Here's a local and state news update from Florida Today and WFIT. I'm Evan Niemczyk.
The Controversial Flock surveillance system for motorists is back online in Palm Bay. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
"On August 7th Palm Bay city officials paused the use of the controversial Flock surveillance system for 2 weeks to verify that all 51 cameras were properly installed and permitted.
Flock and other similar hi-tech systems store driver data for thousands of motorists for up to 30 days.
The surveillance systems are facing heavy scrutiny from privacy advocates amid reports of misuse by law enforcement officers, including a case in which a Brevard County deputy used a similar system — along with the state’s crime database- to track his girlfriend."
Florida utility regulators will determine if Duke Energy's proposal to make data centers pay for high usage and upgrades goes far enough. Duke tried to keep consumer advocates out of the hearing Tuesday. But WUSF's Jessica Meszaros reports, the group Florida Rising was officially deemed eligible to participate.
"What's being debated is whether Duke's plan protects residents from footing the energy bill for hyperscale data centers.
Attorney Bradley Marshall, who represents Florida Rising, says it doesn't.
"There's a lot of risk there for residential ratepayers that can see their bills go up substantially."
Because Duke has tried to keep him out of the hearing, Marshall says time and energy has been spent defending Florida Rising's standing.
"So, it's been a huge distraction."
The Florida Public Service Commission will hear from witnesses on both sides, but isn't expected to vote until sometime after mid-September.
I'm Jessica Meszaros in Tampa."
Duke Energy sent a response saying if a massive data facility were not able to pay serving costs, shareholders would have to pay up, not customers.
Florida Tech is putting climate resilience research to work in Brevard. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has the story:
"Researchers from Florida Tech’s Center for Resilience Science are partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy and local nonprofit Little Growers to help underserved communities along the Space Coast prepare for challenges such as extreme heat, flooding, hurricanes and rising energy costs. This summer, the program moved from classroom learning to real-world application. The Center developed an interactive residential energy audit tool and trained students to conduct home energy assessments. Working alongside mentors from Florida Tech and Little Growers, students from Stone Magnet Middle School visited homes in an underserved Melbourne neighborhood. They performed energy audits, and gave families a better understanding of their energy use, along with personalized recommendations to reduce utility costs and improve indoor comfort."
The Florida Department of Health has proposed dropping immunization requirements for four diseases for students entering school.
The proposal would remove mandates for Hepatitis B, chicken pox, Haemophilus influenza type b, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
This change would also broaden vaccine exemptions to include "moral and ethical beliefs" for parents opting out.
The public has 19 days, or until Sept. 14, to submit comments on the rule before its final approval.
For these stories and more, visit FloridaToday.com and WFIT.org. I'm Evan Niemczyk