Boeing to scale back Space Coast operations.
Boeing has announced it plans to scale back operations along the Space Coast. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has the story:
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.
Brevard School Board Vice Chair Susin third candidate for Florida House seat
Brevard School Board Vice Chair Matt Susin is running for the Florida House of Representatives seat.
Susin is the third Republican candidate to seek the Florida House District 32 seat in Brevard County, joining Brian Hodgers, a Viera resident. Hodgers and Bob White, a resident of Suntree.
Susin, a resident of Suntree, has served on the school board in Brevard since 2016. His 2024 campaign focused on issues expanding school safety, and parental rights. His staunchly conservative stance includes the removal of books from schools, segregation of school bathrooms, allowing some Brevard Public Schools employees to carry guns, and volunteer chaplains at schools.
If Susin is elected his school board replacement will be appointed by Governor DeSantis.
Solar industry advocates blast Orlando utility proposal
Many Orlando residents could soon be paying more for electricity, under a new proposal the Orlando Utilities Commission’s governing board will vote on next week.
OUC says the new pricing system would be more equitable, helping customers control and potentially reduce energy costs … But not everyone is buying that explanation.
Solar industry advocates blasted OUC’s PeakSHIFT plans at a rally Wednesday night … One big point of contention is its plan to start charging all OUC customers more for electricity they use during times of high demand.
The utility says the goal is to incentivize customers to be more aware of their energy consumption, so they can reduce costs … But critics say it wouldn’t work, because not everybody can adjust their energy usage, especially marginalized groups. Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan says seniors who depend on oxygen machines would be among the hardest hit.
“Seniors cannot shift this usage to off-times. They will be charged higher rates during the day when they need life-saving oxygen.”
OUC’s plans would also reduce current cost incentives for rooftop solar customers.
The utility says the industry is rapidly changing and the original rooftop solar incentive is no longer cost-effective.
Experts warn of risks to self-insuring as more Florida homeowners opt out of home insurance
According to a national survey last year 12% of U.S. homeowners are self-insured. That's a large spike from pre-pandemic, which was about 5%. Insurance Information Institute's Florida spokesman Mark Friedlander said. "We're estimating about 15% of Florida homeowners are self-insuring right now."
Self-insuring means a homeowner foregoes traditional insurance policies and, instead, uses an investment or savings account to fund losses.
Usually, the only people who can self-insure are people who own their own home outright, says Florida's Insurance consumer advocate, Tasha Carter.
"Typically, if you have a mortgage loan, as a part of that contract, it's going to require that you maintain insurance coverage on the home," Carter said.
Experts say the self-insuring increase is fueled by the increases in home insurance.
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