3 dead, multiple injuries in fiery multi-vehicle wreck on I-40 near McGee's Crossroads in North Carolina

The driver of the utility truck failed to slow down as the truck approached stopped traffic. It struck several vehicles, causing a chain reaction of crashes.

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article217517215.html#storylink=cpy

Benson, N.C. —


Interstate 40 reopened near McGee’s Crossroads in Johnston County Wednesday evening, following a fatal multi-vehicle crash on Wednesday afternoon.

Sky 5 flew over the scene at about 4 p.m. and showed that one of the westbound lanes had reopened. The remainder of the road reopened at about 7:15 p.m.

According to authorities, three people were killed in the fiery crash, which occurred just after 12 p.m. in the eastbound lanes. Emergency crews had to close the westbound lanes to access the scene. The crash involved a tractor-trailer and two passenger cars near mile marker 319, authorities said. Authorities said the names of the victims are being withheld until next of kin can be notified.

The crash started as a crash with one car in the median, authorities said. While traffic was slowing down, several vehicles collided, including a 10-wheeled lumber truck, a tractor trailer and as many as six other cars.

The lumber truck ended up in a ravine.

Charges are expected to be filed, troopers said.

The United States has one of the deadliest roads in the world with more than 40,000 people getting killed and millions injured every year. 

==============================



3 dead, multiple people injured in wreck that closed I-40 in Johnston County


By Thomasi McDonald

tmcdonald@newsobserver.com


August 29, 2018


Three people died and multiple people were injured in a wreck on Interstate 40 in Johnston County on Wednesday, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

The crash, which happened just after noon near exit 319, involved nine vehicles, including a tractor-trailer and a flatbed truck that was hauling lumber, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael Baker.

State troopers were nearby investigating a separate crash in the eastbound lanes of the interstate when they were alerted about the multi-vehicle accident.  

Baker said the driver of the utility truck failed to slow down as the truck approached stopped traffic. It struck several vehicles, causing a chain reaction of crashes.

“I do not have an accurate count of how many injuries at this time,” Baker wrote in an email to The News & Observer late Wednesday afternoon.

Baker said just before 4 p.m. Wednesday that two people had died. He told The News & Observer around 8:45 p.m. that a third person was dead.

I-40 was closed in both directions for hours after the crash.

The DOT advised motorists to find an alternate route during the afternoon commute.

Pump truck operator, Peter Rodriguez, 50, working for Brownies Septic and Plumbing, arrested for dumping over 10,000 pounds of used cooking oil in a vacant lot in Davenport, Florida

DAVENPORT, Fla. (WFLA) - 

Polk County Sheriff's Office Agricultural Crimes detectives arrested a man for dumping around 10,000 gallons of used cooking oil in a vacant lot in Davenport.

Peter Rodriguez, 50, is facing charges in the largest spill ever found in Polk County.

Polk County Fire Rescue/Hazmat, ACT, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Hazmat Teams responded to the area of Sand Mine Road and Hwy 27 to assist deputies.

Walgreens and Duke Energy own the adjoining property where the "oil sludge" was found.

According to an arrest affidavit, deputies found a pump truck near the scene where the used oil was leaking from a drain spout.

Deputies determined the truck was owned by Brownies Septic and Plumbing and Rodriguez was the operator.

Rodriguez admitted to dumping the sludge, but said he had to do it to "keep his job."

Brownies Representatives told deputies they're not sure why Rodriguez dumped the oil, as the oil is picked up from various locations and disposed of at a business in Orlando, where it is refined and sold.

Rodriguez has been released from jail on two counts of commercial dumping on a $2,000 bond.
=============================



Florida Man Spills 10,000 Pounds of Cooking Oil Causing Environmental Nightmare

By M Rafiq August 28, 2018


 
A 50 year old man was arrested on Tuesday after he confessed to the police that he was responsible for dumping over 10,000 pounds of used cooking oil in a vacant lot in Davenport, Florida.



