Things To Do In SW Florida

SpaceX sent up 6,000 pounds of cargo on a resupply mission to the International Space Station on Monday night with the rocket booster’s return trip bringing a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida.

A Falcon 9 on the CRS-31 mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A at 9:29 p.m.

The first-stage booster made its fifth flight, having notably flown two human spaceflight missions with Crew-8 in March and September’s Polaris Dawn flight as well as two Starlink missions.

Liftoff of Dragon’s 31st Commercial Resupply Services mission to the @Space_Station! pic.twitter.com/MPRoutKS3t

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 5, 2024

It then made a recovery return back on land at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1 about eight minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX had earlier warned that one or more sonic booms may be heard in Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties.

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed at LZ-1 pic.twitter.com/tQ4TJQUwTk read more

Enda Curran | (TNS) Bloomberg News

The U.S. election on Tuesday will have far-reaching economic consequences, ranging from how Americans are taxed to how the country trades with the rest of the globe.

Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump present starkly different policy visions that will also shape the flow of immigrants into the labor market and make-up of the energy supply that powers industry. Their differences will influence the prices consumers pay for everyday goods and the borrowing costs households and businesses face on debts.

Much will depend not only on who wins the White House but also which party controls Congress. That’s especially so for tax proposals, which must be approved by lawmakers. Still, the president has independent authority to take sweeping actions, particularly on trade and immigration.

Here’s a look at five of the most significant economic impacts of the election outcome.

Taxes

Trump has put lowering income taxes front and center of his campaign. He’s promised to extend tax cuts passed during his first term — otherwise set to expire at the end of next year — and also further reduce corporate income taxes. On the campaign trail, he’s embraced additional ideas for tax cuts, including ending taxation of tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits. He claims the revenue loss would be partially offset with new tariffs on imported goods. read more

After 1,640 restaurant inspections across Central Florida in October, only 166 had no issues for the entire month, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Brevard had the highest percentage of restaurants with zero violations during routine food inspections at 15.4%. Orange came in second with 10.8%, Osceola came third at 10.4% and Lake was in fourth place with 8.2%.

Seminole and Volusia ranked near the bottom with 6.4% and 4.6%, respectively.

Orange County had the most restaurants with no violations at 76 out of 701. Brevard was in second place with 48 out of 311.

Seminole, Osceola and Volusia all tied for third place.

