FPL restores power to almost all of Brevard.
Florida Power & Light says it has restored power to 99% of its customers in Brevard County. Over 178,000 households initially lost power as a result of Hurricane Milton. As of this morning, less than 800 customers were still in the dark. FPL had a restoration workforce of about 20,000 statewide from 41 states and Canada helping to restore power.
Keeping the gas flowing.
State law requires gas stations to be able to hook up to electric generators so they can pump fuel if a natural disaster takes out the power grid. But there’s a loophole big enough to drive an SUV through. Service station operators don’t have to have a generator for each outlet they own — merely one for every 10 stations. Gov. DeSantis blamed the loophole in part for gasoline shortages following Hurricane Milton, but he might not want to close the loophole for free-enterprise reasons. Florida, he said, is “not Venezuela.”
Milton impacts elevators at senior condo complex.
Press the button for the 4th floor to get to the 3rd floor. That’s the workaround for an elevator at a senior condo complex on Merritt Island. Work is underway to get all the elevators running at the 11 story Lennox condo after service was disrupted by Hurricane Milton. By yesterday, all was almost back to normal, except for residents on the third floor.
What to do with storm debris.
In order for your debris from Hurricane Milton to be picked up efficiently, you are asked to separate it. Put household garbage and recycling in the containers provided by Waste Management. Containerize loose vegetative debris. Cut up trees and limbs into four foot lengths. Put demolition debris in stacks. And please don’t place anything near fire hydrants, water meters, storm drains, or in the road. Waste Management will working 7 days a week to collect debris, or you may bring it yourself to the Sarno Road landfill, Cocoa disposal facility, and the Titusville mulching facility.
SpaceX launches 4 times.
SpaceX is on a roll. The company has launched four rockets since Sunday. The Starship mega rocket kicked off the streak on Sunday morning. Monday a Falcon 9 sent a NASA science mission on its way to a moon of Jupiter. This morning SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, followed by another Starlink mission from California. The next rocket launch from the Cape may come as soon as this Thursday. SpaceX has tentatively scheduled a Starlink mission for 3:55PM Thursday afternoon.
State fights Amendment 4 backers.
A report backed by Gov. DeSantis accuses abortion amendment backers of signature gathering fraud. The 348-page report comes from the office of the Florida Secretary of State. It includes allegations of fraudulent signatures and petition-gatherers being paid illegally per signature they gather.
The report raises concerns that DeSantis may attempt to invalidate Amendment 4, either before or after it goes before voters on November 5th. Amendment 4 would allow most abortions until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks. A poll published Sunday by Mason-Dixon Polling showed Amendment 4 is supported by 61% of Florida voters, just barely more than the 60% required to become law.
