Brevard commissioners show interest in public's ideas for improving government operations
Brevard County commissioners seemed interested in hearing a range of ideas from the public during a cordial interaction at a workshop Tuesday evening.
Commissioners spent 2½ hours listening to about two dozen residents in what was the first-ever special workshop related to the county's Speak Up Brevard program — a program that dates back more than a decade and is a voter-approved requirement of Brevard County's Charter.
Holding the workshop is a new twist to the program. Its addition was spearheaded by District 1 Commissioner Katie Delaney, who made communication with the public a key part of her 2024 campaign.
On Tuesday, commissioners seemed excited by the discussion, and were involved in asking questions to the speakers.
After the meeting, Delaney said it was incredible to see so much input. She said it was exactly what government is intended to be, for the people, and by the people.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is no longer on Florida Tech’s web pages
Florida Tech’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page on Engage, along with its Institute of Culture, Collaboration and Management website, are no longer available.
When you try to click on the links, they either can’t be reached or fail to load.
Florida Tech and other organizations around the country are seeing the effects of the executive order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”
Because it’s a private institution, Florida Tech doesn’t have to follow the executive order, but, if a private institution engages in federal contracts or receives federal funding, certain executive orders that pertain to DEI programs may influence its operations.
In a statement to the Florida Tech Crimson on Tuesday, a spokesperson said Florida Tech is diligently reviewing executive orders and other federal guidance to ensure its programs are in compliance. The statement also said the focus remained on the students and their learning and opportunities.
As for other Brevard post-secondary institutions, schools reacted differently. Eastern Florida State College said they were mostly unaffected by Trump's recent executive orders.
Severely damaged SpaceX Falcon 9 booster arrives at Port Canaveral after post-landing fire
A scorched and disfigured Falcon 9 arrived at Port Canaveral on Wednesday, which is a rare sight among the routine space hardware that regularly comes through the port.
The landing legs stuck up in the air and the melted body of the rocket hung off the side of the drone ship. The only sign that the object had been a Falcon 9 rocket was the nine engines still intact.
SpaceX usually successfully lands the first stage of their Falcon 9 rockets. But this one had experienced a rare accident after Sunday night's Starlink launch.
According to SpaceX, a fire broke out during the landing in the bottom part of the first-stage booster which damaged the landing leg. This caused the booster to tip over onto the drone ship.
The Starlink satellites were not impacted, and the mission was considered successful — but the booster was a total loss.
Northrop Grumman boosting B-21 Raider bomber production 'ahead of schedule and on budget'
Northrop Grumman is ramping up production of its Melbourne-developed B-21 Raider long-range stealth bomber for the U.S. Air Force, the company confirmed Wednesday.
In a press release, the company announced it entered a second "low-rate initial production" contract during the fourth quarter of 2024 to build more bombers.
Air Force officials have said the B-21 Raider is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s with a production goal of at least 100 aircraft. The cost for each aircraft is $692 million, as calculated in 2022 dollars.
Engineers designed and developed the futuristic aircraft at the defense contractor's expanding campus at Melbourne Orlando International Airport.
More: FloridaToday.com