(Newswire.net -- August 28, 2018) --A 50 year old man was arrested on Tuesday after he confessed to the police that he was responsible for dumping over 10,000 pounds of used cooking oil in a vacant lot in Davenport, Florida. The result was a huge mess that accumulated in the empty lot near Sand Mine Road and U.S. Highway 27. According to county authorities and ACT Environmental, the company which assisted with the cleanup, the spill was the largest ever recorded in Polk County.

Polk County Fire Rescue/Hazmat, ACT Environmental, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Hazmat Teams responded to the disaster. According to Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd, Hazmat tested the sludge and determined it was not hazardous to the public.

Investigators traced the spill back to a pump truck that was discovered in close proximity to the scene. Agricultural Crimes detectives arrested the truck operator, Peter Rodriguez, charging him with two counts of commercial dumping.

Rodriguez admitted that he dumped the oil but explained that he was forced to do it, otherwise he claimed that he would have lost his job working for Brownies Septic and Plumbing. The company is, however, strongly denying this claim. Company representatives explained that the used cooking oil is regularly picked up and disposed of in Orlando, Florida where it is later sold and used for other purposes. As such, there was no reason for Rodriguez to dump it in the lot.

Rodriguez has been released from jail on a $2,000 bond.

Animal fats and vegetable oils are regulated under 40 CFR 112 as these oils can be highly detrimental to the environment in a very similar way as petroleum oils. Oil can coat, smother and kill animals and plants; form toxic byproducts; destroy food supplies, aquatic life, wildlife habitats and breeding grounds; emit putrid smells, be flammable and contaminate water supplies, among other devastating effects.

Additionally, when animal fats and oils inevitably drip into the pipes and sewage lines, huge plumbing problems can result. When the oil mixes with the sewage water it can contribute to giant blobs consisting of wastewater, leftover grease, debris, and chemicals and biological components that consolidate below ground in city sewers. The resulting congealed buildup, called a fatberg, continues to grow and can eventually result in a large scale failure of a city’s sewage system. The situation and the resulting damage is highly exacerbated when it includes large amounts of oil.

Metropolitan Engineering Consulting and Forensics stresses that it takes a qualified technician to find the source of the problem and correct it as hard to locate areas where drain stoppages can frequently occur are in the fixture trap, in the main drain, in the sharp bends and direction changes of the sub pipelines, and deep in the sewer line. According to a recent review of the subject, fatbergs are believed to be the cause of about 47% of the approximately 36,000 sewer overflows that occur annually in the U.S.

5.04 million gallons of crude oil caught on fire at the Plains All American Pipeline Tank farm in Wichita Falls, Texas

Plains All American says operations resumed after Wichita Falls, Texas tank fire

Aug 29 (Reuters) - 

Plains All American Pipeline on Wednesday said fire on a crude oil storage tank east of Wichita Falls, Texas was extinguished and the terminal and connecting pipelines have resumed operations.

The fire, which broke out on Tuesday morning, on a roof seal of a crude oil storage tank at the Wichita Falls Station was extinguished safely around midnight, the company said in a statement.

Wichita Falls is a crude injection point in north Texas along Plain’s Basin Pipeline, which runs from the Permian Basin that to the oil storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma. 

==================================




WICHITA COUNTY, Tx (RNN Texoma) -

The Wichita Falls Fire Department says a crude oil tank fire was extinguished just after midnight on Wednesday.

Plains All American Pipeline officials say just before 8 a.m., the fire was discovered on a 60-foot tank at the station on the 2100 block of Harding Street.

All personnel and contractors have been accounted for and the staff is working with first responders, according to officials.

According to WFFD officials, 5.04 million gallons of crude oil caught on fire.

Crews almost had the fire out using foam but it reignited and around 10:30 a.m. had burned between 6 and 8 feet of crude oil from the tank, according to the WFFD.

Firefighters had to be pulled off because there is only one narrow catwalk without a railing to get to the top of the tank and there was not enough foam to keep it down, according to the WFFD.

