Brevard window contractor gives up license.
A window installation contractor, accused of scamming customers, has agreed to surrender his Brevard County contracting license. American Made Windows won’t work in the county for five years as a fraud investigation continues. Homeowners claim the company took deposits but failed to complete the work.
Grants offered to reduce coastal lighting.
The Sea Turtle Conservancy has launched a grant program to reduce harmful beachfront lighting in Brevard County. WFIT’s Terri Wright explains.
The Sea Turtle Conservancy has received a multi-year grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to replace problematic coastal lighting in Brevard County with wildlife-friendly fixtures. The program will help homeowners, condominiums, hotels, and small businesses comply with sea turtle lighting ordinances, with grants covering up to 100% of eligible upgrade costs. Florida hosts ninety percent of all sea turtle nesting in North America, making the effort especially important in reducing one of the leading human-caused threats to nesting and hatchling sea turtles along Brevard’s beaches.
Starship launch scheduled for this evening.
If you want a preview of what a SpaceX Starship launch from Florida looks like, tune in tonight as the massive rocket is due to lift off from Texas. The 90-minute launch window opens at 6:45PM. The suborbital flight should last a little more than an hour. This will be the 13th flight test from Texas, but SpaceX is developing Starship launch pads at the Cape for future use.
Brevard County commissioners consider impact fee hike.
Brevard County commissioners unanimously approved a study on hiking impact fees for developers. If approved, it would mean higher fees on new development to fund local government services. For a single-family home, the combined impact fee would rise by 47% to nearly $7,000. A final vote by the Board of County Commissioners is required after a public debate. The county's current rates were established more than 25 years ago.
Cyclospora cases increase in Brevard.
Cyclospora cases continue to rise in Florida. 158 cases of the parasitic infection have been reported to the Florida Department of Health, including 3 in Brevard county. The actual number in Florida may be much higher, as many people may have treated their condition at home and not reported it.
Non-Florida students to pay higher university fees.
University of Central Florida trustees has approved raising the out-of-state fee imposed on non-resident students by 15%, following other universities across the state. This year, all 12 state universities are raising the out-of-state fee by the maximum allowable: 15%. For UCF, the institution estimates the change will increase revenue by nearly $10 million.
This day in Florida history.
It was 120 years ago today that the University of Florida moved from Lake City to Gainesville. The reaction to the move was divided at the time. Frances Sledd Blake was the daughter of the university's first president -- Andrew Sledd.
In 1974, she was interviewed [at a nearby restaurant] about the move. Blake said she remembers a resident even tried to intimidate her father.
“They threatened Father with tarring and feathering him if they could catch him, and of course, that was a dare, which he accepted.”
The move took place without incident, and the first day of school at the University of Florida in Gainesville was in September, 1906.
