LNG plant considered for Merritt Island.
More than 1,000 residences and an elementary school are within one mile of a proposed liquefied natural gas plant on Merritt Island. WFIT’s Terri Wright tells us more:
The parent company of Florida City Gas is considering plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant on a 125-acre site on Merritt Island, located just south of the Barge Canal and north of State Road 528. The facility would supply fuel for both cruise ships and the space industry. Federal guidelines identify a one-mile radius as the potential hazard zone for fires or flammable vapor releases from LNG plants, a factor that has drawn opposition from nearby residents.
Outro: The Canaveral Port Authority will hold a public workshop to discuss the LNG proposal for the 125-acre site tomorrow at 9 am at the Port Authority Administrative Offices, 445 Challenger Road, Cape Canaveral.
ULA loses launch to SpaceX
United Launch Alliance has lost a national security rocket launch to SpaceX. The switch was due to delays in ULA’s Vulcan rocket program. ULA’s lone launch this year was a Vulcan rocket for the Space Force. But one of its booster nozzles burned off during launch, which prompted the government to hold off any further launches on Vulcan.
KSC visitor center Artemis passes available.
The Kennedy Visitor Center is selling viewing packages for the upcoming Artemis II launch. For $99 a person, you can watch liftoff from the visitor center itself. They did offer a “Feel the Heat” pass for viewing from the Saturn V center for $250, but those tickets have already sold out. No other forms of admission to the visitor complex on launch day will be valid, including annual passes.
Cocoa Beach airshow has new stars.
The Cocoa Beach airshow lineup has been expanded. The April 11 and 12 event will now include an F-16 Viper and B-52 Stratoforce bomber in addition to the US Navy Blue Angels. Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa is the center point for the show. Admission is free, with premium tickets available for purchase.
DeSantis signs bill, calling conservation land “surplus.”
An expansive farm bill just signed by Governor Ron DeSantis includes a provision allowing for the state to declare certain conservation land as, quote, “surplus.” Those “surplussed” conservation lands could then be used for agriculture, as Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson explained at a press conference yesterday.
“We can do an assessment: say, should that land be preserved, or should it be an agriculture production? If it should be an agriculture production, we can remove the development rights from that land and surplus that land back into farming families.”
Conservation advocates with Sierra Club and Audubon Florida are describing the new law as a significant break from how the state handles conservation land.
The nation’s first jellyfish museum to open.
If you like jellyfish, this new Florida museum is for you. Billed as the nation’s first, the Jellyfish Museum will open in Pompano Beach this Friday. The museum is home to more than 25 species of jellyfish, collected from around the world.
Bar rescued in Melbourne.
A downtown Melbourne bar that underwent a televised makeover last spring is set to make its national debut later this month. The "Bar Rescue" episode featuring the former Hurricane Creek Saloon will air at 10 p.m. March 29 on the Paramount+ Network. "Bar Rescue" is a reality series where host Jon Taffer renovates struggling bars across the country. Owner Randy Bennett declined to comment on the production. During the show's filming, the bar was briefly rebranded as Neon Rodeo but now operates as The Creek.