A call for more foam and trucks that specialize in these type of fires was made and crews are on their way from Houston and Beaumont.

Air levels in the area are being monitored in the event toxins pollute the air too much where it would be unsafe. No injuries have been reported.

The road will remain blocked off until the fire is extinguished, which could take a day or two, according to WFFD. There is no threat of an explosion, according to WFFD officials.

Mark Kennedy, who lives near the tank said he is worried about his property and his neighbor's.

"This right here is kind of scary, because it's got crude oil and all that, and I don't know how many gallons are in there," said Kennedy. "If the wind changes all we need is one spark."

Wichita Falls fire crews said they believe during the replacement of the vapor seal on the tank the crude oil inside it caught on fire.
===============================

Wichita Falls Fire responds to a hazmat fire east of Wichita Falls

By:
Nicholas Quallich


Updated: Aug 29, 2018 11:00 AM CDT

  

WICHITA COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) - UPDATE:

As off 11 am Wednesday, the fire has been confirmed out.

According to a Wichita Falls volunteer firefighter, the tank fire was "under control" around 12 a.m. Wednesday.

Original:

15 Wichita Falls fire crews, including more than 20 off-duty firefighters, plus Sheppard Air Force Base firefighters, responded to the Plains All American Pipeline Tank off Harding Street, east of Wichita Falls.

In a statement to KFDX, Wichita Falls Fire Marshal David Collins said: "Plains All American Pipeline had contracted to have the vapor seal replaced on this tank. During the replacement of the vapor seal, the product in the tank became involved in fire."

Although crews have the fire contained, around 10:30 a.m. Monday, Wichita Falls Fire Chief Jon Reese stated crews fighting the fire near the top of the 5 million gallon crude oil tank had to get off.

"That tank is 60 to 70 feet high. And there's about a three foot catwalk with no side rails. So, it's a little bit dicey getting firefighters up there," Reese explained. "They made a valiant effort. They were within six feet of extinguishing it. And that's when we made the decision to abandon the tank."

At that time, the fire had burned off between six and eight feet of the crude inside the tank. Firefighters did not have enough foam and water to put the fire out, so Reese said they called in a specialized foam unit from the Houston/Beaumont area.

The tank on fire has a floating top, which means that as the crude goes in or out, or in this case burns, the roof goes down with it. Reese explained extinguishing a fire like this can be very difficult.

"If you think of a lid floating on top of a glass of water, what's burning is around the edge," Reese pointed out. "And as you push the fire around, then it's going to come back around behind you. Unless you are able to put water and foam all around it all at the same time, then it's gonna chase around behind you," said Reese.

Wichita Falls resident Mark Kennedy lives near the burning oil tank and shares his biggest concern.
"Catching the grass on fire. That's it and maybe blowing up. We've got loved ones around here. We don't want anything to happen to them," Kennedy said.

Chief Reese said there is little threat of a rupture or an explosion. But worst case scenario, the tank would take a day or two to burn out, something he and his crews hope they can prevent from happening

The chief adds if all goes according to plan, with the help of that foam unit, the fire should be put out in about two hours.

And besides crews from Sheppard, some volunteer fire departments also sent help to assist the Wichita Falls crews.

Two people are dead, 4 injured after a semi-truck veered into a median on Interstate 10, hit multiple cars, overturned and caught fire in Arizona

Two killed in crash on I-10 south of Chandler, westbound I-10 closed
Angela Forburger, Arizona Republic 

 August 29, 2018


Two people were killed in a crash Wednesday morning on Interstate 10 south of Chandler, officials said.

Just before 10 a.m., a commercial vehicle was eastbound on I-10 near Wild Horse Pass when it veered into the median and went through onto the westbound lanes, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Quentin Mehr said.

Mehr said the commercial vehicle hit three vehicles, ran off the road, overturned and caught fire.

