Brightline gets no love from Wall Street.
Brightline, the passenger rail line running from Orlando and Miami, has been on a growth spurt, adding passengers and increasing revenue. But that may not be good enough for Wall Street. Bond-rating agencies are wondering if the growth will be enough to produce the cash needed over time to sustain operations. More than $ 4 billion of Brightline bonds and notes have been downgraded this month. Brightline has yet to be profitable. Last year it posted a net loss of $550 million.
Another player in the Hope Florida scandal.
Two months ago, anti-drug lobbyist Amy Ronshausen was praised by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a “Florida Hero.” She qualified as a hero for helping defeat a November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. Now, Ronshausen has been suspended from her position at the nonprofit she ran for the last 17 years due to revelations about her role in the Hope Florida controversy. Ronshausen is a key player in an investigation into how $10 million from a Medicaid settlement meant to pay back Florida for prescription drug overpayments instead landed in the coffers of the Hope Florida Foundation in October. That money was then quickly redistributed to two nonprofits — one of them Ronshausen’s — that in turn gave millions to a DeSantis-backed political committee set up to defeat the ballot measure that would have made recreational pot legal.
Patrick Space Force Base prepares for STARCOM.
Patrick Space Force Base is preparing for STARCOM’s move from Colorado to Florida. STARCOM is the Space Training and Readiness Command for the Space Force. Patrick is planning construction of two buildings for the 450 personnel expected to be working in Florida.
In other space news, SpaceX will attempt the next flight of the massive Starship rocket this evening from Texas. The launch window opens at 7:30 PM Eastern. And the next launch from the Space Coast is scheduled for Wednesday morning. A Falcon9 is slated to lift off at 9:30 AM Wednesday.
No Pride for state bridges.
June is gay pride month, and in the past many of Florida’s bridges were decorated in rainbow colors. Not this year. The Florida Department of Transportation recently changed its policy on lighting state-managed bridges to limit it to red, white, and blue. FDOT said the policy is part of the Salute to America 250 Task Force, a group created by President Trump.
Coral babies to the rescue.
In the race to save Florida’s coral reefs from extinction, over 1,000 coral babies are heading out to sea. The babies come from a coral breeding lab at the Florida Aquarium. Scientists believe the palm-sized corals hold the key to staving off a warming ocean that has damaged 84% of the world’s reefs. They will be planted in reefs off the coast of the Florida Keys.
Florida Man shot and poisoned dolphins.
Today’s Florida Man is Zachary Barfield. He made his living guiding fishing charters in the Gulf. When dolphins began stealing the fish from his clients’ lines, Barfield felt justified in poisoning and shooting the dolphins. He’s been fined $51,000 and sentenced to a month in jail.
