 BUILDING COLLAPSE In the early morning of June 24th, a condominium building in Surfside collapsed, trapping hundreds of people and killing at least eleven, as of June 29th. The Governor issued an executive order to allow the Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies to assist in the recovery efforts. Websites have been set up so people can offer financial support through The Shul and Support Surfside. |
| UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced on May 24th that Florida would no longer participate in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. This means that effective June 26th Floridians collecting unemployment benefits will no longer receive the $300 per week bump. Further, it also means persons who were given benefits under the program who would normally not qualify for unemployment benefits, such as the self-employed, no longer qualify. Florida joined 24 other states who no longer participate in the program. NASA At his first briefing since taking over as NASA administrator, former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson recently gave updates for ongoing space programs. The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch this fall and the Space Launch System should have a rocket ready later this year. There will be two new satellite missions to study the planet Venus and other missions will include returning to the moon as well as a series of satellites to study the Earth’s climate. Additionally, the agency will continue supporting and promoting commercial space businesses. FLORIDA DEFENSE SUPPORT TASK FORCE The Florida Defense Support Task Force Grant Program awarded $324,277 to two community projects. The Northeast Florida Fire Watch Council received $160,000 to fund educational programming, the Northeast Florida Military & Veteran Resources Guide, and a micro grant program to strengthen suicide prevention. Bay County Board of County Commissioners received $164,277 to support the ongoing rebuilding of Tyndall Air Force Base. |