Brevard commission holds off on granting concession to Westin hotel.
After a contentious meeting with dozens speaking out against it, Brevard County commissioners voted to hold off approving a deal with the new Westin Hotel on Tuesday. Rick Glasby tells the hotel wants to rent part of Lori Wilson Park for up to 100 days a year to support events.
The Westin hotel will be the county’s largest when it opens early 2027. Residents from Cocoa Beach and across the county Tuesday voiced serious concerns about the hotel chain potentially limiting public access to Lori Wilson park. County commissioners ultimately decided in a 3-2 vote to hold off on making a decision, without immediately rescheduling the issue for a vote at a later meeting.
Brevard Public Schools Awarded $5.6 Million in School Recognition Funds
Brevard Public Schools were awarded $5.6 million for schools that achieved an "A" rating. 55 schools in the Brevard County School district have earned State Designated School Recognition funds for their exceptional performance in the 2023-2024 school year.
In total, 47 traditional schools and 8 charter schools will share an impressive $5.6 million in School Recognition funds.
This is up from last year’s distribution, which was only awarded to 35 of BPS’ traditional schools.
The state provides School Recognition funds to reward schools with high performance or substantial improvement. The funds are typically used to provide bonuses to school employees, purchase equipment, or implement programs to further boost student achievement.
New plan hopes to settle Brevard County lifeguard dispute
Brevard County has approved a new plan to pay for lifeguards and is sending it to the state to determine its legality. The plan calls for nearly $2 million to come from the county’s general fund, and nearly $1.6 million drawn from tourist tax revenue. It would significantly decrease what Brevard County was asking from beachside cities in a separate proposal
It’s a budget burden cities like Cocoa Beach, Indialantic and Melbourne Beach haven’t wanted to bear.
The county’s lifeguard coverage budget currently stands at $3.74 million.
Melbourne Beach would pay up some $22,000, Indialantic nearly $44,000 and Cocoa Beach almost $170,000.
Those numbers are a far cry from the county’s original proposal for the cities to pay 50% of the Brevard Ocean Rescue budget.
Brevard Ocean Rescue is also looking to fill multiple seasonal lifeguard positions.
Tryouts are Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. at Rockledge High School.
Doctors Voice Support For Amendment 4 Following DeSantis Opposition
Doctors in Florida are voicing their stances on Amendment 4.
It would allow abortions in the state until fetal viability or when a healthcare provider deems one necessary.
More than 850 doctors signed a letter urging Floridians to vote for the proposal, including Kathleen Dumitru. She's an emergency medicine doctor in Jacksonville.
Dumitru says Florida's six-week abortion ban harms patients and the exceptions are NOT enough.
She cites a patient who eventually qualified for one after her water broke too early for the fetus to survive. But her doctor first had to consult with legal and ethics teams before acting.
I'm grateful that she was able to receive care but she shouldn't have had to wait and risk infection or been made to feel like she or her doctors were doing something wrong.
Other doctors who oppose Amendment 4 joined Governor Ron DeSantis this week to tell Floridians to vote "no," arguing that the proposal is vague.
It needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.
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