Protestors first gathered outside the Windermere vacation home of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Friday, the same day Chauvin was arrested in Minneapolis for the murder of George Floyd. They were there to peacefully protest, and that they did.

Among the protestors interviewed, one 23-year-old said, “You can only retweet so much,” and a 17-year-old said, “I’m tired of posting to social media.” Forty-eight-year-old Candice Hopkins said she took her 25-year-old son “to realize what he has to face.”

Of the several hundreds of people that protested Saturday, 17 were arrested, including eight in the Millenia Mall area where six businesses were apparently looted or defaced in some way.

On at least two occasions over the weekend, the police used tear gas to disperse crowds, once on Saturday night as protestors made their way across both sides of the 408 and again last night when attempting to walk up the off-ramp of I-4 at Ivanhoe and Garland.

At one point at yesterday’s protest at OPD, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón took a knee to pray with demonstrators. Last week, both denounced the actions of the Minneapolis officers, as did the president of the union that represents Orange County deputies.

In response to the protests, a curfew was enacted for Orange County from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. effective last night and until further notice. Officials in Lake County have since declared the same.

In other news… 

A new movie documenting the story of Florida’s “Highwaymen” plans to begin production in Orlando once COVID-19 plans allow. The movie will tell the true story of 25 black men and one black woman who overcame discrimination in segregated Florida in the 1960s by teaching themselves how to paint, and years later, were recognized as the “last great art movement of the 20th century”. (Orlando Sentinel)

Today officially kicks off hurricane season. Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration already predicted an “above-normal” 2020 hurricane season, with possibly two dozen tropical storms and three to six major hurricanes. Planning for hurricanes amid the coronavirus gets tricky fast, but Florida officials say we’re ready. (Click Orlando)

*As a friendly reminder, you can avoid sales tax on certain disaster-preparation items through Thursday as part of Florida’s hurricane prep tax-free holiday “weekend”. 

LGBTQ Pride Month also starts today, though events have all gone virtual. You can still celebrate locally by supporting your favorite LGBTQ+-owned businesses. We’d be happy to point you in the right direction. (Watermark Online, Yahoo)

The NBA hopes to ball again by July 31. Officials presented four return-to-play scenarios for this year’s season to the board in a conference call on Friday and each one features a different number of teams involved. (Orlando Sentinel)

It’s confirmed. The Salty Donut, a Miami-based coveted doughnut shop, will open in the old Gene’s Auto Service in Audubon Park later this year. When exactly is still TBD. (Bungalower)

Looking for COVID-19-related news? Keep scrolling. 👇

COVID-19 By the numbers 

📊 As of yesterday, there have been 56,163 positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Florida (up from 53,285 reported on Friday) and 2,451 deaths. There are 2,002 cases in Orange County, 699 in Osceola, 491 in Seminole, and 301 reported in Lake.

So far, 1.02 million tests have been conducted throughout the state and 5.5% of those tests have been positive. This means 965,186 tests have been negative for COVID-19.

It’s still not clear how many people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida. Our current numbers reflect retests.  

Things to know 

🏰  Gov. DeSantis approved reopening plans for Walt Disney World and SeaWorld on Friday. To recap, WDW will reopen in phases with Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom opening July 11, and Epcot and Hollywood Studios opening July 15. SeaWorld will open next Thursday and Universal is opening this Friday.

🎒  UCF will likely resume classes in the fall but could move to distance learning after Thanksgiving break in an attempt to lessen the potential spread of the coronavirus post-travel. It’s one of many reopening guidelines the university is considering.

🗣 The city of Winter Park released its next steps for reopening last week. Today, athletic fields, Cady Way and community center pools are reopening with restrictions. And the Winter Park Public Library reopens at noon with 25 percent capacity until further notice.

Testing 

😷  An analysis by Tampa Bay Times says Florida’s death toll from COVID-19 could be anywhere from 17 to 58 percent higher than what public numbers currently reveal.

😷  Orange County is again planning to hand out PPE to small businesses of 40 employees or less on Wednesday and Thursday. But first, interested parties need to register.

✅  Helpful resources:

• Florida Department of Health’s interactive map tracks data for COVID-19 down to the zip code.
• Both the city of Orlando and Orange County have sites dedicated to COVID-19.
• The CDC recommends wearing a mask when leaving the house — here are tips for making your own.
• If you’re struggling with mental health or addiction, call the United Way at 211.
• If your stay-at-home environment isn’t a healthy one, call Florida’s 24/7 abuse hotline at 1-800-962-2873.

This colorful guy was spotted at Lake Eola over the weekend, leaving people wondering WTF it was.

Apparently, these invasive “rainbow lizards” have been around the Sunshine State for years, and their footprint is growing as they’ve made their way from SoFla to Central Florida. The good news is they’re not much of a nuisance and are good for eating native insects. #themoreyouknow

Now, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, continue practicing safe physical distancing when you can, show empathy to your neighbors, and stand up for what you believe in, even if it just means advocating from home.

Be kind!

–Pulptown