Loophole allows Mayfield to run for same seat again.
A loophole in Florida term limit rules will allow Debbie Mayfield of Melbourne to run again for the Florida Senate seat she just left. Mayfield was term-limited from running for reelection in November. Instead, Mayfield ran for and won a seat in the Florida House, representing Central Brevard. Then Florida Rep. Randy Fine, who couldn't seek reelection to the Florida House because of term limits, ran for and won Mayfield's former Senate seat in November. But, Fine then announced that he would be resigning from the Florida Senate, so he could run for the US House in Washington. Fine's announcement left an opening for Mayfield to become a candidate for her former Florida Senate seat. Here’s how that’s possible. The wording of the state amendment on term limits says if a person has been in office for eight consecutive years, they can’t appear on the ballot for reelection. It does not specify how long the person must stay out of office before being able to run again for the same position. It’s a loophole, and it’s legal.
Boeing to scale back Space Coast operations.
Boeing announced it would lay off 141 employees at several Florida locations beginning in January, including at Kennedy Space Center where the beleaguered Starliner spacecraft is manufactured. The permanent layoffs will begin Jan. 17th. Those include 26 at offices at KSC and another 20 in Titusville. Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg said during the last quarterly earnings call in October that the company needed to focus on its core businesses of commercial aircraft and defense. Where that leaves its space efforts remains a question mark. The KSC layoffs could affect the progress of the Starliner spacecraft, which first flew with crew aboard this year, but didn’t end as the company had hoped. The next flight of Starliner has been pushed to the end of next year. Boeing has not seen a profitable quarter since 2018.
NASA further delays Artemis II launch.
NASA announced Thursday a new schedule for its Artemis II mission to the moon. Artemis II, the first crewed flight to the moon since the Apollo era, is now scheduled for April of 2026 instead of September of 2025. The components of Artemis will continue to be stacked one atop the other in the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC in preparation for integration with the Orion capsule. The heat shield of the Orion spacecraft suffered unexpected loss of material during its first flight. NASA’s solution for Artemis II is to alter the return of the capsule through Earth’s atmosphere instead of replacing the heat shield.
Opioid epidemic town hall.
Opioid overdoses and deaths have hit Brevard hard in recent years. To raise awareness of the problem, Brevard County is holding an Opioid Epidemic Town Hall on Wednesday evening, December 11th at Melbourne Library. You are invited to come to share your thoughts and experiences.
UCF boosts pay for president.
The board of trustees of the University of Central Florida voted to boost the pay of President Alexander Cartwright. He will now receive $900,000 a year and a performance bonus of another $270,000. Cartwright has been the UCF president since March 2020.
