IRL cleanup on Tuesday’s ballot.
Among the issues on next Tuesday’s ballot is continued funding for the Indian River Lagoon cleanup effort. Brevard County voters will decide whether to renew a half-cent sales tax that has helped fund Indian River Lagoon cleanup projects since it was approved in 2016.
The tax has generated about $580 million for lagoon cleanup efforts, including dredging and stormwater filtration projects. Supporters said those projects have helped reduce pollution, improve water quality and support the return of seagrass in parts of the lagoon. If approved, the renewed sales tax would continue funding lagoon cleanup work for another 10 years.
NASA chief says if China beats us to moon, 'I'll be fired'
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told FLORIDA TODAY during a one-on-one interview, he’ll be fired, if China beats the US to the moon. Isaacman views NASA's new race to the moon as a U.S. geopolitical goal, as rivals China and Russia plan to develop a nuclear-reactor-powered moon base within a decade. He said it is imperative to accelerate the Artemis timeline after NASA bogged down for decades in what he describes as "layers of process and bureaucratic inertia and endless deliberation.” Chinese officials aim to launch their first taikonauts to the lunar surface by 2030. NASA plans to return Americans to the moon by 2028, during the Artemis IV mission.
Fisherman falls though pier.
Space Coast beaches remain under a high risk of risk current through Sunday night. But the coastal flood warning expired this afternoon, replace by a flood advisory until Saturday morning.
The recent heavy seas caused a 16-year-old boy to fall through a loose grate at the Sebastian Inlet State Park fishing pier. Landen Williams was nearly swept out to sea through the Inlet, but he rode the current and friends helped him out of the water. The grates of the pier are designed to come loose during high water events.
Sebastian Inlet State Park’s north jetty will close once again in the new year for the next phases of the jetty improvement project. The north jetty will remained closed until the anticipated completion date in July of 2028.
Does Publix hike prices when BOGOS go on sale?
Does Publix supermarket raise regular prices when items are about to be offered in a Buy One Get One sale? Florida Today wanted to know, so it checked the regular prices of 10 former BOGO items at a Publix supermarket to see if they match what the grocery chain said customers were "saving" during the Buy One, Get One Free sale. The newspaper found that in general, it appears Publix is being truthful when stating "savings" prices during BOGO sales. Publix is a leader in BOGO promotions, with nearly 40% of its deals falling into this category.
Send that croc to the dentist.
Florida Fish and Wildlife researchers may have discovered the cause of crocodiles' missing teeth. WFIT’s Terri Wright explains.
Florida wildlife researchers documented the first known case of lead poisoning in a threatened American crocodile. There is growing concern as crocodiles scavenge on invasive iguanas, which are legally hunted with lead pellets that end up in their stomachs, slowly leaching toxins into their bloodstream.
After rebounding to historic levels in 2007, crocodiles were downgraded from endangered to threatened, and researchers say, “we don’t want to throw that all away because now we are killing iguanas.”
Lead poisoning is the leading cause of death for California condors, and the federal government banned the use of lead ammunition when hunting waterfowl in 1991.
Florida has launched a project to more closely monitor toxins in its native crocodile population to better understand the threat that contaminants like lead pose to crocodiles.
