Jennifer Jenkins drops out of US Senate race.
Former Brevard school board member Jennifer Jenkins has ended her campaign for the U.S. Senate. Jenkins has endorsed fellow Democrat Alex Vindman, a former White House national security expert. Vindman announced his candidacy just two days before Jenkins dropped out of the race. She praised Vindman's campaign for "putting Florida back on the map," saying she would work to help him in his efforts.
“Year of the Giants”
SpaceX may begin launching its colossal Starship rockets from Florida's Space Coast as soon as late summer. Construction is underway for Starship launch infrastructure at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. At a conference in Orlando Space Force Col. Brian Chatman called 2026 “The Year of the Giants,” referring to both SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets.
Relaxing Florida’s gun laws.
There's long been an effort in the Florida House to reduce from 21 to 18 the legal age to purchase a long gun and reverse policy passed in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. Rep. Tyler Sirois of Merritt Island is taking aim at another provision in the 2018 law. He wants to revoke the statute that allows for the development of risk-protection orders which can result in firearms being removed from people who are deemed a danger to themselves or others. Since the law’s implementation, Florida courts have authorized more than 19,000 risk-protection orders. Sirois’ bill has no Senate sponsor. And that’s just fine with Senate President Ben Albritton, who said he’s not a supporter of repeal.
Local Popeye’s to close.
Earlier we learned that the operator of many Popeye’s restaurants had filed for bankruptcy. Today we report that 17 Popeyes closed abruptly yesterday, including the North Wickham Rd location in Melbourne. It’s unclear if more closures are on the way.
Brevard releases X-rayed skeeters.
After last year’s record-breaking outbreak of Dengue fever, Brevard County has released X-ray sterilized male mosquitoes to combat the spread of the virus. WFIT’s Terri Wright shares the details.
Thousands of sterilized male mosquitoes were released in October and December. Officials are now analyzing data to determine their effect.
The pilot program aims to reduce mosquito populations without heavy reliance on pesticides. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) renders male mosquitoes infertile, preventing reproduction.
Mosquito-control officials assure this method, used by farmers since the 1950s, is safe and environmentally friendly. They emphasize that sterilization is not like the much more controversial gene modification of mosquitoes used in recent years in the Florida Keys.
Publix no longer the top grocery store in Florida.
A fan-favorite grocery chain has just surpassed Publix as the top grocery store in Florida, according to the latest report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Last year, Trader Joe’s and Publix were neck-and-neck for the No. 1 spot. But while Publix stagnated, Trader Joe’s shot up a couple of points, solidly taking the top spot for itself.
Cold weather watches issued by NWS.
Extreme cold alerts are in effect for most of the state of Florida this weekend, including our area. Meteorologist Megan Borowski from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network tells us what we can expect and how long the cold snap will last,
Right so there's a nor’easter developing and it will impact the mid Atlantic states tomorrow with heavy snow. Now that same storm will drag a cold front through the length of the state of Florida tonight into tomorrow, and behind it will come an Arctic air mass. Record low temperatures will likely be tied or set this weekend across the Panhandle North Florida and Central Florida, and the chill will last through at least the beginning of the work week. We should start to see temperatures moderating by the middle of the upcoming week.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne has issued two watches related to the anticipated cold weather along the Space Center. An extreme cold watch and freeze watch are in effect from Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon. Expect temperatures to drop into the 20’s with wind chills as low as 8 degrees Saturday night.
The extreme cold is forcing some outdoor activities to be cancelled. Earl’s Hideaway Lounge in Sebastian has cancelled Thursday, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon shows. Check with the venue on the status of the Friday night and Saturday afternoon shows.
