Latest news with #Brevard
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
LIVE UPDATES: Weather Alerts issued for multiple parts of Central Florida
A T-Storm Warning has been issued for northwestern Brevard and southeastern Volusia counties until 3:30 PM. This includes Oak Hill Movement is to the south at 10 mph. Winds over 50 mph, intense lightning, and hail are the most significant threats. Additional strong to severe storms will be possible across the area this afternoon and early evening. EXPIRED A thunderstorm warning has been issued for central Seminole County until 2:45 PM. This includes Sanford and Oviedo. Movement is to the east at 20 mph. Winds over 50 mph, intense lightning and hail are the biggest threats. A 58 mph gust was measured at Orlando/Sanford International Airport. Additional strong to severe storms will be possible this afternoon and early evening across much of the area. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Transylvania County sheriff releases names of deputies involved in July 6 fatal shooting
The Transylvania County Sheriff's Office has released the names of two deputies involved in a July 6 shootout outside of Brevard. They are Brandon Scott Holden, 36, and Samuel Edward Owen, Jr., 34, according to a Transylvania County Sheriff's Office incident report provided to the Times-News July 10 by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office both requested an SBI investigation into the incident. Responding to a request for a wellness check made in Buncombe County July 6, deputies found Raul Alberto Rivera in the parking lot of a Pizza Hut in Pisgah Forest. Rivera then shot at the deputies with a rifle, according to the incident report. The deputies returned fire, severely injuring Rivera, who was later pronounced dead at the scene. This story will be updated. George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Pisgah Forest, NC, shooting: Deputy names in fatal encounter disclosed
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's what Brevard voters need to know for Election Day about Senate, House races
Today is Election Day in Brevard. Voters will go to the polls June 10 for the special election to fill Florida Senate District 19 and Florida House District 32 seats. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 77 locations throughout Brevard County. They will be staffed by a total of 692 poll workers. Here is what voters need to know about these elections: Voters who vote on Election Day need to remember to vote in their precinct-specific polling location. Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic said voters need to bring a valid current photo and signature ID. Assigned precincts can be found on with the 'Find Your Precinct' tab; on a voter information card; or on the sample ballot that has been mailed to each registered voter in Senate District 19 or House District 32. Bobanic said there have been some polling location changes, so voters should verify the location of their Election Day polling place. The candidates are Republican Debbie Mayfield of Indialantic and Democrat Vance Ahrens of Grant-Valkaria. The seat became vacant when the incumbent, Randy Fine, resigned, effective March 31, to run for a seat in Congress in Florida's 6th Congressional District, a six-county area that includes Daytona Beach. Fine won the congressional seat in an April 1 election. Mayfield has been a member of the Florida House, representing District 32, since November. She resigned her seat on June 9 to run for this Senate seat, which she previously held before having to give it up in 2024 because of term limits. Because of the gap in tenure, Mayfield is allowed to seek the Senate seat again in this election. Mayfield on April 1 won a four-candidate primary for the Senate seat, receiving 60.81% of the vote. Ahrens worked in health care as a surgical technician for more than 20 years, and currently works as a retail manager. Ahrens previously sought this seat in 2024, losing to Fine and getting 40.64% of the vote. The district includes most of Brevard County, except for Titusville and areas north of Titusville. The election winner will serve the remainder of Fine's four-year term, which runs until November 2028. Florida Senate members have a salary of $29,697 a year. The candidates are Republican Brian Hodgers of Viera and Democrat Juan Hinojosa of Rockledge. The seat will become vacant because of Mayfield's resignation to run for the Senate District 19 seat. Hodgers is a real estate broker and insurance agent. On April 1, Hodgers won a close three-candidate Republican primary for this seat, receiving 35% of the vote. Hinojosa is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Hinojosa previously ran for the House District 32 seat in 2024, losing to Mayfield and getting 35.72% of the vote. The district includes much of Central Brevard County. The election winner will serve the remainder of Mayfield's two-year term, which runs until November 2026. Florida House members have a salary of $29,697 a year. Yes. The deadline to register to vote in this election — also known as "book closing" — was May 12. There are 401,333 registered voters in Senate District 19 eligible to vote in this election. Of those, 44.9% are Republicans; 25.9% are Democrats; 25.5% are no-party-affiliation voters; and 3.7% are members of a minor political party. There are 137,773 registered voters in House District 32. Of those, 46.9% are Republicans; 24.4% are Democrats; 25.1% are no-party-affiliation voters; and 3.6% are members of a minor political party. All of them also live within Senate District 19, so they can vote in both races. Voter turnout for the primary was 21.71% of eligible voters. Under state law, the Republican primary was open only to registered Republicans. As of the morning of June 9, there have been 25,674 votes cast by mail for this election, In addition 17,898 voters cast ballots in in-person early voting, which ran from May 31 through June 7 at nine locations throughout Brevard. In all, 10.86% of eligible voters have voted so far. Of those, 22,033 votes were cast by Republicans; 14,764 by Democrats; 6,049 by no-party-affiliation voters; and 730 by members of a minor political party. "Turnout for the 2025 special general election has been light," Bobanic said. "Mail ballot and early voting have us sitting at a little over 10% overall turnout. If voters follow the same trend as the special primary, the majority of voters will cast their ballot on Election Day." Precincts 305 and 324: Moved from Melbourne Beach Town Hall Community Center, 509 Ocean Ave., Melbourne Beach, to St. Sebastian's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 2010 Oak St., Melbourne Beach. Precincts 310 and 329: Moved from Central Baptist Church, 2503 Country Club Road, Melbourne, to Joseph N. Davis Community Center, 2547 Bruce D. Buggs St., Melbourne. Precincts 421 and 430: Moved from Suntree United Methodist Church, 7400 N. Wickham Road, Suntree, to St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 5965 N. Wickham Road, Suntree. Precincts 424 and 429: Moved from Church at Viera, 9005 N. Wickham Road, Viera, to Viera Regional Community Center, 2300 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera. Precincts 500 and 528: Moved from Tropical Haven Auditorium, 1205 S. Eddie Allen Road, Melbourne, to Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Ave., Melbourne. Precinct 505: Moved from First Baptist Church of Indialantic, 170 Washington Ave., Indialantic, to Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 106 N. Riverside Drive, Indialantic. (This is a temporary move just for this election.) Bobanic said filled-out mail ballots must be brought to one of the four administrative offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day. They are not accepted at polling places. These are the Brevard office locations: Melbourne: South Brevard Service Complex, 1515 Sarno Road, Building A. Palm Bay: South Mainland Service Center, 450 Cogan Drive SE. Titusville: Government Complex-North, 400 South St., Suite 1F. Viera: Government Center, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, Suite 105. Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@ on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard voters can cast ballots in special elections for Senate, House
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brevard: How do you know if the water where you are swimming is safe?
