Port Canaveral edges out Miami for busiest cruise port.
Port Canaveral has regained the title as world’s busiest cruise port. Canaveral edged out Miami, with more cruise passengers getting on or off a ship during fiscal 2025. Port Canaveral had a record 8.6 million passenger movements, making it No. 1. Canaveral’s traffic comes from just six cruise terminals, but in fiscal 2025 it featured more and bigger ships calling it home than in previous years. That includes the current title holder for world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, which arrived in August.
Blue Origin wastewater plan criticized by IRL supporters.
The Brevard County Commission and backers of the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Program want a public hearing to occur before Blue Origin gets a state permit to discharge industrial wastewater into the Indian River Lagoon. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has prepared a draft permit authorizing Blue Origin to operate wastewater treatment facility just outside the gates of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Brevard County commissioners unanimously voted to ask DEP to conduct a public meeting to discuss the draft permit.
Satellite Beach may allow dog walking on beach.
The Satellite Beach City Council is considering a four-month pilot program to allow dogs on city beaches. The proposed program would run from Jan. 1 to April 30 next year. Dogs would be permitted on Satellite Beach coastline from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. If successful, the program could allow dogs on the beach annually from Nov. 1 to April 30. That would avoid sea turtle nesting season.
Proposed cuts to property taxes worry local emergency services.
Republicans in the Florida House have advanced a raft of laws aimed at lowering or eliminating homestead property taxes. The proposals have raised fears by local officials it could starve fire department and EMT services. The resolutions would shield law enforcement from any resultant budget cuts but wouldn’t protect other public-safety services.
In other news from Tallahassee, Florida’s House Judiciary Committee voted 13–7 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would lower the firearm purchase age to 18, including for assault-style rifles. WFIT’s Terri Wright shares the details.
The bill would reverse a law enacted after the 2018 Parkland school shooting. The vote, largely along party lines, sends the measure to the full House. Rep. Hillary Cassel of Hollywood, who recently switched from Democrat to Republican, joined Democrats in opposing it.
The bill’s future remains uncertain: no Senate companion bill has been filed yet, and similar efforts have failed three times before, though lawmakers still have time to introduce one before the session begins in January.
Cosmonaut pulled from NASA flight.
A Russian cosmonaut has been pulled from an upcoming NASA flight to the International Space Station. Oleg Artemyev of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, is accused of violating US national security regulations. While training at SpaceX in California, Artemyev allegedly photographed SpaceX hardware and documentation and used his phone to export classified information. He’s been replaced on the next NASA flight from KSC to the ISS.
Portion of Riverside Drive closed for five months.
A portion of Riverside Drive in unincorporated Indialantic was closed Wednesday, Dec. 3, for a drainage improvement project. The road is closed south of Sand Dollar Road and north of the entrance to The Sanctuary neighborhood. The project is expected to take approximately five months. Traffic is being diverted to A1A.
