Environmental group wins manatee protection case.
A federal judge ruled Friday, pollution from septic tanks and sewage spills is killing seagrass, causing threatened manatees to starve to death and Florida is not doing enough to stop it. Manatee advocates say this latest ruling is a sign of hope and possible precedent that could force Florida to do more to clean up the Indian River Lagoon.
Massive cuts to NASA science budget.
NASA’s science budget could be cut nearly in half under an early version of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal to Congress. The move would terminate billions of dollars’ worth of ongoing and future missions. The budget proposal, though not yet formally submitted to Congress, would eliminate a long list of planetary and astronomical missions, including the next major NASA space telescope and the agency’s goal of bringing samples of Mars back to Earth to search for signs of ancient life.
FEMA slashes $300 million in Florida projects.
Nearly $300 million in federal aid meant to help protect Florida communities from flooding and hurricanes has been frozen since President Donald Trump took office in January. Now the state will never get the money, leaving dozens of projects in limbo. The cancellation of the program comes as the Trump administration says it may scrap FEMA altogether. Gov. DeSantis’ office and state emergency management division did not respond to requests for comments about the canceled grants.
Some legislation in Tallahassee is stalled.
A gun bill has been moving through the Florida House but prospects in the Senate don’t look good — presiding officer Ben Albritton doesn’t like the idea of lowering the age to purchase rifles and shotguns. This is one of a number of bills winning favor in one chamber but lagging in the other as the legislative session begins to wind down. Others include restrictions on use of hand-held cellphones in moving vehicles, and public school “deregulation.” Under the proposed legislation, Florida high schoolers would not need to pass algebra or English final exams to graduate. And the the E-Verify measure, which would require all Florida businesses to use the system to check the legal status of employees, has cleared both committees in the House, but hasn’t progressed through the Florida Senate at all.
CDC cruise crews fired.
All full-time employees in the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program were laid off last week, even as a cruise ship arrived in Florida with another norovirus outbreak. The CDC employees whose jobs were cut were responsible for monitoring, tracking and assisting with gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships. The epidemiologist tasked with leading the federal agency’s outbreak response on cruise ships also was included in the layoffs. So far this year, 10 ships departing from or arriving in Florida reported norovirus outbreaks.
New NCL ship headed to Port Canaveral.
A new Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Aqua, is headed to Port Canaveral soon. But it sailed into Port Miami for a christening event Sunday. Modern Family actor Eric Stonestreet was on hand as the official godfather for the ship. The Aqua will begin 7-night Caribbean sailings from Port Canaveral starting April 26.
