by Beth Kassab | Jan 24, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety, Uncategorized
Winter Park Church's 'Everyone is Welcome' Banner Cut Down and Set on Fire in Apparent Hate Crime
The incident at First Congregational Church of Winter Park happened earlier this week and appeared to target the church’s welcoming stance toward LGBTQ rights
Jan. 24, 2026
By Beth Kassab
A potential hate crime is under investigation after a banner in front of First Congregational Church of Winter Park with the words “Everyone is welcome here” on a sky blue background and a rainbow flag was cut down by an unidentified man with a knife, placed at the sanctuary door and lit on fire.
The incident happened just before midnight on Tuesday and was caught on security camera footage, said Senior Minister Shawn Garvey, who said he was grateful that a passerby noticed the flames just a few minutes later and called Winter Park Fire Rescue.
A pile of ash remained in front of the doors to the church after the banner fire was extinguished by Winter Park Fire Rescue. (Photos courtesy of First Congregational Church of Winter Park)
“The Fire Department was right there and put it out quickly,” he said. “It could have been worse … at that time of day nobody was on property.”
A pile of ash was left in front of the smoke-stained and heat-damaged white double-doors of the sanctuary. The empty frame that held the banner still stood on the church’s lawn along Interlachen Avenue.
Winter Park Police are investigating, he said, what appeared to be a hate crime against the church’s open and supportive message toward LGBTQ members and the larger community. Winter Park Police could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
The church first added the banner to its lawn around Easter of last year.
“Regrettably in the history of our church, dealing with expressions of hate like that are nothing new,” Garvey said.
The Ku Klux Klan burned a cross on the lawn of the church’s former parsonage (across the street from where the Alfond Inn stands today) in the early 1950’s in response to a sermon that made a case for desegregation in Florida. The church was founded 1884 by New England abolitionists as part of the United Church of Christ, and its members founded Rollins College. It served as a gathering spot for Rollins President Hamilton Holt and Civil Rights leaders like Harry T. Moore and Mary McLeod Bethune to rally against segregation.
More recently, Garvey said, the church saw 50 people line its sidewalk during worship about eight years ago to protest the church because members supported the right to abortion and other reproductive rights. And in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, he said he received angry phone calls about a sign at the church that expressed solidarity with those impacted by Floyd’s death.
An empty frames stands in front of the church from where the “Everyone is welcome here” banner was cut down.
Garvey said the church’s social justice history is an important part of its fabric.
“Even though it’s sometimes scary and upsetting we still feel called to follow that history,” he said of the congregation that has about 350 members. “The gospel of Jesus speaks strongly to being a voice for the voiceless.”
The church’s web site states that “all of the baptized ‘belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ No matter who – no matter what – no matter where we are on life’s journey – notwithstanding race, gender, sexual orientation, class or creed – we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith.”
More than 140 years into the church’s history, he said, some core challenges remain the same.
“As far as we’ve come and all the work we do, hate is just hate and insecurity is insecurity,” he said.
The video footage captured Tuesday by new security cameras the church installed just weeks before does not show a clear image of the face of the man who cut the banner, which had stood on the church lawn since Easter, and lit the fire. He was wearing a black baseball cap.
He appeared to approach the church on foot from the north and walked directly toward the banner. When a car passed by, he appeared to briefly pretend to be on his phone, before continuing toward the banner where he cut it with a knife and then approached the sanctuary doors to light the fire, Garvey said.
At Sunday’s service, Garvey plans to address the incident and share a number of supportive messages, including one from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, he’s received in recent days.
He said people are expressing heartbreak and anger over what happened. But also pride at the church’s presence in the community.
During times like this, Garvey said, the church can “often feel like an island, but we’re not.”
The membership will take up a discussion to determine how or if the “Everyone is welcome here” banner is replaced.
“In our years together since I came to be with you, we’ve gone through a lot,” he told the congregation in an email on Friday. “Through all of it, we have remained strong and grown stronger in our faith and in our commitment to one another. This week is yet another thread of the ongoing tapestry of what we truly are as this church and always have been throughout our history here in Winter Park. We will continue to be the inclusive, loving presence of God as we know it through Jesus and not allow events like this week to deter or frighten us.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 15, 2026 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Schools
Have Complaints about Electric Scooters and Bikes? Meeting Scheduled for Next Month
Plus Blue Bamboo’s leader offered a short update on the group’s financial status in the wake of multiple changes at the organization operating at the city’s old library
Jan. 15, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Residents who have questions or concerns about safety related to electric bikes and scooters, which have soared in popularity in recent years, are invited to attend a community meeting at Winter Park Community Center on Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
The meeting comes in the wake of a rising number of accidents and concerns surrounding the motorized devices that are increasingly common in and around school campuses.
