Things To Do In SW Florida

SpaceX may have contributed to an overall Space Coast record with its previous launch last weekend, but a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday marked the most launches Elon Musk’s company has ever sent up from Florida in one year.

A Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:10 p.m.

The first-stage booster for the mission made its 14th launch with a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic Ocean on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Watch Falcon 9 launch 23 @Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida https://t.co/iIsv5lZKRQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 30, 2024

This marked the 74th launch from the Space Coast in 2024, building on the new record that already surpassed 2023’s 72 launches on Oct. 26.

But this was the 69th launch for SpaceX for the year, besting its total in 2023 by one from either Cape Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center. United Launch Alliance has flown the other five so far. read more

Starting this week, airline passengers who have flights canceled or significantly changed will receive automatic cash or credit card refunds instead of travel credits.

The new federal rule makes it easy for passengers to get refunds when airlines cancel or dramatically change their flights, don’t promptly deliver checked bags or fail to provide extra in-flight services they purchased, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.”

Before the new rule, airlines set their own standards for what kind of flight changes warranted a refund. Because each airline had its own policy, passengers often were not given their money back during spikes in flight cancellations or changes, according to the DOT. read more

By Michael Scaturro, KFF Health News (TNS)

When Lyft driver Tramaine Carr transports seniors and sick patients to hospitals in Atlanta, she feels like both a friend and a social worker.

“When the ride is an hour or an hour and a half of mostly freeway driving, people tend to tell you what they’re going through,” she said.

Drivers such as Carr have become a critical part of the medical transportation system in Georgia, as well as in Washington, D.C., Mississippi, Arizona, and elsewhere. While some patients use transportation companies solely dedicated to medical rides or nonemergency ambulance rides to get to their appointments, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft are also ferrying people to emergency rooms, kidney dialysis, cancer care, physical therapy and other medical visits.

But Georgia ride-hail drivers aren’t only serving patients living in Atlanta or its sprawling suburbs. When rural Georgians are too sick to drive themselves, Uber or Lyft is often one of the only ways to reach medical care in the state capital. read more

In recent years, smartwatches and smart rings have grown increasingly popular, adorning the wrists and fingers of consumers who use them to monitor their exercise, sleep and heart activity.

Now, medical device companies, including north suburban-based Abbott Laboratories, are hoping health enthusiasts will embrace a new type of wellness accessory: wearable sensors to track glucose levels.

Unlike previous, similar devices, the new ones don’t require prescriptions and aren’t just for diabetics. Abbott’s new device, called Lingo, is geared toward people who don’t have diabetes but want to see how food and activity affect their glucose levels, and how that might be connected to their mood, energy level and sleep quality.

Abbott says it’s the next frontier in wearable health technology, though questions remain about whether people will pay for it. Doctors also caution that it’s too early to say whether the devices will improve the long-term health of those who wear them.

“I think people have been waiting for these technologies to be over the counter, without a prescription, for a long time,” said Pam Nisevich Bede, Abbott’s head of nutrition for Lingo. “Glucose matters in all individuals. It definitely links to how we’re feeling in the short term.” read more

A piano store now open in Orlando is finding it has the keys for success in reaching a Central Florida audience with 40 pianos to offer, plus visual art on the walls.

Melbourne-based Atlantic Music Center, which has the largest piano store in Florida, is expanding with an Ivanhoe Village location, which will double as an art gallery space with quarterly shows. The store is managed by Connor Mahoney and Will Benton, the director of FAVO (Faith Arts Village Orlando). As a church musician and artist, Benton was approached by Brian Gatchell, the company’s president and owner, about opening an inland Central Florida location.

“We’ve done business all over Florida. Our location in Melbourne is the largest showroom in Florida. We have about 200 pianos there on the floor,” Mahoney said. “This is going to be a boutique shop. We’re the largest rebuilder of pianos in the Southeast, and we do a lot of rebuilding in Melbourne. We’re going to bring some of our best instruments to the Orlando location.” read more