Cape Canaveral’s only public school to close.
Last night the Brevard County School Board voted unanimously to close Cape View Elementary. Cape Canaveral’s only public school faced a declining number of students. Details regarding student reassignment, transportation, and the timeline for the closure are expected to be provided by the district in the coming weeks.
Cubans being deported from Florida.
Cubans in Florida have long benefited from legal privileges unavailable to immigrants from other countries. President Trump has changed that. Now, to their shock, Cubans in Florida are being deported in record numbers. Last year more than 1,600 Cubans were repatriated. Some of them had been in the United States for decades and built families and businesses, but were removed because of an old criminal conviction. Legal immigration has also been all but cut out. When Trump enacted a travel ban on 19 countries, ending a family reunification program, that included Cuba.
Anti-trans again.
The Florida legislature is again considering anti-trans laws. Doctors, school counselors or psychologists could face felony charges and steep fines if they advise a student to undergo transgender therapies. The proposed legislation builds on Florida’s 2023 anti-trans law that outlawed surgeries and medications.
As e-bike popularity increases, so does the number of injuries. A Florida Senate committee passed a bill that adds new regulations to e-bikes. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
Tuesday, a Senate committee unanimously approved legislation, SB 382, requiring licenses for some of the faster e-bikes and requiring electric bike riders to yield to pedestrians on park paths and other off-road trails. It also mandates that e-bike users on a sidewalk go no faster than 10 mph if someone is within 50 feet. Noncompliance could result in a ticket.
The House version of the legislation, HB 243, appears in a committee this afternoon.
Another bill moving through the Florida Senate would ban smoking marijuana in any public place. The idea is to spare the public from the smell of pot smoke.
Pelicans to be tagged to track injuries.
Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores plans to tag brown pelicans to track repeat injuries from fishing lines. Many injured pelicans are found at Sebastian Inlet State Park, often entangled in fishing gear. The hospital’s executive director said they get so many pelicans from Sebastian Inlet, there’s no way of knowing if its the same bird. The study will help determine the best locations to release rehabilitated pelicans to prevent re-injury. Volunteers are needed to monitor the tagged birds, which will have both metal and plastic leg bands.
Popeye’s franchisee files for bankruptcy.
The company that operates 136 Popeye’s Chicken restaurants in Florida has filed for bankruptcy protection. Sailorman, Inc. is reportedly $130 million in debt. The company cited inflation, rising borrowing costs and labor challenges as reasons for its financial troubles. No word on whether any Brevard County Popeye’s will be closing.
Pollen counts increase.
Brevard County is experiencing medium-high pollen counts. And wildfires and controlled burns aren’t helping. The pollen scale runs from 0 to 12, and yesterday in Brevard it reached 9.1 Allergists say pollen begins to affect people with allergies at a level of 4.