Besides the two people killed, the commercial vehicle's driver was taken from the scene with serious injuries, Mehr said. Also, two adults and two children were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Westbound I-10 is closed from Riggs Road to Loop 202 for the investigation, Mehr said. There are also significant delays on eastbound I-10.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is advising drivers to take alternate routes such as State Route 587 and State Route 87.

There is no estimated time for reopening the I-10 lanes.




===========================



Two people killed after semi-truck in Chandler crashes into multiple cars, catches fire

abc15.com staff
 August 29, 2018




 CHANDLER, AZ - 

Two people are dead after a semi-truck veered into a median on Interstate 10, hit multiple cars and caught fire, according to officials.

The Department of Public Safety said just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, a commercial truck was headed eastbound on I-10 when it veered into a median near Wild Horse Pass.

Once the truck struck the median, it went into the westbound lanes and hit three cars, a DPS spokesman said. After hitting the cars, the truck ran off the road, overturned and caught fire.

Initial reports say that two people have died. DPS also says two adults and two children were transported to the hospital.

Westbound I-10 is closed during the investigation. It’s unknown when it’s expected to reopen.

Around 12 p.m. during the closure, a driver attempted to go through the backup by going the wrong way on the I-10 ramp at Cave Creek Road, a DPS spokesman said. The driver was cited for the incident.

No word as to what caused the semi truck to go into the westbound lanes on I-10.

A man died after falling off a building at a construction site which will be the new location for vacation rental business HomeAway in Austin, Texas

AUSTIN, TEXAS (KXAN) —


A man died after falling at a north Austin construction site Tuesday morning, Austin-Travis County EMS said.

The man in his 50s was pronounced dead at the scene in the 11800 block of Alterra Parkway near the intersection with Domain Drive, which is near the Domain Northside.

Police say it's unclear if the man was a construction worker who fell off a building around 6:42 a.m. His death doesn't appear to be suspicious or a construction accident. No one else was hurt.

The building under construction will be the new location for vacation rental business HomeAway.


OSHA has opened an investigation into this incident, but police say the man was not an employee of the construction company.
=======================
AUSTIN, TEXAS
 
A man died after falling off a building at a construction site Tuesday morning, according to Austin Travis-County EMS.

Officials responded to the call at the 11800 block of Alterra Pkwy, near The Domain, at around 6:41 a.m.

Police say the victim, a male in his 50’s, died at the scene.

No further information was immediately released.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

==========================






HomeAway opens new space-age offices at the Domain
Vacation rental company continues to boom
By Cindy Widner@CurbedAustin Jul 31, 2018, 3:56pm CDT
 

The Forum in HomeAway’s new office building Courtesy of HomeAway


If the short-term-rental industry is facing some kind of existential crisis, you’d never know it by looking at HomeAway. The global vacation rental company, which originated and is headquartered in Austin (and is now owned by Expedia), opened another local office building Tuesday—its sixth in the city and its second at the Domain. A third, larger Domain-area HomeAway building is also under construction.

The company’s newest office is located in a 20,000-square-foot building the company dubbed “D3” at 11501 Domain Drive and has space for 140 employees. It will house several of HomeAway’s product and development teams as well as serving as what the company called a “testing ground” for features being considered for the larger building, slated to open in 2019.

In the meantime, designers appear to have had fun with D3. As with all of HomeAway’s local buildings, it has an interior design theme that is played out in motifs throughout the space. This one has a sort of space-age atmosphere, one that seems to reference variants of Star Trek and similar shows and films from many generations.

The new office space features large, futuristic open areas as well as smaller meeting and collaboration areas that would look at home on any number of cinematic spaceships.


The building has bistro seating and a cold-brew coffee kegerator in its kitchen area.





The company’s third Domain building, called D11, will be 16 stories tall. It’s currently under construction and is expected to be completed next year.

More than 100,000 people in the upper Midwest lost power after severe storms caused flooding, lightning strikes, hail and so on

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in six counties due to the damaging flooding across the region. 




Severe thunderstorms swept across part of the north-central United States on Tuesday afternoon, bringing another round of damaging winds and flooding downpours to the region.

