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.
Remove hurricane shutters ASAP.
Leaving storm shutters up through the end of hurricane season may seem tempting, but the Melbourne Fire Department recommends taking the shutters off your home as soon as possible. Blocked windows — especially windows in occupied bedrooms — not only limit your family’s escape routes but also limit safe entry and exit points for firefighters in the event of a fire in your home.
FEMA: Misinformation and Disinformation taking a toll.
FEMA and other agencies are facing a flood of disinformation and misinformation—spread either intentionally, or unknowingly. The situation is making it hard for first responders working on disaster recovery in multiple states. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell says the falsehoods are taking a toll.
“I’ve been very open and public about how hurtful this is, and how its demoralizing to our staff and all these people that have left their homes and their families and come in here to help people.”
A number of state officials are trying to bat down misinformation about Florida’s hurricane response.
FCC calls FL Department of Health threat “unconstitutional."
Last week we reported that the Florida Department of Health had demanded that local TV stations pull an ad, which urged voters to defeat the state’s six-week abortion ban. Now the head of the Federal Communications Commission says Florida’s threat is unconstitutional. The Florida Department of Health’s General Counsel had sent a letter to local TV stations demanding they remove the abortion-rights ads within 24 hours or the department would seek criminal charges. The FCC Chairwoman said “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”
Meanwhile, An unprecedented report from the Florida Secretary of State is alleging that organizers behind the statewide abortion rights amendment committed “widespread petition fraud.” The report alleges that organizers illegally paid circulators by the number of signatures collected, which is a third-degree felony offense. The Miami Herald reports that the state fined organizers nearly $330,000 dollars on Friday [Oct. 11]. The report concludes that about 16 percent of petitions across the state should not have been validated. However, the report does not provide any data to back up its claims.
Europa Clipper on its way.
NASA’s Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. The spacecraft launched Monday aboard a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center. It will travel 1.8 billion miles before orbiting Jupiter in 2030.
