Expect a sonic boom.
SpaceX is launching a Falcon 9 this Saturday evening, and returning the booster for a landing on the Cape. So a sonic boom may occur about 8 minutes after the launch, currently scheduled for no earlier than 9:12 PM Saturday.
Carol Craig joins Greenland oil company board.
A Texas-based company with ties to Donald Trump allies is planning to drill for oil in Greenland. Carol Craig, a space coast entrepreneur and member of the Canaveral Port Authority Commission, has joined the board of directors for the company, Greenland Energy. There's no public evidence that Trump owns a stake in Greenland Energy but the company has recruited powerful Trump allies, including"Dr. Phil.” Craig is on the next Tuesday’s ballot - she’s competing for her seat on the Canaveral Port Authority Commission. The Greenland drilling project has been delayed until 2028 due to permitting problems in that country.
Palm Bay city council candidates.
In our continuing coverage of the upcoming primary election, here’s a look at candidates for the Palm Bay city council. Voters will decide two Palm Bay City Council races on the primary ballot. Incumbent Kenny Johnson faces Alfy Agarie, director of a trucking company, and Michael Bruyette, foreman for a concrete company. Incumbent Mike Jaffe, a contractor and realtor, is running against small business owner Santa Isabel Wright, and Eduardo Macaya, owner of a landscaping company. The election is next Tuesday, August 18th.
Ballot wording for the Florida governor's race has caused some confusion among voters. In both the Democratic and Republican races, the ballots say “Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Vote for one).” The only candidate who has a running mate so far is Democrat David Jolly, who picked Gwen Graham. None of the Republicans have announced a lieutenant governor choice. Some voters have mistakenly selected two candidates, possibly thinking one was for lieutenant governor. If you make a mistake you can request a replacement ballot.
Sugar billionaire dies.
A south Florida billionaire has died. He lost one of Cuba’s largest sugar businesses, 90-thousand acres, in the 1959 revolution, and escaped to Florida. Alfonso Fanjul, known as Alfie, built an even larger sugar empire here, including the world’s largest cane sugar refiner, and the Domino brand. For decades he was accused of spoiling the Everglades with runoff from his 180,000 acres of sugar cane around Lake Okeechobee. His company also profited from import quotas that ensured American sugar farmers got an inflated price, some three times higher than the rest of the world’s price. Unlike some members of the Cuban exile community, he did not obsess over how to reclaim his family’s lost holdings on the island they fled. Alfy Fanjul understood that the family’s future was in Florida.
FWC settles second lawsuit over firings.
Florida has settled a second free speech lawsuit over comments made about Charlie Kirk’s death. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
Haley Massung was awarded $65,000 in a lawsuit against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after she was fired last September for responding to a Facebook post about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Massung was one of three FWC employees fired over critical comments about Kirk following his death. The agency previously settled another free-speech lawsuit over the firings for nearly $500,000.
The latest settlement comes as FWC faces additional scrutiny over free-speech issues, including its use of a statewide law-enforcement database to search sensitive information about people who criticize the agency online or speak out at public meetings.