The worst of the severe weather focused on a zone from central Wisconsin through eastern Iowa with the strongest storms spinning up tornadoes. This is right after severe storms that tracked across the region on Monday.

The Iowa City Airport clocked one of the strongest winds of the day with a gust of 83 mph.

Over 60,000 electric customers in Michigan, over 40,000 in Wisconsin and over 13,000 in Iowa were left without power for a time on Tuesday evening after storms toppled trees and brought down power lines. Some evening commutes were also slowed due to trees that had fallen across roadways.

One person was injured near Thornton, Iowa, after a tractor trailer was blown over on Interstate 35.



Thunderstorms also brought drenching downpours to parts of Wisconsin that received excessive rainfall late on Monday and Monday night.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in six counties due to the damaging flooding across the region.  

Cars became stranded on flooded roads in Green Bay, Wisconsin, after storms unloaded over two inches of rain in just a few short hours. Parts of Lambeau Field were also flooded following the torrential downpours. The area will get a much-needed break from severe weather at midweek as drier, more comfortable conditions are expected.

Massive amounts of rain in Hawaii caused enormous flash floods, mudslides, while new storm forms in the Pacific

Tropical Storm Lane released record-breaking rainfall on Hawaii, triggering devastating flooding and debris flows across Hawaii late this past week.

Preliminary rainfall totals of 2-4 feet were reported across the windward side of the Big Island with a few locations recording even higher amounts.

There is an unconfirmed report of 58.80 inches on the Big Island. That would be the second-highest rain total from a tropical cyclone in the United States since 1950. Nederland, Texas, holds the record with the 60.58 inches that fell during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.Mountain View received a preliminary total of 52.02 inches. That ranks as the highest rainfall total from a tropical cyclone in Hawaii's recorded history. Hurricane Hiki in August 1950 previously held the record with 52.00 inches.

=========================

Hawaii residents hit by floods from Hurricane Lane as new storm forms
Dan Whitcomb


(Reuters) - Flash flood warnings were issued on Tuesday for the Hawaiian island of Kauai, with residents on the north coast told to evacuate and others left stranded by high water as the remnants of Hurricane Lane drenched the archipelago and a new storm brewed in the Pacific Ocean.

Hawaii was spared a direct hit from a major hurricane as Lane diminished to a tropical storm as it approached and then drifted west, further from land. But rain was still pounding the island chain, touching off flooding on Oahu and Kauai.


“It has been a steady rain since after Lane but I got up 2:30 a.m. (Hawaiian Standard Time) to the National Weather Service flash flood advisory and that’s when we put out the release as well as an island-wide telephone call,” County of Kauai spokesman Alden Alayvilla said.

The advisory urged residents near Hanalei Bridge on the north side of the island to evacuate their homes due to rising stream levels. A convoy that had been used to escort residents over roads damaged by historic floods in April between was shut down, leaving many cut off.

“Heavy pounding and hazardous conditions are being reported island-wide. Motorists are advised to drive with extreme caution. Updates will be given as more information is made available,” the Kauai Emergency Management Agency said.

A flash flood watch also remained in effect for Oahu, home to the state capital Honolulu and 70 percent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents.

Micco Godinez, who lives on the north side of Kauai, said he found the only road out of Hanalei, where he lives, barricaded by police vehicles when he tried to leave for work on Tuesday morning. He expected to be stranded for at least another day.

“I can’t get out at all,” Godinez said. “Our little community of Hanalei is isolated and then west of us is even more isolated,” he said.

Even as Hawaii residents sought to recover from Lane, they kept a watchful eye on Tropical Storm Miriam, spinning in the Pacific Ocean some 2,000 miles to the east and expected to become a hurricane by the time it approaches the islands.

“Miriam is supposed to go north and dissipate in the colder waters and drier air, so I’m not really worried about it,” Godinez said. “But it is hurricane season, and there’s another one behind that. You know what they say: Without rain you wouldn’t have rainbows.”

