Leadership Brevard Archives - The Space Coast Rocket

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LEAD Brevard Names Rachel Rutledge as its next Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Burns III -

April 24, 2026

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The Space Coast Rocket

4 days ago

UPDATE: The teen accused of raping and killing his 18-year-old stepsister Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival cruise ship will stay OUT of jail until trial. We want to hear from you.Timothy Hudson, 16, appeared in Miami federal court May 27. Prosecutors pushed to lock him up after a grand jury indicted him as an adult on first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges. The judge said no, letting him stay with his uncle under electronic monitoring while he awaits a September trial.The unsealed records are chilling. Prosecutors say an autopsy found Anna was pinned down and raped while alive, then strangled over several minutes, with force so severe her eardrum burst. They say DNA from her rape exam showed a "high probability" match to Hudson. And they say her 13-year-old brother slept in the same cabin for nine hours, unaware her body was hidden under a nearby bed.Hudson has pleaded not guilty. His attorney calls the case circumstantial with "a lot of gaps." The judge cited his age, clean record, and months without a violation.But here's the kicker: the judge admitted an adult facing these same charges would almost certainly be jailed right now. "If it were a 20-year-old under the exact circumstances I probably would have detained," he said. "This is a different animal."So we're asking you: Given the severity of these charges, should Timothy Hudson be in jail awaiting trial? Or does his age and clean record justify keeping him out?Sound off in the comments. ... See MoreSee Less

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The Space Coast Rocket

4 days ago

TRUMP TO KENNEDY CENTER MEMORIAL: TAKE MY NAME OFF, AND YOU CAN HAVE THE WHOLE THING BACKA federal judge just handed President Trump a stunning defeat over the Kennedy Center, and his response says everything about what this fight was really about.On Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump’s handpicked board broke the law when it slapped his name on the building. In a 94-page opinion, the judge wrote that Congress named the center for President John F. Kennedy, and only Congress can change it. The board now has 14 days to scrub “Trump” off every sign and every website.The judge also blocked the two-year shutdown the board had planned for renovations, calling the decision to close the doors “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.”Then came the reaction. President Trump took to Truth Social, ripped the Obama-appointed judge and the “Radical Left,” and declared he is now telling the Department of Commerce to hand the “failing Institution” over to Congress.The tell is one sentence. He wrote that “unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else,” he has “no interest in continuing.”So let’s call it what it is. The name comes off, and suddenly he wants nothing to do with the place. Was this ever about saving an arts center, or was it always about whose name goes on the front?Drop your take in the comments. 👇 ... See MoreSee Less

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The Space Coast Rocket

4 days ago

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The Space Coast Rocket is at koko japanese pub.

4 days ago

It's official. Cocoa Beach's KOKO is the first and only restaurant in all of Brevard County to make the Michelin Guide.When the 2026 Michelin Guide Florida came out this week, one Space Coast name was on it: KOKO, the downtown Cocoa Beach izakaya and sushiya at the corner of Minutemen and A1A. No other Brevard restaurant is in the guide at all.Let's be accurate, because the story is already getting garbled around town. KOKO is a Michelin RECOMMENDED restaurant. That is a real recognition from the world's most influential dining guide, earned by an anonymous inspector visit. It is not a Michelin star, and it is not a Bib Gourmand. Anyone telling you Brevard just got its first "Michelin star restaurant" has it wrong.What's true is the part that matters: no restaurant on the Space Coast had ever been included in the Michelin Guide before. KOKO is the first. Chef Daniel Penovich, a Cocoa Beach kid who cooked in Copenhagen and at Michelin-starred Kadence in Orlando before coming home, brought it here.Penovich also posted something this week that's worth reading, raw and honest about the financial fear and self-doubt behind 18 months of building this place. It's the kind of thing you don't usually hear a chef say out loud.Go show them some local love. Full story, including exactly what a Michelin listing means and how the Space Coast finally landed on the map, in the comments. 👇 ... See MoreSee Less

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The Space Coast Rocket is with Mark Lowe.

4 days ago

INCREDIBLE PHOTO: Starlink SentinelFalcon 9 launching Starlink satellites as a C-130 is on approach to Patrick Space Force Base captured by Mark Lowe.Mark is a Professional flight instructor who flew corporate jets for 15 years. In his free time, he loves photographing rocket launches, the Milky Way as well as wildlife.His photo has been entered into America’s Favorite Photos competition. You can vote for him in the link in the comments. ... See MoreSee Less

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Tag: Leadership Brevard

LEAD Brevard Names Rachel Rutledge as its next Chief Executive Officer