BREVARD

Panera Bread Store 2789, 245 Palm Bay Road, Melbourne
Lifefoods Universal, 2502 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville
Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Center Space Bar, 6245
Riverfront Center Blvd., Titusville
Fairfield Inn & Suites, 2400 Town Center Ave., Melbourne
Mi Mexico Lindo, 477 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
Pho Viet 3, 1400 N. Hwy A1A #101, Indialantic
Cruisers Frozen Yogurt, 400 Main St., Titusville
Yang China 1, 1556 Harrison St., Titusville
The Wine Cellar, 7700 Wickham Road, Unit 116, Melbourne
Poolies Billiards, 1851 Palm Bay Road NE Units 6 – 7, Palm Bay
I Am Will’s Kitchen, 1375 S. Deleon Ave., Titusville
Brasas Grill, 325 E. Merritt Island Causeway Suite O-P, Merritt Island
Island Time Marina, 400 W. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach
Jerk Flavas Restaurant, 935 School St., Cocoa
Ice Cream Hut of Merritt Island, 780 E. Merritt Island Causeway, Suite
C101, Merritt Island
Lizard Creek Smokehouse LLC, 3280 Suntree Blvd., Suite 105, Melbourne
Rolling Js Foodtruck, 2500 Parkway Dr., Melbourne
Hog Hut, 2400 Seasons in the Sun Blvd., Mims
Pinto’s Lounge, 7555 S. US Hwy 1, Titusville
La Quinta Inn and Suites, 7200 George T Edwards Dr., Melbourne
Papa Yaka’s LLC, 3830 Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach
Pub Americana, 405 Delannoy Ave., Cocoa
Trattoria Bella, 2155 Palm Bay Road NE, Unit 1, Palm Bay
Cafe Monte Carlo, 7090 N. Atlantic Ave., #2, Cape Canaveral
Lenand10, 2500 Wickham Park Road, Melbourne
Super Duper Burgers and More, 2500 Parkway Dr., Melbourne
Rock the Guac, 4265 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Hibachi Buffet, 735 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
Rising Tide Tap & Table, 523 Glen Cheek Dr., Port Canaveral
Rich Island, 2137 N. Courtenay Parkway Suite 36, Merritt Island
PJ’s Bites, 380 N. Wickham Road, Vin 0954, Melbourne
Doc’s Smokehouse, 2191 US Hwy 1, Titusville
Salty Bagel and Grill, 7630 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne
Rusty’s Seafood & Oyster Bar, 628 Glen Cheek Dr., Cape Canaveral
Causeway Diner, 3712 N. Courtenay Parkway #102 & 104, Merritt Island
Einstein Bros Bagels #4062, 4480 Hollywood Blvd., West Melbourne
Reel Pit BBQ and RPC Foods, 2850 South Hopkins Ave., Titusville
MNJ’s, 660 Tucker Lane, Cocoa
IDK, 660 Tucker Lane, Cocoa
Taste Budz, 600 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
Sizzlin Smoke, 474 King St., Cocoa
The Rolling Risotto, 3280 Suntree Blvd., Suite #105, Melbourne
Cantina Dos Amigos, 990 N. Hwy A1A, Indialantic
Domino’s #4906, 5325 N. Wickham Road #103, Melbourne
SB Meatery, 1300 South St., Titusville
Freddie’s Red Wagon BBQ, 2525 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
Dolphins Waterfront Bar & Grill At Cape Crossing, 310 Lagoon Way, Merritt Island
Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster & Seafood Inc., 210 N. Orlando Ave., Cocoa Beach read more

The sounds of Christmas are coming from deep inside Gaylord Palms. Chainsaws, ice picks and heavy machinery are revved up to turn huge blocks of colorful ice in “Ice,” the very, very, very cool — make that downright frigid — holiday sculpture display at the Kissimmee resort.

In some ways, this year’s attraction will be familiar. It’s a walk-through with elaborate ice sculptures based on a movie in a 9-degree atmosphere. (Ponchos are provided, though veterans will recommend bringing coats, caps, scarves and other layers.) As usual, the carving is done by artisans from Harbin, China, known for its annual elaborate ice-sculpturing festival.

But Gaylord is rolling out a new movie as its theme this year. The “Ice” displays will represent scenes from “Elf,” the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell as the lead character Buddy with Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and Edward Asner. Workers are currently crafting iconic “Elf” moments, including the snowball fight scene.

Here are a few takeaways from a recent “Ice” preview for members of the media. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — No one knows how Tuesday’s presidential election will turn out, but the Federal Reserve’s move two days later is much easier to predict: With inflation continuing to cool, the Fed is set to cut interest rates for a second time this year.

The presidential contest might still be unresolved when the Fed ends its two-day meeting Thursday afternoon, yet that uncertainty would have no effect on its decision to further reduce its benchmark rate. The Fed’s future actions, though, will become more unsettled once a new president and Congress take office in January, particularly if Donald Trump were to win the White House again.

Trump’s proposals to impose high tariffs on all imports and launch mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants and his threat to intrude on the Fed’s normally independent rate decisions could send inflation surging, economists have said. Higher inflation would, in turn, compel the Fed to slow or stop its rate cuts.

On Thursday, the Fed’s policymakers, led by Chair Jerome Powell, are on track to cut their benchmark rate by a quarter-point, to about 4.6%, after having implemented a half-point reduction in September. Economists expect another quarter-point rate cut in December and possibly additional such moves next year. Over time, rate cuts tend to lower the costs of borrowing for consumers and businesses. read more