Two construction workers with Canada-based PCL Construction Services Inc. died when they fell more than 60 feet after the scaffolding collapsed at the site of a future JW Marriott hotel at Bonnet Creek just off Disney Epcot Center property

JW Marriott sketch (Kimley-Horn/DCS)

JW Marriott hotel with 516 rooms planned near Disney World's Epcot

August 29, 2018
 
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -

Two construction workers were killed in Florida early Wednesday when scaffolding they were working on collapsed and they plunged six stories.

The accident happened at a hotel under construction in Orlando, Florida, at about 4:15 a.m. Officials said both men died at the scene.

The scaffolding was between the sixth and seventh floors when it collapsed, according to Orange County Fire Rescue. The scaffolding gave way "for reasons unknown," according to the authorities.

Four people were on the scaffold at the time, with one managing to get to safety before falling, and a third worker, who was able to hang on to the scaffolding and climb up to safety. He suffered minor injuries, authorities said, but refused transport to a hospital.

The workers were part of a group of about a dozen construction workers who were pouring concrete at the location.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Orange County Sheriff's Office will investigate.

The accident happened near Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, but not on Disney property.


The property is owned by DCS Investments of West Palm Beach.  The project's owner/developer, West Palm Beach-based DCS Real Estate Capital Investments, chose Canada-based PCL Construction Services Inc. to build the 516-luxury room hotel. PCL will "self-perform" the 40,000-cubic-yard concrete package. The PCL team has "extensive experience with luxury resort construction," said Rick Goldman, district manager of PCL, in a prepared statement.============================


ORLANDO, Fla. --

Emergency responders say two construction workers fell to their deaths when scaffolding collapsed above the sixth floor of a hotel under construction near Disney World.

A third worker managed to hang on and climb to safety early Wednesday.

The accident happened in Orange County just outside Disney property, according to Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles.

He says there were about 18 workers at the scene when they got the call about the accident at 4:15 a.m. They were working at the top of the hotel, above the sixth floor, where concrete is being poured. Jachles says that the support structure gave way, sending two workers plummeting to their deaths. The third worker sustained minor injuries.

Jachles says the sheriff's office and federal investigators are examining what happened.



===============================


2 workers die in 7-story fall near Disney; 3rd worker hangs on, survives
Incident reported at hotel site near Bonnet Creek Resort
By Daniel Dahm - Digital Manager 

August 29, 2018
 
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - 

Two workers died early Wednesday when they fell seven stories from a hotel that is under construction near Disney World, officials said.

The deaths were reported at 4:15 a.m. at the site of a future JW Marriott hotel in the 14900 block of Chelonia Parkway near the Bonnet Creek Resort in Orange County, just off Disney property.

  According to Orange County Fire Rescue, about 20 workers were at the job site when three of them were preparing to pour concrete and the scaffolding they were standing on collapsed.

Two workers fell about 80 feet to the ground and were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Orange County sheriff's spokeswoman Ingrid Tejada-Monforte said the victims were men in their 30s. Their names have not been released
A third worker, a man in his mid-30s, was able to hold on and climb to safety with the help of others, officials said. That worker suffered minor injuries, according to Fire Rescue officials.

"This is a very sad tragic incident that occurred here this morning," Tejada-Monforte said.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office and federal authorities are interviewing witnesses and investigating what caused the scaffolding to collapse.

Construction of the eight-story hotel is expected to be completed in 2019.

No other details have been released.


===============================





The Orlando area might soon have its second JW Marriott hotel, as developers have filed a plan for a new JW on 10.6 acres near Wyndham’s Bonnet Creek Resort and southeast of Disney World’s Epcot.

The property is owned by DCS Investments of West Palm Beach, also known locally as the owner and developer of the upscale Bella Collina golf resort development near Clermont.
ADVERTISING

DCS plans a 516-room hotel, at 16 stories, with 50,000 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop bar and signature restaurant. Randall Greene of DCS declined to comment on the plan. The company obtained $240 million financing from the Bank of the Ozarks.

