US Rep. Byron Donalds to run for Florida Governor.
Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds announced his plans to run for governor of Florida in 2026 last night. This comes just days after Donald’s gubernatorial bid was endorsed by President Trump. If successful Donalds would become the first Black governor of Florida.
More proposed legislation filed in Tallahassee.
Two bills filed for the upcoming legislative session would require all employers to verify that their new hires can legally work in the country. Employers hiring immigrants unauthorized to work could face tens of thousands in fines and lose their business licenses under a proposed Florida Senate bill. Another bill would require all companies to use the E-Verify system to confirm new employees’ eligibility to work in the country. Florida requires public agencies, their contractors, and their subcontractors to use E-Verify, but only private companies with more than 25 employees have to use the system. Nearly half a million Florida companies have fewer than 20 employees.
Florida lawmakers may also consider a measure to end property taxes in the state. DeSantis has said he supports the idea. If the plan is successful, Florida would become the first state in the nation to eliminate property taxes. Opponents of the move, though, point out that the tax is a primary revenue stream for local governments to fund schools, police, and roads. One possible option is a higher sales tax. The Florida Policy Institute estimates Florida would need to recover $43 billion to replace property tax revenue.
Rabies alert for a section of Viera.
The Florida Department of Health in Brevard County has issued a rabies alert for an area of East Viera. A confirmed cased of rabies was found in a bat near Clubhouse Drive near Ralph Williams elementary school. Avoid contact with wild animals in that area.
Brevard School board hears about disability protections.
While it wasn't on Tuesday's Brevard Public Schools meeting agenda, half of the public comments addressed concerns about the rights of disabled students. It wasn't out of the blue — earlier this month, Florida joined 16 other states in a federal lawsuit targeting protections for disabled people, asking that the court declare the protections unconstitutional. Brevard's school board did not immediately address the public's comments.
Moon lander launch set for tonight.
A Falcon 9 is set to launch a lander to the moon tonight from Kennedy Space Center. Weather is forecasted to be 95% favorable for the 7:17PM launch. The objective is to place the lander near a crater at the south pole of the moon where it will look for the presence of lunar water ice. During the mission, a second vehicle, a standalone hopper lander, will explore difficult-to-reach areas in search of lunar ice.
In addition, there’s a rideshare payload on the Falcon 9. A private company, AstroForge, is aiming a spacecraft toward an near-earth asteroid in deep space. The goal is to see if it’s possible to mine precious metals from an asteroid.
Just hours after the lunar mission, SpaceX will try again tonight to launch more Starlink satellites. The mission, using a brand new first stage Falcon 9, has been scrubbed or delayed the past few days. The four hour launch window opens at 10:34PM tonight.
