Government Oversight Archives - The Space Coast Rocket

Congress

Mass Exodus From Haridopolos’ Office Amid Ethics Concerns; Deputies Called to Remove Staffer, Office Silent

Robert W. Burns III -

October 22, 2026

Government Oversight

Federal Lawsuit in Melbourne Airport Police Shooting Names Flock; Records Contradict the Official Account

Robert W. Burns III -

September 17, 2026

Cape Canaveral

Mayor Morrison Breaks Down Cape Canaveral Budget Crisis

Robert W. Burns III -

September 14, 2026

Ethics

Ethics Commission finds probable cause Randy Fine took $20,000 in prohibited gifts, after a delay he spent two and a half years engineering

Robert W. Burns III -

September 2, 2026

BCSO

Ivey Terminates Brevard Flock Cameras, Cuts Database Access

Robert W. Burns III -

August 31, 2026

BCSO

Deputy of the Year Quits After Internal Probe Found Flock Abuse, Gun in Sex Acts, Nazi Salute Photo, Racial Slurs

Robert W. Burns III -

August 19, 2026

Government Oversight

Palm Bay Suspends Flock Camera System Over Possible Permitting and Installation Problems

Robert W. Burns III -

August 7, 2026

Solar-powered automated license plate reader camera mounted beside a Central Florida roadway

Crime

Sumter Sheriff Suspends Flock Cameras After Detective Arrest

Robert W. Burns III -

July 25, 2026

Government Oversight

TRUMP CALLS FOR FISA 702 RENEWAL: WHAT HE’S SAYING, AND WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS

Robert W. Burns III -

April 14, 2026

Crime

Titusville audit details alleged theft, misuse of city property by former field operations chief; city says charges filed

Robert W. Burns III -

March 13, 2026

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Facebook Posts

The Space Coast Rocket

1 hour ago

Day four of early voting is in the books, and the turnout gap in Brevard is holding steady. NPA voters still aren’t closing it.As of 8:30 tonight, 74,597 Brevard voters have cast a ballot by mail or in person. That is 16.7% of the county’s 447,257 registered voters, up from 14.3% Wednesday evening.Turnout so far, by party:Democrats: 22.8% (up from 19.9%)Republicans: 16.3% (up from 13.8%)NPA: 12.1% (up from 10.4%)Republicans had the biggest day again. They cast 5,191 of the 10,538 ballots added since Wednesday evening, nearly half, and lead in-person early voting 17,772 to 9,967.NPA voters added 1,817 ballots, about one in six. They make up 24% of Brevard’s registered voters but just 17% of the ballots cast so far, and that share has not moved in two days.More than 94,000 NPA and independent voters in Brevard still have not voted. That is more than the total number of ballots cast so far in the entire county.Early voting has nine days left, through Saturday, Oct. 31, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.NPA and independent voters: what would make you show up this year? Is it a candidate, an issue, or something else? Tell us in the comments.#BrevardVotes #Florida2026 #SpaceCoast ...

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The Space Coast Rocket

5 hours ago

Another round of layoffs is coming to Kennedy Space Center.Aetos Systems, a NASA subcontractor, has warned that up to 126 workers at KSC could lose their jobs by Dec. 31 as NASA brings their IT and communications work in-house.This comes on top of the 70 Amentum layoffs announced earlier this month. That puts as many as 196 contractor jobs at Kennedy on the line before the end of the year.Affected positions include communications engineers, electronic and network technicians, instrumentation specialists and training coordinators. Some workers may be offered jobs directly with NASA.Full story linked in the comments.#kennedyspacecenter #NASA #SpaceCoast ...

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The Space Coast Rocket

7 hours ago

The U.S. Added Only 116,000 Jobs in 2025, Not 1.2 MillionWhen the monthly jobs reports came out in 2025, they added up to about 1.21 million new jobs. After revisions, the U.S. economy added just 116,000 jobs that year, roughly 90 percent fewer than first reported.The figures were highlighted Thursday by economist and former Obama administration official Steve Rattner, using Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the St. Louis Fed. "First reported" sums each month's initial jobs estimate, while "after revisions" reflects current data, including the annual benchmark revision.That works out to an average of about 9,700 jobs per month in 2025, compared with roughly 100,700 per month in the original reports.Several months flipped from gains to losses. January 2025 was first reported as a gain of 143,000 jobs and now shows a loss of 48,000. June 2025 went from a gain of 147,000 to a loss of 20,000, and August 2025 went from a gain of 22,000 to a loss of 70,000.Much of the drop came in February, when the BLS annual benchmark revision lowered the March 2025 employment level by 898,000 jobs. At that point, 2025's total gain stood at 181,000. Later monthly revisions brought it down further to 116,000.2024 was also revised sharply, from 2.59 million jobs as first reported to 1.46 million, a 44 percent drop. For 2026, January through September, the first reported total of 730,000 jobs has been revised to 612,000, about 16 percent lower.The BLS says revisions are a normal part of its process, since many businesses respond to its monthly survey after the initial report is released, and the annual benchmark is checked against state unemployment insurance records. Economists note that revisions tend to be larger when the economy is shifting quickly.The agency's numbers drew national attention in August 2025, when President Trump fired the BLS commissioner after a jobs report that included a large downward revision.#JobsReport #Economy #FloridaNews ...

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The Space Coast Rocket

9 hours ago

VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN FATAL SHOOTING OUTSIDE GRAHAM’S BEACH GRILLThe Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man killed in an early morning shooting outside Graham’s Beach Grill in unincorporated Cocoa Beach as 33-year-old Walter Butler of Rockledge.Deputies responded around 2:18 a.m. Thursday after a 911 call reporting a person had been shot. Butler was found with life-threatening injuries, treated by Brevard County Fire Rescue and taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.According to BCSO, Butler and another man had a verbal exchange in the parking lot over a previous disagreement. The Sheriff’s Office says it escalated into a physical altercation when Butler attacked the man, who then fired a single shot during the fight. Butler went inside the business after the shooting and collapsed.The man who fired the shot stayed at the scene, met with deputies and was taken to BCSO Criminal Investigative Services to speak with homicide agents. Based on initial findings, he was released and continues to cooperate with investigators. He has not been named, and no charges have been filed.Agents are still working to interview others who were present at the time of the shooting.Anyone with information is asked to contact Agent Neil Lee of the BCSO Homicide Unit at (321) 633-8413.#CocoaBeach #BrevardCounty #BreakingNews ...

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The Space Coast Rocket

12 hours ago

BREAKING: 82 year old Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, one of the most powerful Democrats in the Virginia Legislature, has been indicted on federal racketeering, marijuana trafficking and money laundering conspiracy charges.Lucas surrendered to authorities Thursday morning, according to the Justice Department. She faces five of the eight counts in the indictment.Federal prosecutors allege Lucas led a family-run enterprise that bought and sold more than 100 kilograms of illegal marijuana and laundered the proceeds. Her daughters, Lisa Lucas-Burke and Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and grandson Ryan Eichelberger were also indicted along with other co-defendants.The indictment alleges Lucas used her position as chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to shield the operation from criminal scrutiny and push legislation that benefited the business. Prosecutors also allege she accepted a bribery payment and failed to disclose her interest in a business on her required state financial disclosure forms.The charges come about six months after FBI agents searched Lucas' office and The Cannabis Outlet, a Portsmouth marijuana shop she co-owns. The investigation began under the Biden administration.Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, gained national attention this year for leading the push to redraw Virginia's congressional map in favor of Democrats.Lucas has not been convicted of any crime and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty i#BreakingNewse#Virginia #PublicCorruptionCorruption ...

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