Commissioner Craig Russell, who is also a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School, has taken the lead on the topic with a series of safety videos aimed at students and parents and, now, plans for a larger community discussion.
Russell said at Wednesday’s City Commission session that the meeting in February will be about sharing the facts and providing any available updates on the Legislative session, where a proposal (HB 243 and SB 382) is being debated that would put more regulations on e-bikes and scooters and their often young drivers.
“I just want to continue with our public safety effort,” Russell said. “It’s not going to be me telling parents what to do. It’s an informational session.”
The Voice reported last month that Orange County School Board members tossed around potential new regulations such as requiring licenses, training and speed limits at a meeting in November.
Since 2017, electric scooter injuries in the U.S. have surged by 400%, with Florida being a top state in emergency room visits for such injuries, staff told board members, citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These accidents have more than doubled since 2023 for children under 15.
Update on Blue Bamboo
Commissioners heard an update on Wednesday from Jeff Flowers, who is leading the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts project that is leasing the city’s old library building.
The group’s founder Chris Cortez died last month after a short illness with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
Flowers, a chemist and arts philanthropist who served two stints on the Maitland City Council, noted the challenges the group has faced with the loss of Cortez and difficulty finding tenants for the second and third floors of the building. He said there have been three “very serious” sublease prospects, but no deals yet.
“We are in serious discussions now with another,” he said. “It’s not there yet, but it looks good.”
He said the Blue Bamboo tallied 8,300 people attending shows over the past six months and $180,000 in ticket sales. He said revenue totaled about $340,000 including concession sales and donations.
The Blue Bamboo is required to pay the city $132,000 a year in rent for the building, an amount scheduled to rise to $276,000 next year, according to the lease agreement.
The group has access to a $900,000 grant from Orange County for additional work on the building, but is required to raise matching funds and was counting on help in the form of fundraising and rent from Central Florida Vocal Arts before that group walked away from the deal in August when it was not satisfied by the terms of the sublease offered by Blue Bamboo.
Flowers has loaned Blue Bamboo more than $1 million so far to retrofit the first floor of the building into a performance space and other work.
“The message is look, the Blue Bamboo is here to stay,” Flowers told the commission. “We’ve surmounted every barrier thrown at us.”
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio thanked Flowers for appearing at the meeting and quickly moved on to the next topic after no other commissioners offered any comments or asked any questions.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
CORRECTION: The original version of this story included the wrong location and time for the meeting on e-bikes and scooters. The meeting will be held at Winter Park Community Center at 5:30 p.m.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 13, 2026 | Election, News
News Collaborative of Central Florida Receives $50K to Support Continued Growth
The group, which includes the Winter Park Voice, also hired its first project manager
Jan. 13, 2026
Staff Report
News Collaborative of Central Florida (NCCF), a collective of independent local news outlets and aligned partners working toward a more informed and engaged Central Florida, is announcing the next phase in its evolving service to the region. NCCF launched publicly in January of 2025 to collaborate on reporting about the local impacts of Florida’s Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping law (House Bill 1365). Over 100 stories were shared, amplifying reach of this vital reporting to residents.
That success has now been met with a combined $50,000 in funding from Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub (the Hub) and Central Florida Foundation, fueling the Collaborative’s next phase of growth. As part of this evolution, NCCF has onboarded its first dedicated team member, and in 2026, NCCF partners will pool their resources to provide comprehensive coverage of this year’s elections.
Erica Rodriguez Kight
“Our first year made it clear that collaborative journalism works, and we’re ready to take on elections coverage – made possible by the support from Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub and Central Florida Foundation,” says Judith Smelser, NCCF’s first task force chair and Central Florida Public Media’s president and general manager. “Ongoing community support is essential to sustaining this unique journalism model and ensuring it can continue delivering impactful reporting year over year.”
NCCF has contracted with Erica Rodriguez Kight as a dedicated project manager to establish governance, coordinate communication across partner organizations and support community engagement efforts that bring residents into the reporting process. Erica is the assistant director for mass media at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida, where she’s also an associate lecturer in journalism and media production. Her background includes reporting roles at The Bradenton Herald and ABC affiliate WCJB-TV and a reporting fellowship with Cortico AI.
“Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub provides comprehensive support to journalism collaboratives across the U.S.,” says Amy Maestas, director of Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub. “News Collaborative of Central Florida is the first of 20 collaboratives the Hub will support over the next five years to advance the field of collaborative journalism. NCCF is a strong and dedicated group of media and community organizations that are willing to evolve from a competitive mindset to collaboration as a commitment to bringing stronger journalism to their communities. We look forward to being a resource as they join the robust and growing practice of collaborative journalism in the U.S.”
Beth Kassab
Central Florida Foundation serves as a convener, operational advisor and fiscal sponsor for NCCF and is an independent, trusted bridge builder across the journalism ecosystem. As the initial charitable investor in this emerging journalism model, Central Florida Foundation is proud to support local media coming together to better serve the region.
“This collaboration of journalists comes online at a critical moment, when Central Floridians are facing important decisions. By bringing together a more diverse group of journalists committed to helping residents understand what they are voting on, the News Collaborative of Central Florida plays an important role in strengthening our community,” says Mark Brewer, president and CEO, Central Florida Foundation. “Central Florida Foundation has a long history of supporting civic engagement, and local media is a vital pillar of a healthy, civically engaged region.”
The Winter Park Voice is contributing reporting and editing to provide resources and information to empower readers in Winter Park to be more engaged Central Florida residents.
“We know how much our readers value trustworthy news about their city and we are excited to bring them even more information about the 2026 ballots through the next phase of this partnership,” said Beth Kassab, editor of the Voice. “As a small nonprofit devoted to local news, we believe collaborations like this one are the way forward to keep credible, fact-based and independently-vetted information accessible to our community.”
Together, the media outlets participating in NCCF will be able to dig deeper into important local issues, cover more candidates and races and engage more community members.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 7, 2026 | City Commission, News, Zoning and Development
Mixed-Use Development Proposed for DePugh Nursing Center Site
The new project by Z Properties will include commercial and residential elements on the prominent corner of Morse and Pennsylvania. The nursing center closed last year.
Jan. 7, 2026
By Beth Kassab
The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center, which closed in the fall after 70 years, will be demolished and replaced with a “flexible, mixed-use environment offering modular opportunities to purchase space” along with a residential component, according to an announcement on Wednesday by Z Properties.
The Winter Park-based development and design firm led by Zane and Emily Williams said in a news release that the residential portion is still in the early planning. The commercial part of the development will look for a mix of “professional, creative, retail, hospitality and service-oriented businesses, with generous ceiling heights, thoughtfully-designed interiors and flexibility to support a range of uses.”
Zane Williams, who did not immediately respond to an interview request, acknowledged the prominence of the corner at 550 W. Morse Boulevard near Pennsylvania Avenue, and the potential for the new buildings to “set the tone” as visitors enter downtown Winter Park via Morse.
“Our goal here, as always, is to develop with intention and care, and to add beauty to our surroundings,” Williams said in the release. “This is a special corner, and we feel a responsibility to create something locals and visitors will pass by and think, ‘That feels right.’”
The new development will bring further change for the historically Black neighborhood west of Park Avenue that dates back to the city’s founding. The area has undergone significant gentrification over the past 25 years with the redevelopment of Hannibal Square and a number of larger homes replacing small, single-story houses.
The DePugh center opened in 1956 as the first state-approved nursing home where aging Black residents could seek care during segregation. The center was named for Mary Lee DePugh, who moved to Winter Park in 1937 to work for a white family she knew from the Chicago area and began advocating to provide health care to those in need as part of her work with the Ideal Woman’s Club, which she founded on the west side of the city. She died before the center opened.
Leaders of the Center decided to close it because of rising operating costs.
Z Properties applied for a demolition permit in October, said city Planning & Zoning Director Allison McGillis. The permit is likely to be approved because the building is not historically designated.
A representative of the firm said renderings of the proposed project will be available in the coming months.
A portion of the Palmetto Grove work spaces by Z Properties near Seven Oaks Park. The project, which refurbished older buildings, recently won praise from City Commission members. (Photo courtesy of Z Properties)
Williams said in the release that one unique aspect of the plan will be the option for business owners to also own a physical space.
“There are so many business owners who dream of designing and owning their own building in the same way people dream of building their homes,” he said. “Ownership allows you to establish permanence, identity, and control of your space — this project is about making that a reality.”
Z Properties is partnering with Stream Realty on the development.
