Brevard approves $13 million muck dredging plan for Grand Canal near Satellite Beach
County commissioners unanimously approved a plan that would see muck dredging in the Grand Canal continue, a project that has cost millions of dollars and lasted years.
The remaining cost of the muck dredging after this week's decision would be just over $13 million, and it will use the remaining $5.1 million of state funds that could otherwise expire. Removing the estimated 67,300 cubic yards of muck from the canal would be scheduled to finish by 2028 under the plan approved Tuesday.
Removing the muck has been seen as a major component of the overall project to revive the Indian River Lagoon using the county's voter-approve half-cent sales tax.
Muck dredging in the Grand Canal has gone on for over five years, with plenty of muck still to be removed.
What will be done with the muck that is removed from the waterway is still to be decided.
Previously blocked from Alligator Alcatraz, Democrats find 'disturbing, vile conditions'
Democratic members of congress toured Alligator Alcatraz on July 12, and called it “vile”, “inhumane” and “gross” while pledging to hold authorities accountable.
Rep. Maxwell Frost of Orlando reported hearing people yelling for help, and someone calling out that they were a U.S. citizen.
He said there are about 1,000 male detainees, mostly Hispanic, at the center. There are cells to house 3,000 detainees, and he said workers will soon add another 1,000 beds.
The lawmakers weren't allowed to examine the cells or talk to the detainees, they said, observing them from the tent entry.
Democrats from Congress and the Legislature clearly had a very different take compared to Republicans who toured more than 10 days ago.
Republicans called the food "yummy", talked about how comfortable the detainees' beds were and said the facility met all the standards for detention centers.
The Democrats disagreed.
After speaking with detainees and their families, Frost said there were reports of flooding, toilets backing up, and people being denied showers.
CW Theater in West Melbourne closing after 25 years in business
West Melbourne's CW Theater will be closing its doors this summer after over two decades in business.
The location opened as Cinema World in 2000 and was the first movie theater in Brevard County to feature tiered stadium-style seating over traditional movie theater seats.
In a news release, the theater’s owners said that the theater was at the heart of their company since it was their first location they ever built.
According to a report from TheStreet.com, which monitors investment and financial news nationwide, the company behind the theater filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3.
The theater will be closing in early August but will continue screening films until then.
'We've hit a crossroads': Brevard Renaissance Fair to leave Brevard County
Brevard Renaissance Fair has announced plans to leave Brevard County just months after settling into a new home in Melbourne.
The group cites restrictions from local government as the reason for leaving. They said, “The endless hurdles and lack of commitment from the city made staying impossible.”
Organizers of the fair have secured a 15-year deal with a new location in Central Florida.
The event moved from its original location, Wickham Park, to Castle Park this past January.
The group said it spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build permanent stages including a castle of its own.
Brevard Renaissance Fair plans to announce the new location in the coming weeks. The group says it will be within driving distance of Brevard County.