How do you really know whether the water you're wading in, swimming or paddling in is safe? Should you even let your dog drink it? The risks make headlines every summer: bacteria from sewage or wildlife; toxins from algae that's already sickening manatees, dolphins and even alligators; rare, strange brain-eating amoebas; and emerging pathogens strengthening to "superbugs" due to antibiotic resistance. These risks tend to spike after heavy rains wash bacteria and nutrients from wildlife droppings and human sources from the land. So health departments periodically pull water samples from the beach surf zone during warmer months. But results aren't ready for a few days, so surfers and swimmers often don't know how much bacteria was in the water until after the fact. It's always swim at your own risk in Florida. But the following resources can help you check the chronic problem areas and make an informed choice on which days are safest for you and yours to take a dip: From March through September, this program samples the surf zone for bacteria at 10 Brevard beaches and at other beaches statewide every two weeks, posting the results on its website: But they only test during warmer months, when bacteria growth is higher and there are more people on the beach. On May 27, Jetty Park tested "moderate" for enterococcus bacteria. Enterococcus bacteria lives in the gut of humans and other animals. Its presence can indicate other, more dangerous bacteria in the water. Health officials measure the number of colony-forming units (CFU) of enterococcus per 100 milliliters of water sample. A sample is "good," if 35 or less CFUs. A "moderate" level is 36 to 70 enterococcus CFUs. Higher than that is a "poor" result, which triggers health officials to retest. A health advisory for bacteria in the water means that contact with the water may increase risk of skin, ear, eye, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. The nonprofit Surfrider also tests for bacteria in local waters. You can check out local results on their online map. You can see Surfrider's water sampling results on their online map at The group's recently released its Clean Water Report identifies beach waters where bacteria hot spots across the country. The group identified Ballard Park in Melbourne among the top 10 for bacteria hot spots due to the frequency of water samples failing to meet state health safety standards. Last year, 52% of Ballard Park samples exceeded the state health standard for enterococci bacteria, the group says. Vibrio vulnificus, one of the fastest growing bacteria known, is potentially deadly. It can enter the bloodstream via scratches and other open wounds. It is also a risk from eating raw oysters. You can learn about that risk at CDC's site: The risk of infection from water exposure is very rare but you can learn more at the state health department site: Last year, Titusville City Council unanimously approved a proposed $70,000 settlement agreement to resolve a lawsuit over a boy who became paralyzed after paddle boarding in the Indian River Lagoon near a city sewage spill in late 2020. According to the suit, in late December of 2020 the boy went paddle boarding and swimming in the lagoon in Titusville, departing from his mother's house, 4.5 miles south of Sand Point Park in Titusville. He was in the water several times, according to the suit. But on Dec. 23, water samples downstream of the ponds' lagoon outfalls exceeded water quality criteria for bacteria. In August 2011, 16-year-old Astronaut High student Courtney Nash of Mims died of the amoebic infection after swimming in the St. Johns River near the Brevard-Volusia county line. Before her death, Brevard County's most recent Naegleria fowleri cases were a Port Malabar Elementary third-grader who swam at Max K. Rodes Park in West Melbourne in 2002 and a 6-year-old boy who was infected in 1980. Both children died. Learn about it and other waterborne disease risks here: In May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $9.7 million in grant funding that states, Tribes, and territories use to monitor recreational water quality and to notify the public if elevated levels of illness-causing bacteria make swimming unsafe. That includes $500,000 to Florida's Healthy Beaches Program. Surfrider is warning of efforts by the federal government to cut funding to that program. Waymer covers environment. Reach him at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@ Follow him on X at @JWayEnviro. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: How to know if Brevard water you are swimming in is safe? Find data here.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
ALERT: T'Storm warning for Osceola and Brevard
A thunderstorm warning has been issued for southwestern Brevard and east-central Osceola counties until 6:15 pm. Movement is to the northeast at 25 mph. Greatest threats are winds over 50 mph, intense lightning and hail. Additional storms are possible this evening, with the best chance south of Orlando. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
