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WFIT Local & State News - October 22, 2024 PM

Storm debris pickup

Brevard County has started removing storm debris in unincorporated Brevard County and participating municipalities. The cleanup operation will focus on yard waste. Do not bag your material, but you can put it into the containers that you normally use to have yard waste collected. The pickup will focus on unincorporated Brevard, as well as Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Indialantic, Grant-Valkaria and Malabar. If you live elsewhere, contact your local government for its schedule.

Brevard opens FEMA-help sites.

Brevard County, in partnership with FEMA, has established four sites to help residents navigate the disaster assistance application process. The sites are the Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay libraries, and the Barefoot Bay community office. If you suffered Milton-related damages and have completed your insurance claim, or your damages are not covered by insurance, you do not need to visit a FEMA registration assistance location. You can register with FEMA online at DisasterAssistance.gov, on the FEMA Mobile App, or by calling 800-621-FEMA.

SpaceX tries again this evening.

SpaceX will try again this evening to launch more Starlink satellites. The launch window extends from 6:52PM until 10:14PM. Weather is forecast to be 80% favorable. If the Falcon9 lifts off this evening, that will tie the record number of launches set last year for the Space Coast; 71.

Deseret Ranch annexation vote delayed.

The Mormon Church wants the City of Orlando to annex more than 80 square miles of land close to the Brevard border. Yesterday the Orlando city council delayed a vote on the annexation until the last possible day before voters consider new limits on such moves. Deseret Ranch is a cattle farm currently, but the Mormon Church would like to develop the land to house tens of thousands of people. Adding the Deseret Ranch to the City of Orlando will increase Orlando’s footprint by more than 60 percent, and shift its center eastward toward Brevard County. The annexation is opposed by environmentalists who contend the Church wants to avoid stricter environmental and wetlands regulations in the county.

Sea turtle nest survive storms.

Sea turtle nests along the Space Coast survived Hurricane Milton. The Sea Turtle Preservation Society says that since beach erosion wasn’t severe in Brevard, many hatchlings will still make it to the water. Mother sea turtles lay eggs in a variety of spots along the beach to give hatchlings the best chance of survival. Brevard County’s large beach renourishment project that was started after the 2022 hurricanes is helping to protect turtles from storms. The county’s beach manager said the project will resume Nov. 1 when turtle nesting season ends.

Florida's minimum wage increase may not be enough.

Florida’s minimum wage rose to 13 dollars an hour last month. State law will increase it to 15 dollars over the next two years. University of South Florida Economics Professor Michael Snipes says while this should be a livable amount for Americans, it is not.

“Wages are just not keeping up, and location is definitely one of those things that can affect that. You know, if we live in a higher income area then prices are going to reflect that.”

Snipes says minimum wage earners need second jobs to cover major expenses, like housing and food. He says wages have not kept up with inflation for four decades – and the continuous gap only seems to widen.

Rick Glasby is a Broadcast Journalist at WFIT.