Bill say they take the extra time to follow the instructions by rinsing containers and removing labels on select items But they realize not everyone is willing to do the same “I think you just need to re-educate people and maybe have some incentives that way they’re more inclined to do it,” Diane Rodriguez said said he believes citizens are already doing more than enough by simply recycling those raw materials “Why can’t they clean them up and decontaminate them?" Poster said "People are being good enough to realize that this stuff is recyclable Now they want people to clean it up." Smith said that residents who want to recycle will still have the option “There’s a local facility within Winter Garden boundaries that will accept cardboard paper and aluminum for no charge from residents and there are others throughout Central Florida that offer similar services,” Smith said Winter Garden citizens already pay for disposal of solid waste Smith said that if recycling services were to continue in Winter Garden there would have to be rate increases to cover the rising costs — The city was expected to discuss Thursday potentially approving a letter of intent to continue conversations and negotiations with a company called Federal Finance about a future development said the project is much more than just a soccer stadium for professional men’s and women’s soccer The proposed project would not only bring a pro soccer stadium but would also bring townhomes and a hotel Federal Finance is asking the city to streamline necessary zoning approvals and permits as well as exploring potential partnerships for necessary infrastructure improvements and city acquisition of property “We are looking to build a 3,500- to 5,000-seat multipurpose stadium that would host a professional men’s and women’s soccer team,” Bahaia said this will be a community asset," he said "We hope that this will enhance Winter Garden as a city and bring a family affordable team to the area We will be cognizant of the surrounding area and residents when it comes to traffic and future development.” Federal Finance is hoping that the city will vote to approve their letter of intent with the project, and start working on any requirements that are necessary for this project to be considered This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - There were new efforts underway Friday to revive Winter Garden's Garden Theatre — just days after its owners announced it was closing due to "financial challenges." The Facebook group “Save the Garden Theater!” — which has more than 250 members — has started working with the city and rest of the Winter Garden community with the goal of getting the theater back up and running The news of the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden taking its final curtain came as a shock to much of the community “I found out about Garden Theatre closing just like everybody else on Facebook," she said "I was scrolling through my phone and saw let’s get someone in here who can manage it properly a letter from a child performer could be seen pleading for the theater to open back up for her "Little Mermaid" play as the closure takes away access and an introduction for the next generation to the performing arts “If you take those things away from the next generation from the children who want to be a part of something like that it could be crippling for them," she said "We have to be mindful about keeping art organizations open but also make sure they are raising our children in a safe place." Jon Williams sent spectrum news a statement: “The City of Winter Garden became aware of the Garden Theatre announcing its closure at the same time as the public the city’s longstanding agreement with the theatre does not grant the city jurisdiction over its operations and finances the city did not have a role in the theatre’s decision to close its doors the city is looking into the legalities and ramifications of the closure and this process will take time what is certain is that the Garden Theatre is an important cultural resource for Winter Garden and Central Florida and the historical garden theatre will remain intact as a theatre.” who is a member of the Facebook group “Save the Garden Theater!” said it is important to keep community theater going in Winter Garden “There needs to be a call to the city of Winter Garden to consider the intentions of the next organization that takes over that space," she said "The next organization that takes over that space is going to have a huge responsibility to diversely cast and hire — meaning on-stage and behind-the-scenes and administration because it is their responsibility to represent the community that they should be serving." While the doors at the Garden Theatre remain closed Elliott said she hopes that won’t be the reality for much longer Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.