Brevard County seeking millions for hurricane damage.
Brevard County is seeking money from its general fund to repair $2.3 million in damages to its parks caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Those two hurricanes caused an array of damages, including shoreline erosion, destruction of docks and boat ramps, roof damage and damage to parking lots. Although the county has submitted both insurance and FEMA claims on the damages, those reimbursements can take over five years to come through. In the meantime, the Brevard County Commission is considering ways to pay for repairs faster.
Blue Origin’s debut flight scrubbed.
Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin scrubbed its New Glenn launch early this morning. A vehicle subsystem issue was blamed. The Space Force has issued a weather forecast for an early Tuesday morning New Glenn launch, with a 70% chance of unfavorable conditions.
Meanwhile there was another SpaceX Starlink launch this morning. A Falcon 9 lifted off under cloudy skies, sending more of the internet-beaming satellites to low earth orbit.
Wildfire season in Florida coming soon.
Florida’s wildfire season goes year-round, but it peaks during late spring as most of Florida is ending the dry season, with plenty of dry vegetation available. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows almost 61 percent of Florida is abnormally dry, while 29 percent of the state — in portions of the Panhandle and North Florida — is under moderate drought. Most of Brevard County is considered “moderately dry.”
Floodgates at Port Canaveral are killing manatees.
Five manatees were killed by floodgates last year in Brevard County, more than in any other county. All five died in the Port Canaveral locks. Manatees often swim through the navigational locks. Sometimes, manatees will get stuck in the doors once they close; other times, they drown after being sucked into turbulent waters near the structures. Florida Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Martine de Wit reports a higher than average number of manatees were killed statewide last year in floodgates or navigational locks. De Wit says many of the locks are now being outfitted with detection devices that prevent doors closing on a manatee.
Safety work set to begun on Brevard railroad crossings.
Safety work is set to begin on seven railroad crossings throughout Brevard County. A federal grant covers 80% of over $6 million project. The remaining 20% will be paid by Brevard County, the city of Cocoa and the city of Melbourne. The at-grade railroad crossings will get new exit gates in an attempt to prevent drivers from skirting the crossing gates.
Canaveral Beach renourishment project started.
The Canaveral Port Authority and Brevard County have partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the latest round of preserving Space Coast beaches and ensuring safe navigation of Canaveral Harbor. Sand will be dredged north of the Port off the shore of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and piped south to replenish the shoreline of Cocoa Beach. The project starts the week of January 20th, and will be completed before sea turtle nesting season starts. The $41 million project is entirely funded by the federal government.
Margaritaville license plates are getting closer to reality.
Good news for those of you willing to pay for the new Margaritaville specialty license plates. The State of Florida requires 3,000 customers to sign up for a specialty plate before it can be manufactured. And the Margaritaville plates are now two-thirds the way toward meeting that quota. The additional money paid for a specialty plate is donated to charity. In this case, Jimmy Buffet’s Singing for Change organization.
