Brevard Summer Camps Now Open to All Students
Brevard Public Schools has expanded access to its summer enrichment programs, allowing all students in the county, including homeschool and private school students, to participate. Previously, only those enrolled in BPS were eligible.
Under Florida law, non-public school students can participate in public school extracurricular activities if they meet eligibility criteria, including demonstrating educational progress, meeting residency requirements, and adhering to the same code of conduct as public-school students.
Pre-registration is now open, with full registration launching May 5 at 6 p.m. The camps, open to students in grades K-11, will run from June 2 to June 26 at locations across Brevard County. Program details and sign-ups are available at bpssummerenrichment2025.sched.com.
Cocoa Beach expands short term rental enforcement.
There are over 800 short-term vacation rental properties in Cocoa Beach. Neighbors have complained they disrupt neighborhood life with loud parties and parking issues. The Cocoa Beach City Commission took action last February, enacting enforcement laws. WFIT’s Rick Glasby reports those ordinances were revised last week:
Cocoa Beach has expanded its enforcement of short-term vacation rentals to include condos and other multifamily residential properties. At the same time, the Cocoa Beach City Commission lowered the annual registration fees for vacation rentals. Instead of $1,500 a year for single family homes, the fee will now be based on the total number of occupants expected. New fines were also approved. Anyone operating a vacation rental in Cocoa Beach without registering will be fined $250 for the first day and $500 for every subsequent day until the sixth day when then fine goes up to $1,000 daily.
Gun Age Bill Likely Dead This Session
Days after a mass shooting nearby at Florida State University, the state Senate appears poised to scuttle a controversial proposal that would allow people under age 21 to buy rifles and other long guns.
Last month, the Florida House approved repealing a law that prevents 18 to 20-year-olds from buying guns.
For several weeks, Senate President Ben Albritton had been non-committal about whether a vote on the measure would be taken in the upper chamber, but leadership on Monday said the measure will not pass this year.
Earlier Monday, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell hoped the Senate would not advance the bill.
She says more gun control is needed, not less.
“I’m sensitive to not politicizing this issue, but year after year, Democrats in our caucus file good, common-sense gun laws. They are reforms that would help to make our communities safer. Unfortunately, the Republican majority refuses even to give them a hearing.”
Other gun legislation, which would have allowed students to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, died last month after the Senate Criminal Justice Committee did not approve it.
A House version of that bill was never heard in committee.
FL will no longer see $300 million in FEMA funding
With hurricane season approaching, the Trump administration has shut down one of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's major funding streams for Florida.
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC [brick], program is not the only program that grants FEMA funds to Florida – but it is one of the biggest.
Ethan Frey [fry] is a visiting fellow at the Florida Policy Institute.
[“I think these cuts combined with what the administration is talking about doing to our current system for responding to emergency storms is pretty threatening."]
BRIC [brick] has distributed billions of dollars nationally in the last five years to develop storm-resistant infrastructure.
More: www.floridatoday.com
