Florida’s proposed budget released in Tallahassee.
The Florida House and Senate have finally released their proposed budgets for state fiscal year starting in July. The spending blueprints are about $1 billion apart, with the House proposing to spend nearly $114 billion and the Senate $115 billion. The legislative proposals fall short of Gov. Ron DeSantis's wishes on several fronts. He has proposed a budget two billion dollars higher, with more spending on the State Guard. The House version deletes all funding for the State Guard. The annual budget is the only must-pass bill of the legislative session, which is slated to end March 15. The question is always: Will they get their work finished on time?
Measles spreading in Florida.
Last year, Florida reported just seven measles cases statewide. As of February 7th, there are at least 68 cases. One school, Ave Maria University in Collier County, reported 45 cases among students. The University of Florida said it was investigating two college classrooms where measles exposures may have occurred. State records show no cases yet in Brevard County. Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has aggressively campaigned to eliminate vaccine requirements, even as the measles spreads. Measles is a highly infectious virus that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
The Boring Company proposed tunnel in Orlando.
A transportation project linking Universal’s parks and hotels in Orlando may contract with Elon Musk’s Boring Company. In it’s proposal Musk touted its’ existing tunnel in Las Vegas, which uses Tesla cars as a people-mover. The company’s proposed projects in some other cities, including Fort Lauderdale, have not come to fruition, but it is currently embarking on new transportation tunnels in Nashville and Dubai.
Brevard building transportation “nerve-center.”
Brevard County is building a new transportation hub to centralize traffic management. Ground was broken last week for the $16 million transportation nerve-center on the Pineda Causeway, just west of Wickham Road. It will centralize real-time traffic monitoring, incident management, and emergency coordination.
Space Coast regional airport wins $15M grant.
The Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority received a $15 million grant for infrastructure upgrades at the Space Coast Regional Airport. Funding comes from the Florida Department of Transportation's Spaceport Improvement Program. The improvements are intended to attract more aerospace companies to the area.
Effects of cold snap impact Brevard.
The recent cold snap on Florida's Space Coast has killed countless starfish and other marine life. The weather also damaged vital coastal plants like sea grapes and mangroves, which protect against erosion. Sea grapes tend to grow back, as long as the trunk and roots are intact. Mangroves may be a different story. Biologists are concerned the freeze could also harm seagrass recovery and lead to harmful algal blooms in the Indian River Lagoon.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne reports combination of the freeze-damaged vegetation and dry conditions creates a higher threat of wildfires. Southern Brevard is suffering a severe drought, while northern portions of the county are only abnormally dry. The forecast through April calls for below normal rainfall across central Florida.
Happy President’s Day
Today is Presidents Day, a time for all of us in the Sunshine State to celebrate the great men and women from Florida who have been elected commander-in-chief. It will be a short celebration, because a president has never been born here. In fact, Florida is the largest state in America to never have been a presidential birthplace.
