$2 Brevard Zoo Admission in September!

Brevard Zoo is offering four discounted zoo admission days in September. Admission each Tuesday -- September 4, 11, 18, and 25 -- will be just $2 per person all day long.

The $2 admission price applies to anyone who is not already a member of Brevard Zoo and is 2 and older. Zoo members and children under 2 still receive free admission into the zoo. Brevard Zoo’s hours of operation are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last admission at 4:15 p.m.

Additional charges apply to activities inside the zoo including feeding giraffe and lorikeet, kayaking or paddle boating, and riding the train.

For more information about Brevard Zoo, please visit www.brevardzoo.org or call (321) 254-9453.



I Dream of Jeannie Honored!

It’s been more than 40 years since Jeannie and Major Nelson said “I do” in Cocoa Beach, but city leaders say it’s time to celebrate the sitcom that helped immortalized the 1960s Space Coast era.

A public ceremony will be held to install a historical sign that honors “I Dream of Jeannie” at Lori Wilson Park.

The sitcom was set along the Space Coast and followed the lives of Jeannie, a genie, and Nelson, a NASA astronaut.

Former mayor Joe Morgan has pushed to get a historic marker installed at the park for years. Now, with a nod and a wink, city leaders are ready to do just that.

Brevard County Among Top Improving Markets!

Great news!
Palm Bay/Brevard County, Florida was just added to the National Association of Homebuilders/First American Improving Markets Index! This particular index spotlights housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health by measuring employment growth, house price growth, and single-family housing growth. By looking at this data and comparing it with other markets across the country, the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index list is created… and now Brevard County, Florida has made this prestigious list!
A total of 80 metropolitan areas across 32 states and the District of Columbia were listed as “improving markets” on the list for August. Seventy-five of these metro areas kept their spot on the list, while 5 new areas were added, including Palm Bay/Brevard County, Florida. The index measures improvements in housing permits, employment, and house prices over at least 6 consecutive months.
According to Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), “The list of improving housing markets in August includes metros across every region of the country, all of which have distinctly different characteristics in terms of their economic and employment bases as well as other factors.” Further, Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman at First American Title Insurance Company notes, “With nearly one quarter of all U.S. metros currently designated as improving housing markets, there is growing recognition among consumers that now is an opportune time to consider a home purchase.”



NASA Rover Curiosity Lands on Mars!

The Mars rover Curiosity has successfully landed on the surface of the Red Planet. The mission concluded in the early hours of Monday morning, with touchdown occurring at 1:32 a.m. ET.

NASA’s rover Curiosity touched down deep in a Martian crater early Monday after a picture-perfect descent and landing, beginning what promises to be one of the most ambitious planetary missions in history.
Jubilant NASA engineers and scientists let out a loud and prolonged whoop when the data came in indicating that the one-ton rover had touched down. It remains unknown exactly what shape the $2.5 billion rover is in, but the fact that it survived its “seven minutes of terror” descent was cheered like the grandest Olympic triumph.

In a statement Monday morning, President Obama said the landing “marks an unprecedented feat of technology that wills tand as a point of national pride far into the future.”

NASA held a press conference at noon ET on Monday from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. where they announced the transmission of a new image from the HiRise camera. The images show Curiosity as it was landing on the surface of Mars — parachutes extended.

The MSL team will be working on Mars time for the next 90 Martian days or Sols. “We have to learn how to use this very complicated machine that we've built,” said mission manager Mark Watkins. “So, we want to run through our paces in an efficient way.”

FEWER MOSQUITOS FOR BREVARD COUNTY!

Brevard County by next summer will have two new weapons in its battle against mosquitoes.

The County Commission Tuesday authorized the purchase of two new helicopters for use by Brevard County Mosquito Control at a cost of $4.6 million, in a 4-1 vote.

County Manager Howard Tipton said buying the two helicopters to replace the three now in the mosquito control fleet actually will save the county $587,000 a year by reducing maintenance, fuel and other costs related to the current fleet that is 44, 22 and 12 years old. The two older helicopters are so inefficient that they are grounded 58 percent of the time, Tipton said, forcing the county to increase the use of contracted services for mosquito spraying.

Tipton said proceeds from the sale of the three helicopters will pay for the cost to outfit the new helicopters with avionics and spray equipment. County Commission Chairman Chuck Nelson said he wanted to OK the plan as soon as possible, so county officials can order the helicopters in time for delivery by the start of peak mosquito season in June.

“You can’t just run down to Mike Erdman, and buy a helicopter,” Nelson said, referring to the auto dealer.