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💘 It's a modern day Orlando love story
David Porter wants to help you understand public transit in Orlando and has committed his life to doing just that.
POINT A TO POINT B ☝️
As a New York native, if there’s one thing Orlandoan David Porter knows, it’s how to get around a city using public transit. Whether you’re riding SunRail or Lynx, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen Porter making his way about town. You could even be sitting in his favorite seat.
Porter has made it his mission to educate others on both the good and the bad, the agonizing and the awesome parts of using public transportation to get from point A to point B in Orlando. He does this through his first love, storytelling, and runs two blogs, SunRailRiders.com and LynxedTogether.com, to address your questions and concerns about public transit in our community.
When it comes to the system’s flaws, Porter doesn’t shy away from telling it like it is. He likens himself to an Orlando Magic fan: “You can be a fan of the team, but you can be really angry at something because you want them to win.”
Get to know Porter here.
And check out these other transit changemakers we’ve featured: Courtney Reynolds of reThink Your Commute and Dave Moran and Nathan Seikloff of Omnimodal. On Friday, we’ll introduce you to another changemaker in Orlando transportation that YOU nominated.
NEW LOOK, SAME COMMUNITY STORYTELLING 💁♀️
We're getting a new look you guys, and we want you to take it for a test drive. As a special perk, Pulptown members got to test our newsletter redesign first. Now we’d love feedback from more of our readers (that's you!). Just visit the “Account details” section of your account page, check "Help us test new features!" and save your changes. Then your Pulptown newsletter will arrive in your inbox with a fancy new design (don’t worry, you’ll get the same awesome content) and we’ll ask you for your feedback. *|IF:ISTESTER|* Already seeing our newsletter redesign? Tell us what you like or don’t like by hitting reply, and we’ll use your thoughts to make it even more fun to read every morning. *|END:IF|*‘WE MET AS TWO STRANGERS AND LEFT AS TWO LOVERS’ 💘
“A celebration of love amidst our differences”, that’s what love stories are made of, right? Thanks to Kelsey Evans-Amalu for sharing her 100-word love story with us. On a day that celebrates love, you are bringing us all the feels.
“We attended EDC Orlando as two strangers and left as two lovers. Peace, love, unity, and respect are the foundation of EDC and also the foundation of our relationship. It’s this foundation that has allowed us to overcome our race, ethnic, and religious differences and create a love story for the ages. Four years after EDC, our Nigerian-American wedding represented everything the city and EDC stand for– a celebration of love amidst our differences.”
Know someone who could totally relate to Kelsey’s story? Head on over to our Instagram page to tag ‘em in our doodle.
And if you’ve got a 100-word love story of your own to share, we’d love to hear it.
NEVER AGAIN 💔
One year ago today the usually gleeful Valentine’s Day turned into one of the most tragic mass shootings in our country’s history. And it happened only three and a half hours away from us just outside of Miami.
So what’s happened in the year since Parkland? There’s been increased movement to support assault weapon bans on both the state and federal level, the March for our Lives movement turned into a national rallying cry for voter registration, and students (and parents) from Marjory Stoneman Douglas have been able to wield new political sway.
Law enforcement agencies across the state have changed their procedures, and Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a grand jury investigation into the Broward school district’s handling of the shooting, along with putting additional funding for school safety in his proposed $91.3 billion budget.
Still, the anniversary has been a tough thing to reckon with — a feeling those affected by the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in 2016 are all too familiar with. After the outpouring of support Orlando received during that time, the city is paying it forward. An event will be held at Pulse today to remember the victims, and a banner with messages of support will be sent from Orlando to Parkland.
If you’re looking for mental health resources today, WLRN compiled a list here. We’re all in this together, Orlando.
In other news…
That’ll be a left swipe from us. George Zimmerman is on Bumble, though instead of noting the fact he was acquitted for the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, his profile says he can be found “playing basketball.” (Orlando Weekly)
Mark your calendars, because the Space Coast’s 2019 schedule is blasting off with rockets, astronauts, and moon landers. (Orlando Sentinel)
“Save the Bees” is among the specialty license plates the Legislature is considering this year — while “Orlando United” plates to honor Pulse victims remain up in the air. All proceeds would help pay for research at Florida’s new honeybee lab in Gainesville. (WDBO)
OUR PARTNER EVENTS
🎉 Saturday, Feb. 23: Grab your tickets to The All-Star Soccer Ball and celebrate all-stars in our community, hosted by The Orlando City Soccer Foundation (SeaWorld)
Want to partner with us? Here’s how that works.
IN AND AROUND TOWN 🆕
TODAY – Valentine’s Day!
🕯 Enjoy a candlelight dinner on the lake (SoDo/Edgewood)
🍫 Don’t miss this annual chocolate and beer pairing (Ivanhoe)
💘 “Celebrate the V” with lady babes like Blue Star (Ivanhoe)
🍻 A La Cart is celebrating V-day with tasty beers (East Colonial)
🍝 Get a tarot reading over dinner (Winter Park)
🍽 So many options, so little time (Winter Garden)
🍿 Grab a date for Love Actually (Maitland)
🍷 More wine and cheese, please (Thornton Park)
💘 Check out this V-day concert in the gardens (Audubon Park)
🖼 Through Sunday Nude Nite is back just in time for Valentine’s Day (West Colonial)
FRIDAY
🥪 Learn Orlando’s history over a quick lunch (Downtown)
🧘🏻♀️ Namaste under the stars (SoDo)
🍻 Through Sunday Don’t miss Rockpit Brewing’s soft opening (SoDo)
🛍 Through Sunday Get your antiquing on (Mt. Dora)
💃 Through Sunday Feel the heat at Orlando Ballet’s latest show (Ivanhoe)
🎉 Through Sunday Head to Boxi Park for opening weekend (Lake Nona)
SATURDAY
🎉 Attend the 5th annual Indie-Folkfest (Loch Haven)
🌶 Orlando Chili Cook-Off is back (East Colonial)
🧘🏻♀️ Grab your partner for this Thai massage + wine date (Thornton Park)
🎶 Check out Matt and Kim at The Beacham (Downtown)
SUNDAY
🇨🇳 Celebrate the Year of the Pig with a parade and festival (Mills 50)
🌽 Kick back and relax with some vegan soul food (SoDo)
🍦 Go ahead, eat ice cream for breakfast. It’s a thing (Delaney Park)
🍾 Mingle with singles at this boozy brunch (Lake Nona)
MONDAY
🧘🏻♀️ Namaste in Shavasana? (Thornton Park) 🆕
🎸 If you’re even a little bit of a Jimi Hendrix fan, watch this film (Maitland) 🆕
🎥 Talk about a winning combo: Harry Potter + (Orlan) Doughnuts (East Colonial) 🆕
❓ Honestly, who remembers the ‘90s better than you? (Sanford) 🆕
🗣 Remember Carol Burnett? She’s in town (Downtown) 🆕
Going to one of these? Take us with you! Email a pic to hello@pulp.town or tag #pulptown on Instagram. See more upcoming events on our events page, and COMING SOON add your own events with a Pulptown membership.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR 💘
And we just want to send an extra special shoutout to YOU guys, because without you, this little scrappy newsletter wouldn’t be possible, and for that, we are forever grateful.
Today and every day is a good day to love yourself and each other, Orlando,
Our hearts are full,
— Pulptown