ULA prepares Vulcan rocket for launch tonight.
United Launch Alliance will fly its new Vulcan rocket this evening from the Cape. The one hour launch window opens at 7:59PM. The payload for this third flight of Vulcan was built by Melbourne-based L3Harris. It’s a navigation technology satellite for the Air Force. Weather is forecast to be 80% favorable for the launch. Vulcan ends ULA’s reliance on Russian rocket engines, instead using engines from Blue Origin. Vulcan is the successor to ULA’s Atlas V and Delta IV class of rockets.
Melbourne officials to consider a pay raise.
The pay of Melbourne's mayor and other City Council members hasn't increased in nearly twenty years. Some Melbourne City Council members say they are underpaid, compared with their counterparts in similarly sized Florida cities. Today the council will continue its debate on whether to approve any raises. Melbourne's mayor currently receives an annual salary of over $10,000, and the other six council members receive over $7,000 a year. Under the city's charter, mayor and council pay raises cannot take effect until after the next council election.
Beachside restaurant shut down four times.
A beachside restaurant was shut down four times in a week for health code violations. The Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort was ordered to stop serving food for two days due to flying insects, temperature issues and dish washer problems. A fifth inspection gave the facility a passing score.
FPL and state agrees on utility rates.
We don’t know the bottom line yet, but state regulators Monday paused a closely watched case about increasing Florida Power & Light's base electric rates after the utility announced Friday they had reached a "settlement in principle.” FPL will come back by Aug. 20 to explain their rate increase request.
DOGE audit of Orlando is underway.
Auditors from Florida’s DOGE team are in Orlando this week, auditing thousands of pages of financial transactions, salaries, and equity initiatives. The city’s audit comes a week after Orange County faced its own DOGE inspection.
FWC commissioners ready to approve a bear hunt.
Many Floridians are trying to prevent it, but it looks like state wildlife management officials will vote to allow a bear hunt to happen later this year. Members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are meeting this week for the final vote. They’ve already drafted regulations providing for sales of lottery tickets for the chance to kill 187 bears in designated zones. Hunters could use dogs to assist them and use food to bait the animals. Advocates say the hunt is a means to control the bear population, but critics call it unnecessarily cruel, especially for hunters who use bows and arrows.
Sharks don’t stand a chance.
Sharks have acquired a new enemy: Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Scott is co-sponsoring something he’s calling the “Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research, Knowledge, and Enhanced Dialogue (or SHARKED for short). It would make the US Secretary of Commerce investigate why sharks are taking big bites out of hooked sportfish — killing the buzz of sport fishermen. It’s called “shark depredation.” The sharks are just doing what sharks do but, offshore fisherman aren’t happy.
