Hot weather continues.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne predicts extreme heat will hit the Space Coast this Tuesday and Wednesday. Meteorologist Andrew Wulfeck from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network says the feels like temperature could reach up to one hundred and ten degrees.
Much of the state is feeling the effects of a ridge of high pressure that is centered over the southern Rockies. The heat dome is allowing air temperatures to reach the mid and, in some neighborhoods, the upper 90s. At these levels the heat is considered to be dangerous, so make sure you take plenty of breaks in the air conditioning and staying properly hydrated. The only relief from the heat will be showers and thunderstorms but they will be isolated in nature, so not everyone will see the relief.
The heat wave will start to break down on Thursday, and we will also notice rain chances begin to increase as well.
More opposition to cutting property taxes.
One of Florida's statewide police unions has joined the state's firefighters and fire chiefs in opposing Amendment 3. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
Opposition is growing to Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would cut or eliminate property taxes for homeowners. Critics, including police unions and local governments, warn it could jeopardize funding for law enforcement, fire rescue, emergency services, and other essential local services. The measure also faces at least three lawsuits seeking to keep it off the ballot, and Governor Ron DeSantis has said he will not support the campaign.
NASA programs feel effects of workforce reductions
More than two dozen major NASA projects say they have been affected by the loss of a fifth of NASA’s civil servant workforce in the last year. The Government Accountability Office, in a report last week, said that 25 of the 36 projects included in its study reported feeling effects. A likely result will be delays and cost increases in major programs. According to the GAO report, Kennedy Space Center lost 20% of its civil service workers.
FL Surgeon General ties measles to abortion opposition.
Federal data show Florida had 141 confirmed measles cases as of July 23, ranking the state fifth in the nation for most infections. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo suggested Friday that opposition to abortion could have helped fuel Florida's outbreak. His reasoning was that many measles cases in Florida are tied to a private Roman Catholic college. Measles vaccines are still made from two cell strains that came from human fetal tissue in the 1960s. But the Roman Catholic church has long told parents they can vaccinate their children “with a clear conscience.”
Wild monkeys in Mt Dora.
If you’re heading to Mt Dora, northwest of Orlando, beware of the monkeys. The City of Mt Dora, Florida has received reports of monkey sitings. Residents and visitors are advised that wild monkeys not only carry diseases but they can become aggressive. Don’t approach, touch, or feed the monkeys.
It’s believed the Mt Dora monkeys migrated south from Silver Springs State Park, where a tour boat operator released them on an island in 1938. Over the decades, wild groups expanded their territory along Florida's waterways and rivers.
