'It's mission impossible': Brevard families grapple with impending halt of SNAP benefits
SNAP benefits are set to be put on hold as the federal government shutdown continues. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
SNAP benefits are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose funding is impacted by the federal government. With the ongoing government shutdown and federal funding on hold, the nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on SNAP will not receive their November benefits until the shutdown ends, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, the agency that administers benefits.
In addition to the looming cutoff of federal SNAP benefits, families with government jobs are feeling the effects of going without a paycheck. A food bank began operating at Patrick Space Force Base in mid-October to alleviate the impact of the shutdown, with free bagged food available to military families.
Prior to the government shutdown, the food insecurity rate in Brevard was already at a 10-year high.
Agencies addressing hunger throughout Brevard are bracing for the community's increasing needs.
FL state workers paid least in nation
State of Florida employees are the rock-bottom lowest hourly earners in the country, trailing state workers in neighboring Alabama and Georgia by thousands of dollars to rank 51st among the states and Washington DC for government pay, according to the online job site ZipRecruiter.
Nearly 100,000 state employees handle the paperwork, maintain the facilities, and provide the services that keep the 16th largest economy in the world, and fourth among U.S. states at $1.7 trillion, humming.
But they are compensated with, on average, $26,000 fewer dollars than workers for Illinois, which has the 5th largest economy and get paid $39,000 less than the workers in New York, who provide services for the third largest economy in the U.S.
Florida runs the leanest government, employing 96 people per 10,000 residents compared to the national average of 198, and is paying them the least amount of money in the nation.
Brevard remains under flood watch after heavy overnight flooding
Brevard remained under a flood watch Oct. 27 after torrential rain drenched the Space Coast overnight, causing widespread flooding.
Titusville and North Merritt Island were particularly hard hit with reports on social media of roads underwater, cars stuck and rainwater entering homes. People posted photos of parking lots that looked more like pond, and cars stalled in heavily flooded roadways.
The flood watch was due to remain in effect until 8 p.m. Monday night. Brevard Public Schools announced about 7:40 a.m., Oct 27 that schools would remain open. However, "due to flooding in local areas, we will be excusing absences."
The torrential downpour brought as much as 14 inches of rain in a matter of six hours, according to Robert Haley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. A flash flood warning was issued about 4:40 p.m. Oct. 26 and the rain persisted until about 10 p.m.
A Florida judge has paused a long-running lawsuit over whether medical marijuana patients can be prohibited from owning guns, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case addressing the same federal law.
WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor has paused a Florida lawsuit challenging federal gun restrictions for marijuana users until the Supreme Court rules on a similar case, U.S. v. Hemani. Justice Department attorneys said the upcoming decision will “almost certainly have a significant impact” on Florida’s case. Filed in 2022, the lawsuit highlights a conflict between state and federal law: while Florida’s 2016 constitutional amendment allows medical marijuana use, federal law still bans firearm possession by anyone deemed an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance. Both the Florida and Texas cases question whether that ban violates the Second Amendment.