Kimley Horn, a planning and engineering firm, filed an application Monday on behalf of DCS for the new hotel, with bare-bones detail. The application identifies the project as JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek, with an address on Chelonia Parkway, placing the hotel at the southwest corner of Epcot Center Drive and Interstate 4.


JW Marriott sketch (Kimley-Horn/DCS)

The JW Marriott Grande Lakes is one of the largest hotels in the Orlando area at about 1,000 rooms. The JW Marriott brand is owned by Marriott International, named after John Willard Marriott, the hotelier’s founder.

According to property records, DCS bought the property for $2.2 million in 2013.The site, at the end of Chelonia, was previously prepped for a project that stalled during the recession, and some rough grading is already complete.

The architect on the project is the Orlando office of Huitt-Zollars (formerly Morris) which plans a modern look.


New JW Marriott property in red outline (Orange County)

If approved, the hotel would join a flood of new Walt Disney World attractions, including an immersive “Star Wars”-themed resort, a “Tron” ride and enhancements to Epcot that were just announced this summer.

Some of the additions will be timed to the 50th anniversary of Disney World in 2021, Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said at a session of D23, the official Disney fan club in Anaheim, Calif.

At Epcot, there will be a new “Guardians of the Galaxy” ride, a new “Ratatouille”-themed ride in France, new films in China and within Mission: Space, which is also getting a table-service restaurant nearby.

The “Guardians” ride will be “rooted in an Epcot story” on the Future World side, Chapek said.

That’s all in addition to the Pandora land based on the movie “Avatar” that just opened at Animal Kingdom.

===============================






The planned new $350 million JW Marriott Bonnet Creek hotel slated to be built near Walt Disney World has chosen the contractor that will bring it to life in 2019.

The project's owner/developer, West Palm Beach-based DCS Real Estate Capital Investments, chose Canada-based PCL Construction Services Inc. to build the 516-luxury room hotel. PCL will "self-perform" the 40,000-cubic-yard concrete package. The PCL team has "extensive experience with luxury resort construction," said Rick Goldman, district manager of PCL, in a prepared statement.

In addition to adding luxury rooms to Orlando, the new hotel will feature 50,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa, rooftop bar and several restaurants. The exterior of the property will have a 944-space parking garage, two swimming pools, a hot tub, outdoor pool bar, tennis court, basketball court and putting green.

This will be Orlando's second JW Marriott hotel. The existing 998-room, 500-acre JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes property, which features an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman, was a $547 million project developed in tandem with the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in 2001.

The appeal for luxury accommodations is growing as more visitors continue to come to Orlando.

“You don’t casually put investor dollars into a project that size,” Susan Morris, president and owner of Orlando-based consulting firm Resource Development Investment Properties Inc., who isn’t involved in the project, previously told Orlando Business Journal. “Some travelers at a hotel like this will be spending a great deal of time at Disney, but some will be the business community and their conventions."

Luxury properties attract high-end travelers — and big spenders — to Central Florida, which allows locals businesses to tap into that lucrative market base.

Only the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort is ranked as a AAA Five Diamond Award, which means the region still has room for more ultra-luxury-level lodging. Orlando's $60 billion tourism industry is the region's dominant economic engine, and last year drew a record 68 million-plus visitors to town.

53-year-old mechanic Brian Jones, Frostproof, FL died after he was crushed to death by a truck that rolled off of a mechanical lift at David Keen’s Auto Repair in Frostproof, FL

On Monday, August 20, 2018 at 9:22 a.m., deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, along with Frostproof Fire and Polk EMS, responded to a fatal workplace accident at David Keen’s Auto Repair at 101 Scenic Highway North, in Frostproof.

53-year-old Brian Jones, of 394 6th Street West, Frostproof, was pronounced deceased at the scene by paramedics.

According to the preliminary investigation, a truck which was being worked on by Jones, began to roll off of a mechanical lift. Jones tried to stop the truck from rolling, and it fell on top of him.

Deputies notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.