Recent freeze “one of the most damaging.”
With an estimated $3.1 billion loss to Florida's agricultural industry, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson described the recent freeze events as “one of the most damaging” in Florida agricultural history. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
With many agricultural producers at the peak of their growing and planting periods, the freeze hit regions critical to Florida’s production of vegetables and melons, citrus, sugarcane, fruit, horticulture, and aquaculture.
Many growers were unable to harvest crops in time due to produce not yet ready for harvesting, windy conditions, and limited resources such as storage capacity and available labor.
An estimated 80 percent of Florida’s citrus acreage was significantly impacted. The freeze also wiped out about 80 percent of the remaining strawberry harvest and 90 percent of the remaining blueberry crop.
Outro: The effects are expected to extend into future growing seasons. The industry will face a multi-year average productivity loss of 27 percent before returning to pre-storm production levels.
Proposed state budgets zero out Florida Forever.
Ten years ago Florida residents passed a constitutional amendment requiring the state to set aside $10 billion to purchase environmentally sensitive land. About $300 million a year had been invested in the Florida Forever program. This year, the Florida House proposes to zero out the program entirely, while the Senate would give $35 million, and that not to acquire land but to buy easements on private agricultural lands.
Feds reimbursed $10 million for Hope Florida payment.
Florida has reimbursed the Federal government the $10 million that the DeSantis administration routed through the Hope Florida Foundation to defeat the recreational pot amendment. That transaction is still under investigation by the state attorney for Leon County.
NASA to return moon rocket to the garage.
NASA is targeting tomorrow to roll the SLS moon rocket and Orion spacecraft off the launch pad and back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs. The four mile journey will take about 12 hours. Once back in the VAB, teams will tackle the helium leak found in the giant rocket’s second stage. The repairs have pushed the earliest liftoff from March until April.
Tourist count up slightly.
The number of tourists that visited Florida last year ticked up slightly, to over 143 million. But international travelers continue to shun the US. American tourists made up 91% of the visits.
County may raise gas tax.
Brevard County is considering raising its gas tax to address a funding shortfall for transportation improvements. Brevard County Commissioners are discussing a potential increase between 1 and 5 cents per gallon to generate additional revenue. More than half of Florida’s 67 counties already charge 12 cents per gallon in gas tax. However, Brevard is one of 11 counties still charging only 6 cents per gallon, at least for now.
Randy Fine doubles down.
Congressman Randy Fine continues to double down on anti-Muslim comments he made last week, comparing dogs and those who practice Islam. On Monday, Fine, a Republican representing District 6 and a Melbourne Beach resident, said that he would attend today’s State of the Union address with his father and a seeing-eye dog -- a nod to his proposed “Protecting Puppies from Sharia” legislation.
