Anna Kepner died from strangulation.
More details are coming to light in the death of the Titusville teen who died on a Carnival cruise ship. According to a report from ABC News, Anna Kepner died by asphyxiation. The body of the Titusville high school senior was found under the bed in the cruise ship cabin she shared with her 16-year-old stepbrother. ABC News also reported Kepner did not have any signs of sexual assault or drugs or alcohol in her system. According to an attorney for the boy’s father, the boy was allowed to drink and participated in questionable behavior on the family vacation. A lawyer for the boy’s mother strongly refuted that claim.
UCF lays off Brevard renewable energy staff.
The University of Central Florida has laid off 57 employees at a Brevard County renewable energy research center. The action came after the Trump administration cut federal grants that supported the Florida Solar Energy Center. The center, on Clearlake Road in Cocoa, was established in 1975 to advance research, development, and education in solar energy. It became the largest state-supported renewable energy institute in the country, with a staff of 150. It now has just seven employees.
Recreational pot dealt a setback.
Advocates of recreational marijuana in Florida were dealt a setback last week. A judge’s ruling Friday wiped out about a third of the signatures on petitions supporting a proposed amendment legalizing recreational pot. A Leon County circuit judge ruled that state officials did not err when ordering supervisors of elections to scrap more than 200,000 petition signatures. Smart & Safe Florida is facing a February 1st deadline to submit more than 880,000 verified signatures. The group vowed to appeal the decision.
Florida DOGE wants to know about every university course.
The DeSantis administration has asked Florida universities to submit detailed information about every undergraduate course. The request includes the syllabus and names of faculty members who are instructing it in the next two academic years at the 12 Florida campuses. The president of the statewide faculty union called the request “theater” from the governor’s office and said it will add to already anxious professors’ worries. The faculty union head at Florida State said she thought DOGE was about eliminating waste, but this data collection is wasteful in itself.
Riverside Drive in Indialantic to close for 5 months.
A section of Riverside Drive in Indialantic will close for five months, as the county undertakes a major drainage improvement project. Traffic will be diverted to A1A from December 3rd through mid-April.
And a traffic note for boats on the Banana River. Mathers bridge has experienced another technical problem. It is closed to boats but open for cars. There’s no timetable for when repairs will be completed. The low-level Mathers Bridge first opened in 1927. It connects South Tropical Trail on the southern end of Merritt Island to the western end of Banana River Drive in Indian Harbour Beach.
Drone ends 4 days search for Sebastian man.
A Sebastian resident found himself in trouble, stuck in the swamp near his home. After four days, Indian River County deputies located the 86-year-old man using thermal cameras on a drone. He was taken to the hospital, suffering from cuts and a lot of bug bites.
