Florida’s Attorney General held in contempt of court.
A federal judge took the extraordinary step of holding Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, in civil contempt of court on Tuesday in a continuing clash over the state’s new immigration enforcement law. The judge, Kathleen Williams, ruled that Mr. Uthmeier had defied an order putting part of the new law on hold when he told police officers that he could not “prevent” them from making arrests under it. The judge imposed no jail time or fine, but she ordered Uthmeier to file reports to her about whether any arrests have been made under the law, which is being challenged in court by immigrant rights groups.
Major tax relief not included in Florida budget.
Tallahassee lawmakers’ plan to deliver major tax relief to Floridians did not survive the budget reconciliation process. Gone is the $1,000 property tax rebate sought by Gov. DeSantis. Gone is the reduction in the state sales tax rate pushed by legislators. Instead the $1.3 billion state budget mostly benefits businesses, while providing some targeted sales tax relief to families.
Is Palm Bay sewage cleanup complete?
The main cleanup of millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled last week in the Turkey Creek area near Palm Bay's main sewer plant is complete. That’s what city officials said yesterday. But some residents say they continue to see floating sewage. An estimated 3.2 million gallons of wastewater spilled in Palm Bay when a 37-year-old pipe broke. The city says it will continue to monitor water quality.
Axiom astronauts to fly this Sunday.
The four international Axiom astronauts remain in isolation at the Cape, but their stay in Brevard is coming to an end. SpaceX has scheduled their flight to the space station for this Sunday. NASA continues to evaluate the leak repairs made in the Russian segment of the space station, but has tentatively approved the launch of the private astronauts for this Sunday.
Florida to fly home Americans from Israel.
The state of Florida is chartering aircraft to fly Americans home from Israel. Nearly 1,500 Jewish-Americans — including many from South Florida — were evacuated Tuesday aboard a cruise ship to Cyprus, and were scheduled to board flights home that were arranged by the state of Florida. Commercial airline service to and from Tel Aviv has been suspended.
No one wants billionaire’s poop.
State lawmakers have come to the rescue of the so-called Billionaires Bunker in South Florida. The island north of Miami is where Jeff Bezos, Jared Kushner, Tom Brady and other wealthy property owners live. They have a problem. No one wants their raw sewage. They currently use septic tanks but would like to transition to a more eco-friendly sewer system. The neighboring town of Surfside wanted $10 million to connect to their sewer system. But billionaires have friends in Tallahassee, and now, buried in the transportation bill approved by state lawmakers, there's a provision that would prohibit cities from charging a connection fee. That bill is waiting for Gov DeSantis’ signature.