“It’s exceptionally rare to come across the opportunity to own custom-designed commercial space in Winter Park,” Darryl Hoffman, executive vice president at Stream Realty, said in the news release. “We’re thrilled to partner with Zane on this first-of-its-kind development for the area.”
Z Properties recently received praise from the City Commission related to its makeover of workspaces near Seven Oaks Park known as Palmetto Grove along Palmetto Avenue. The buildings were refurbished to have an elevated, high-end look not far off of Orange Avenue where the city is working to improve one of its gateways.
The release said the team is aiming for completion of the project on the DePugh site in 2027 and will unveil its name and more details in the near future.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 6, 2026 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News
Construction on Park Avenue Will Begin this Month Starting on the North End
The estimated $8.5 million project will upgrade technology and aesthetics along the busy shopping and dining district
Jan. 6, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Construction will begin later this month on the first major overhaul in 25 years of Park Avenue’s aesthetics and technology — a project known as the Park Avenue Refresh that will include nearly $1 million worth of new streetlights and a total price tag estimated at $8.5 million over the next three years.
Workers began some tasks last year as the city prepared to launch Phase 1 construction this month. (Photo courtesy of the city of Winter Park)
The work on the first of the three project phases is slated to start Jan. 20 on the north end of the avenue and run from Webster Avenue, near the University Club of Winter Park and the city’s nine-hole golf course to Garfield Avenue along the northern border of Central Park.
The stretch includes the Morse Museum, which houses a large collection of glass windows, lamps, jewelry and other delicate work by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and museum leadership has expressed concerns about potential vibrations from construction, Clarissa Howard, the Refresh’s project manager, told the City Commission last month.
Howard said city staff is working with the museum and others along the stretch such as St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, which also runs a school with busy drop-off and pick-up times, to minimize disruptions from the construction.
“Fortunately, our project will not be using jack hammers or equipment that would create that type of severe vibrations that could cause damage to the fragile glass,” Howard said in an email. “We are very sensitive to the fragility of the museum’s pieces so we are working closely with them on our construction schedule and activity. We were asked by the museum team to do our work around the museum during the day so they could have staff on standby to keep an eye out for their pieces during construction.”
The new streetlights, which the commission voted in April to purchase for nearly $1 million, include “dark sky” lamp fixtures that cast LED lights downward, wi-fi receivers, electric hook-ups for cameras and speakers and internal sprinklers for potted plants that will hang from the fixtures. The new cameras on the north end of Park Avenue are for security and will allow law enforcement to obtain footage of incidents for a period of time if needed.
In addition to the new light poles, the avenue will get some noticeable upgrades in the form of new oak trees, new sidewalks, repairs to raised planter beds, new potted plants, new trash and recycling bins and bollards or short posts designed to prevent cars from encroaching on the sidewalks. Other work will be done underground to wire the new lights and irrigation system, help contain tree roots and address stormwater runoff concerns.
A new sign arches above the north end of Park Avenue near where the Refresh project is slated to begin later this month.
Some work will be done overnight to minimize disruptions to shops and businesses, which rely on foot traffic along one of the region’s busiest shopping and dining hubs.
Last year downtown Winter Park logged more than 1.3 million visitors, according to a city count.
Construction on Phase 2 of the project will start in 2027 and run from Garfield to New England Avenue.
Alex Stringfellow, who serves as the urban planner for the project, said the next phase will be mindful of coordinatization around the considerable space occupied by cafe tables along the sidewalks as well as maintaining the health of the oak tree in front of Briarpatch, the largest along the avenue.
Phase 3 will begin in 2028 and run from New England to Fairbanks Avenue.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 31, 2025 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Schools
Are Electric Scooters and Bikes Too Dangerous for Schools?
Orange School Board members and Winter Park officials say more safety measures are needed
Dec. 31, 2025
By Tilly Raij
Stricter rules over electric scooters and bikes on school campuses – or even a temporary ban — are slated for discussion next month as officials from Orange County Public Schools and Winter Park grapple with soaring injuries and accidents attributed to the high-speed vehicles.
School board members tossed around potential new regulations such as requiring licenses, training and speed limits at a meeting in November. Stephanie Vanos, the member who represents District 6, which includes Winter Park, said she recognized that regulations involving the devices can be challenging to carry out.
“It’s hard to enforce speed when some of these don’t even have speedometers. It’s hard to enforce licensure because they come from anywhere,” said Vanos, who raised the idea of a temporary ban of electric scooters and similar devices until a more complete evaluation of the situation is done.
