ULA launches Vulcan rocket.
United Launch Alliance successfully sent its new Vulcan rocket on its second certification flight this morning from the Cape. ULA is investigating a possible anomaly with one of the solid rocket boosters, but was otherwise pleased with the Vulcan launch. United Launch Alliance has already sold more than 70 Vulcan launches to government and commercial customers.
System in the Gulf may develop.
Odds are back up that a system developing in the Gulf of Mexico could become a tropical depression or storm before it makes its way to Florida next week. The National Hurricane Center says there’s a 40% chance of development as the system moves eastward over the Florida peninsula next week.
City of Melbourne asks for your input.
The City of Melbourne wants to hear from residents about how it can help low and moderate-income families. The city's Housing and Urban Improvement Division is asking for input on priorities when it comes to housing, economic and public safety issues. This will help the department come up with a five-year plan. You can find a short survey at MelbourneFlorida.org.
Most Floridians don’t have flood insurance.
More than 80% of Floridians lack flood insurance. Living in Florida without flood insurance is a bit like buying car insurance that doesn’t cover car accidents. Yet it has become standard operating procedure for most Floridians for one simple reason: Securing this coverage would drive up the cost of insurance in a state where it’s already sky-high. The statistic that only 20% of Floridians don’t buy flood insurance may be wrong - some private flood insurers the the number is closer to 13%. But that number may rise now that some customers of the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are required to have flood insurance.
Union pauses port strike.
The International Longshoremen’s Association has reached a deal to suspend its strike until next January. The union is demanding significantly higher wages and a ban on port automation. There are about 375 union longshoreman working at Port Canaveral.
Florida Democrats want a reversal of sex-education ban.
Florida should reverse course on its abstinence-only public school health classes and allow schools to teach a comprehensive sex education curriculum. That’s what Florida Democrats are telling state leaders. The sent was sent to Gov. DeSantis and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz from seven Democrats serving in Congress. In recent months, state officials told school districts to “emphasize abstinence” and not to teach teenagers about contraception, show pictures of human reproductive anatomy, or discuss topics such as sexual consent or domestic violence.
Voter registration deadline is Monday.
This coming Monday is the deadline is Monday for Brevard residents to register to vote in presidential election. To register to vote or update voter registration records, voters can visit any of the four supervisor of elections administrative offices in Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville or Viera, or go to VoteBrevard.gov.
As of this morning, there were just over 440,000 registered voters in Brevard County. That includes almost 200,000 Republicans; over 116,000 Democrats; nearly 110,000 independent voters; and 16,000 members of minor political parties.
