Voters will decide on IRL sales tax.
Brevard County commissioners voted this week to move forward with a voter referendum to renew the ½-cent sales tax for the Indian River Lagoon. The Commission will hold public hearings next January, and a public hearing in April or May. Over its decade-long life, the tax will have raised more than $500 million for the lagoon.
Orlando Health may build new hospital in Viera.
Orlando Health has a contract to purchase land in Viera for a future hospital to replace Rockledge Regional Medical Center. Plans show the "Orlando Health Viera Hospital" would be a stone's throw from Health First's Viera Hospital. Meanwhile, the Rockledge hospital is being torn down.
SpaceX tries for 100th launch of the year.
SpaceX targeting a late-night launch tonight for what would be the 100th orbital rocket launch of the year from the Cape. The four hour launch window open at 10:21 tonight.
State lawmakers tries to ban removal of Confederate monuments.
A Florida State Senator has filed legislation for next year’s legislative session intended to ban removal of Confederate historic monuments. The bill filed by Sen. Stan McClain would protect “each historic Florida monument or memorial from removal, damage, or destruction.” Similar bills have appeared in the past three legislative sessions as part of a broader conservative response to the nationwide movement to tear down or rename Confederate statues.
Lawsuit filed to stop oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the federal government's planned sale of 80 million acres of the Gulf for oil and gas drilling leases. WFIT’s Terri Wright gives details.
On its website, the Interior Department stated: “This sale is the second of thirty Gulf of America oil and gas lease sales required under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Environmental groups argue the sale would violate the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the nation’s cornerstone environmental laws. NEPA requires federal agencies to thoroughly assess potential environmental impacts before taking action. The groups contend that failing to evaluate the risks associated with leasing public waters could leave much of the Gulf vulnerable to additional oil spills and further threaten the endangered Rice’s whale.
Melbourne man accused of starting California fire to remain in jail.
A judge ruled this week that the Melbourne man accused of starting the deadly wildfire in a Los Angeles neighborhood in January must remain jailed while he awaits trial. The judge denied bond for Jonathan Rinderknecht saying he must be kept in custody due to his mental health.
Florida Tech best online college in Florida.
Newsweek has named Florida Tech as the No. 1 online college in the state. The university was also named the 10th best online college in the United States. Newsweek's rankings were based on a survey of over 10,000 online learning users.
Evans Road is back open.
Evans Road south of Hibiscus Blvd. in Melbourne has reopened following the completion of a major construction project. The high-traffic corridor was closed to improve stormwater flow.
Florida election supervisors ask lawmakers to make it easier to vote by mail.
Florida election supervisors are again asking state lawmakers to make it easier for Floridians to vote by mail. David Ramba, representing the Florida Supervisors of Elections, told the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Wednesday that supervisors want the Legislature to reinstate the checkbox on mail-in ballot envelopes. It wasn't the supervisors' only ask. In all, Ramba outlined seven changes the supervisors would like to see made.
