Here's a Local and State news update from Florida Today and WFIT. I'm Evan Niemczyk
Professional soccer is coming to Florida’s Space Coast. WFIT’s Terri Wright shares the details.
"Space Coast Pro Soccer has secured the rights to a United Soccer League franchise and plans to begin play in March 2028. The team proposes building an 8,000-seat, expandable soccer stadium as the centerpiece of a 53.8-acre mixed-use development across from Orlando Melbourne International Airport, featuring a training facility and 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space."
Usually the only spots you can fly nonstop from Melbourne airport are Atlanta and Charlotte. But WFIT’s Rick Glasby tells us that will change this winter:
"Delta Air Lines will launch new seasonal weekend service between Melbourne with New York City. The flights will operate Saturdays and Sundays between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Melbourne Orlando International Airport. But you’ll have to wait a while: The service doesn’t begin until December, but tickets are on sale now.
Delta's announcement came just days after Sun Country Airlines announced it will resume seasonal service linking Melbourne with Minneapolis-St. Paul. Those flights will debut Jan. 22."
Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Florida's budget for next fiscal year, which begins Wednesday.
WUSF's Douglas Soule reports he also struck a lot from the budget with his veto power.
"DeSantis is proud of his cuts. He says the budget, which is smaller than last year's, makes sure the government doesn't get bigger without sacrificing important services.
But Democrats like House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell aren't happy with the outcome. She says her party was disproportionately targeted in the vetoes.
"That's so unfortunate about that is that regardless of whether or not your district is represented by a Democrat or a Republican. There are people of all political stripes in those districts."
DeSantis vetoed more than 800 million dollars in line items, most of them being projects lawmakers requested for their districts.
And he vetoed even more than that, including by blocking a 750 million dollar transfer from the state's general revenue fund to its rainy day fund.
I'm Douglas Soule, in Tallahassee."
The average lifespan in Southwest Florida is nearly eighty-two years. But the region’s average healthspan — the time you live without chronic disease — is only sixty-eight.
Florida Gulf Coast University Dean Sean Felton wants to close that gap. He tells The Florida Roundup he's aiming to raise the regional healthspan by seven years by 2040.
“What I want to really focus on as well is the importance of the education sector. You know, we look at health span because the word health, that it's all healthcare related, and as well beyond that, it's the connection of educational attainment, being lifelong learners, and continuing that strive for knowledge.”
Felton believes giving people the language to understand their own health will trigger vital healthcare changes from the ground up.
For these stories and more, visit FloridaToday.com and WFIT.org. I'm Evan Niemczyk