OCPS Superintendent Maria Vasquez suggested a ban could be the easiest way to enhance safety without shouldering school staff with the extra work of enforcing new rules while a larger safety plan is explored.
“…I don’t think we want to prohibit them on our campuses, but if we’re looking at the conditions that currently exist, that’s probably the one action we can take that doesn’t add more burden to our staff while we are looking at other options,” Vasquez said.
The comments came in response to a presentation last month from Joe Silvestris, who leads the school district’s Office of Safety and Emergency Management.
An OCPS presentation detailed the different devices students are commonly using on campuses.
Since 2017, electric scooter injuries in the U.S. have surged by 400%, with Florida being a top state in emergency room visits for such injuries, Silvestris told the school board at a November work session, citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These accidents have more than doubled since 2023 for children under 15, he said.
Lack of helmets, poor infrastructure, and rider inexperience and poor behavior were some common causes of scooter-related trauma that Silvestris listed. It was also noted that collisions involving distracted drivers, particularly newly licensed high schoolers, are prevalent on OCPS campuses. The district has previously provided guidance on these vehicles in the Deputy Superintendent Newsletter and on ParentSquare, an app used to send messages to families. The district has also partnered with Bike/Walk Central Florida to deliver safety presentations in schools.
But electric bikes and scooters are so common now that some school and city officials say more is needed.
Winter Park City Commissioner Craig Russell, who is a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School, said he has seen first-hand the dangers of electric scooter accidents and has worked with Winter Park Police on a safety campaign aimed at students and parents.
“A student in my class now has to withdraw and do Hospital Homebound because he was hit by a car [while] riding his e-scooter,” Russell said. “I think as a community we need to learn more about the scooters as a tool. We have to empower ourselves with knowledge of not only how to operate them, but how to teach our kids how to operate them properly and know the rules of the road.”
While some policy makers are worried about the dangers of electric scooters and bikes, many students see them as an essential part of daily life to get to school, work, sports practice and other activities.
“They’re not dangerous because if you really know what you’re doing and if you’re aware of your surroundings, you really can’t go wrong,” said Marco Malave, a sophomore at Winter Park High who uses his e-scooter to get to school and extracurricular activities. Although Malave has had accidents with his scooter before, he doesn’t believe licensing or a ban are needed as long as simple rules are created to “keep everyone safe.”
School Board member Alicia Farrant, who represents District 3, which runs from downtown Orlando south to near Walt Disney World, questioned the idea of a ban at the November meeting and suggested more safety education would suffice.
“As the school district, our place here is really to educate parents, educate the community on what is happening…but I don’t know that it is our duty as a school district to eliminate something completely, and I would be more in favor with each school having more of a say in…their area,” Farrant said.
District 2 member Maria Salamanca, who represents Lake Nona, advocated for rules governing scooters and bikes to be added to the OCPS Code of Student Conduct, which currently doesn’t mention the motorized devices.
“I have seen a really large uptick of very dangerous accidents with scooters on the way to school and very near to campus,” Salamanca said. “I think one of the things I’m seeing a lot, specifically in high school as well, is very young drivers who are distracted and then very fast scooters who are on their phone, and they crash in or around campus.”
Board Chair Teresa Jacobs expressed the need for a thorough course of action if rules are not followed.
“I would look along the lines of what is already not allowed, increase the limitations hopefully at a statewide level, and then use the authority of our Code of Student Conduct to put in place consequences for those students who are violating those,” she said.
When the Florida Legislature convenes in January, at least one member is already pushing a bill to require operators of high-speed versions of the devices hold a license and pushes for other safety measures like collecting and maintaining data on electric scooter and bike accidents.
Under HB 243 filed by Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Naples, operators of Class 3 e-bikes, which can go up to 28 miles per hour, would be required to have a learner’s permit or driver’s license.
“I filed this bill because government’s first duty is to protect the people,” Benarroch said, according to the Florida House’s informational page about the bill. “Freedom comes with responsibility, and when public safety is at risk, we have a duty to act. Guided by the Constitution and common sense, this bill protects lives, preserves liberty, and does what’s right for all Floridians.”
Potential new rules for school campuses are expected to be discussed at a meeting for Orange County principals in January. And Russell is planning a community meeting for parents and students in Winter Park.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
Tilly Raij is a sophomore at Winter Park High School. Her work has been published in The Community Paper, J Life Magazine and The Wildcat Chronicle.
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