New project plan for Indian River Lagoon
A new project plan is being drafted to improve water quality and support restoration efforts in the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River. The management is calling for public opinion as well and will be accepting input Wednesday, until March 18th. You can go to the St. Johns River Districts website at www.sjrwmd.com to submit online. Some of the project's aims will be targeted towards Canal 10 Water Management Area project, Micco Water Management Area, and Chain of Lakes.
NASA speeds up Artemis Program
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman provided a new blueprint for the Artemis moon missions last Friday. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has details:
Speaking at Kennedy Space Center Isaacman first outlined what he saw as the problems with the current SLS rocket timeline:
“Launching a rocket as complex as SLS every three years is not a path to success. We’ve got a lot of really talented people working on Artemis and whether they’ll want to stick around for another three years is a question mark.”
Isaacman is proposing stepping up the launch cadence to every year or less. To meet that goal, changes to the SLS rocket will be minimized, and additional NASA civilian workers will be brought on.
Lunar Eclipse
A total lunar eclipse will be happening on Tuesday, March 3rd. The best time to view will be in the early mornings between 3:44 am and 6:30 am EST. The total lunar eclipse is also known as a blood moon, for the red and orange it will exhibit.
Fiscal year budget proposals
Due to policy differences between the House and Senate, Florida 2026 legislative session is nearing its end with very few bills passed. WFIT’s Terri Wright provides an update on legislative progress to date.
Of the 1,688 general bills filed so far, fewer than a dozen have received final approval from both the House and the Senate. As part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to reduce property taxes, the Florida House has approved a proposal asking voters to enact tax cuts that would cost local governments nearly $15 billion annually. The Senate has yet to take up the measure. DeSantis has said he plans to call a special session in April to address the property tax issue, along with his priority for a mid-decade congressional redistricting effort backed by President Trump. Meanwhile, the governor’s effort to eliminate vaccine mandates for schoolchildren failed to gain traction in the Legislature.
Waymo taxi service starts in Orlando.
The company Waymo has begun autonomous taxi service in Orlando. Waymo's Orlando vehicles are electric Jaguars equipped with cameras and sensors that provide a 360-degree view around the car. You can download the Waymo app to try it out.
Data center regulation bill
A new bill recently passed through the Senate with a unanimous vote to push regulations on date centers around Florida. Local residents are concerned with the strain local power grids have on water supplies, utility costs, noise, and environmental impacts. The proposed legislation would prevent most data centers from being built near homes and schools as well.