DeSantis says vetoes are coming.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is no stranger to the veto pen and on Thursday he warned that budget vetoes are coming. The Republican governor took shots at the Legislature Thursday for not passing a budget on time. He also noted that the final $115 billion budget includes enough local projects for individual lawmakers to leave him “kind of numb.” The governor has to take action before July 1 when the new state fiscal year takes effect. DeSantis last year vetoed near a billion dollars in projects from the budget.
Man threatened to kill Sheriff Ivey.
A 20-year-old Virginia man turned himself in at the Brevard County jail after investigators said he threatened to kill Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey. It was not immediately known if Jacob Devan had any previous connections to Brevard County or knew Ivey, but the Sheriff’s viral warning that unruly protesters at demonstrations who threw bricks or pointed guns at deputies would be killed "graveyard dead” was cited as the reason for the threat.
Expect a surge in petition gathering.
Floridians can make changes to the state constitution by getting amendments on the election ballot. And the only way to do that is by gathering signatures on a petition. That job gets more difficult, starting July 1st. So, expect a surge in petition gathering over the next few days. Sponsors of citizen-led petitions must gather over 880,000 valid signatures from at least half of the state’s congressional districts. Among the active campaigns are proposals to establish a right to clean water, legalize recreational marijuana, and expand medicaid.
Brevard students improve in standardized tests.
Brevard County students showed improvement in standardized FAST test scores compared to last year. In both the English Language Arts and mathematics tests most Brevard students scored at or above state level. FAST scores are based on end-of-year assessments and monitor student progress throughout the year.
Next rocket launch just after midnight tonight.
SpaceX has scheduled the next launch of Starlink satellites for 12:26AM tomorrow morning. The launch window extends to 4:26AM.
Flamingos thrive on Merritt Island.
A Brevard refuge is one of only a few areas where flamingos have a established toehold in Florida. For more than a year and half, a growing group of flamingos has been hanging out at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This iconic species may be reestablishing itself in Florida after an absence of more than a century. Records show that before 1900, flamingos were plentiful in Florida, living in groups of more than 1,000 at times. But by the early 1900s, the birds had all but disappeared – and not just from Florida but across their international habitat. They were hunted for their meat – yes, people ate flamingos – and killed for their pink feathers, used on women’s hats at the time. In 2023, Hurricane Idalia scooped up scores of flamingos from Mexico, and deposited them in an isolated part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. As yet, none are known to have bred here, that would make them natives again rather than merely visitors.
