Election day update.
About 60% of eligible voters in Brevard have already cast a ballot. The polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM on Tuesday. In general, the busiest voting times are 7 AM to 8 AM, lunchtime, and 5 PM to 7 PM. So, avoid those times if you can. Your voter information card has the name and address of your polling place. Or you can find your precinct at VoteBrevard.gov. To be allowed to vote you must show a valid, unexpired ID, with your name, photo, and signature. The photograph on the ID is compared to the person standing before the poll worker, and the signature on the card is compared to your signature on the precinct roster. And yes, you may wear a t-shirt, button or hat that shows your political preference, but you cannot actively campaign for a candidate. If you received a Vote-by-Mail Ballot but decide to vote in-person on Election Day, bring your Mail Ballot with you to surrender to an election official.
Rockledge man faces 20 years in prison for COVID-19 fraud.
Robert Burns, founder of the Space Coast Rocket publication, has pleaded guilty to COVID-related wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison. According to the plea agreement, in 2021, Burns applied for three Paycheck Protection Plan loans to support two of his businesses. In all three applications, Burns made false statements to obtain the loans. He fraudulently obtained over $57,000 in COVID funds, which he spent on non-business expenses. In addition to the jail time, Burns has agreed to pay back the money to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
NASA cargo launch tonight.
NASA and SpaceX will send cargo to the International Space Station tonight. A Falcon 9 is slated to liftoff at 9:29PM. There’s only a 30% chance of unfavorable weather. The Dragon cargo capsule will be sending nearly 6,000 pounds of food, supplies, equipment and new science experiments for the crew. The first stage booster will be returning for a landing on the Cape, so expect sonic booms.
Yesterday’s SpaceX Starlink mission was scrubbed due to a hydrogen leak in the rocket. They may try again on Tuesday.
Killing mosquitoes.
Hurricane Milton boosted the swarms of mosquitos along the Space Coast, so Brevard County Mosquito Control is conducting more spraying. They are doing overnight aerial spraying through tomorrow. Aircraft will be spraying all mainland areas west of I-95, all areas north of SR 46, and all areas north of SR 520 on Merritt Island. So far, the county has already conducted over 100,000 acres of mosquito treatments by ground and air since Milton. The mosquito control efforts are funded by FEMA.
Election officials want more hurdles to amendment initiatives.
Florida already has one of the toughest systems for citizens to get constitutional amendments on the ballot, but that isn’t stopping state elections enforcers from recommending new laws to make it even harder. For nearly 50 years, Floridians have put proposed amendments on the ballot, asking their fellow citizens to change state law when the Legislature wouldn’t. Residents have used citizen-driven amendments to restore felon voting rights, create a free preschool program, and mandate a minimum wage. Now in a 348-page report, the DeSantis’ administration claimed significant fraud on the petitions citizens signed to get the abortion amendment on the ballot. The report recommended the Florida Legislature make the process stricter.
