Florida Democrats to file bill to repeal six-week abortion ban
Democrats in the Florida legislature intend to file a bill to repeal the state’s six-week abortion ban. But it’s unlikely the legislation will have the votes to pass. The new proposal would permit abortions until viability, which was the case before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The bills sponsor, Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskoll, said if nothing else, the proposed legislation will provide an opportunity for conversation about the topic.
Hundreds of NASA employees decide to resign.
While the future of job cuts at NASA are still uncertain, hundreds of employees decided to take the resignation offers from the space agency. NASA says it is processing the resignations and those workers will be on administrative leave by the end of the week. But not everyone thinks NASA’s mission is in jeopardy even with the cuts. State Senator Randy Fine doesn’t think Elon Musk is about to jeopardize missions to the moon and mars. Fine does says federal spending in general is outrageous and every agency needs to be investigated.
DeSantis signs agreements to expand immigration enforcement.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed three agreements on Wednesday to give major state agencies more power to enforce immigration laws in Florida. The agreements create a collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement to identify and remove noncitizens who violate immigration laws. The Florida Immigrant Coalition criticized the agreements, saying immigrants are the ones who are picking the fruits and constructing our buildings. DeSantis announced that about $250 million is set aside in grants for law enforcement officers to assist federal agencies with their new duties.
Lawmakers try to protect state parks.
The upcoming legislative session could give Florida lawmakers a chance to make sure that Florida's state parks aren't turned into golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels. In response to plans drawn up in secret last year, a bill is now moving through Tallahassee that could stop that from happening in the future. The bill passed its first committee stop by a unanimous vote. But it’s unknown if Gov. DeSantis will sign the legislation.
Florida Tech relaunches high-tech hub.
Florida Tech has relaunched its underutilized high-tech hub, the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design, as Vertex. Rather than function as a traditional academic building, Vertex's office space, manufacturing and clean rooms will host business tenants, contracted research and development work, and workforce training. As of today, Vertex houses the Florida Tech Research Institute and four businesses: the Larsen Motorsports; SafeSky Systems and Zeal OTM (both drone and surveillance companies); and Solar Transport Systems (a solar-powered electric car company). Vertex is located about 3 miles from the Florida Tech campus off Palm Bay Road.
Publix shares title as “most satisfying grocer.”
The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released the latest scores for supermarkets nationwide. And this year Publix shares its #1 spot. The study examines several benchmarks for determining customer experiences at grocery stores, including the convenience of store hours/locations, checkout speed, and quality of produce and meats. Publix now shares the title of “most satisfying grocery” with Trader Joes.
