The morning edition

NASA opens astronaut applications, expands Moon contracts, and Legend arrives at its Florida homeport

Sunday, November 8, 2026

Sunday, November 8, 2026

Good morning, Florida. On Nov. 8, 1876 — 150 years ago today — Eartha Mary Magdalene White was born in Jacksonville. A classically trained opera singer, she returned to Florida to build a public school for Black children in Bayard and went on to feed neighbors through Jacksonville’s Clara White Mission.

In This Issue: NASA opens its next astronaut application window, Legend of the Seas reaches its Florida homeport, and a 98-year-old veteran finds a new audience with his neighbor.

Weather: Sunday stays dry and seasonably warm behind a weak front, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s and low 70s in the western Panhandle; patchy morning fog is possible around Gainesville. The St. Johns River is still flooding, and the river near Cocoa is forecast to reach major flood stage late this weekend into next week. Minor coastal flooding is possible at high tide along the Southeast coast through Sunday evening. Never drive into flooded roads. (NWS)

Tropical: The National Hurricane Center no longer expects the low south-southeast of Bermuda to develop as it merges with a front over the open Atlantic, and it sees no other systems for the next seven days. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. (National Hurricane Center)

Rip Current Report: A long-period swell keeps the rip current risk HIGH on Sunday along the Atlantic coast from Nassau through St. Johns and from Volusia through Martin, with surf of 3 to 5 feet; stay out of the ocean there. The risk is moderate in Palm Beach County and on Walton and Bay beaches. (NWS)

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NASA Opens Astronaut Applications With a December Deadline

NASA is recruiting its next astronaut class, officials announced Saturday at Kennedy Space Center. The agency has 32 active astronauts and wants more people to support its Artemis exploration program, including planned work on the Moon.

Applications close at 11:59pm EST Dec. 3, with final selection expected in late 2027. Basic requirements include U.S. citizenship, a STEM master's degree or a listed qualifying alternative, and three years of related professional experience after the qualifying degree; NASA specifies alternative flight-experience requirements for pilots and requires a long-duration flight physical.

NASA Expands Moon Delivery Deals and Kennedy-Managed Transport Awards

NASA selected eight companies to compete for lunar deliveries under a 10-year contract with a combined ceiling of $10 billion. The program supports plans to put infrastructure on the Moon before astronauts return; the ceiling is not money already paid to the companies.

The agency also awarded six launch and in-space transportation task orders totaling about $1.3 billion, managed by its Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center. Separately, the existing lunar-delivery contract ceiling increased from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.

Legend of the Seas Arrives in Florida for Its First U.S. Visit

Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas reached Port Everglades Saturday morning for its first U.S. visit after an inaugural season in Europe. The Icon-class ship has capacity for 5,610 passengers at double occupancy. Its first Florida sailing is scheduled for Sunday, a three-night Bahamas trip.

Legend is the first Icon-class ship to homeport at the Fort Lauderdale port, joining sister ships Icon and Star of the Seas sailing from Florida. From its new homeport, it will offer six- and eight-night Caribbean itineraries.

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❖ Miami-Dade — Vitalis Tower Gets a Construction Timetable: Aventura: Arcadia Real Estate Developers expects construction on Vitalis Tower to begin in the second quarter of 2027 and finish in early 2029, with a 7-story building planned at 21291 Northeast 28th Avenue. The Aventura project is planned with about 114,000 square feet of medical and professional offices and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and the developer reports 30 percent sold.

❖ Tampa Bay — Clearing Underway for Liberty Cove: Brooksville: Land clearing is underway for Liberty Cove, a planned 92-home community between Bartlett and Wiscon roads, the Hernando Sun reports with photographs explicitly dated November 1. The 41.22-acre development is planned with a single entrance and turn lanes on Wiscon Road, along with buffers and fencing separating the site from surrounding roads and neighboring land.

❖ Tampa Bay — Speros Gets New Facility Timelines (UPDATE): Pasco County: Moffitt Cancer Center’s planned 130,000-square-foot radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility at Speros is expected to be completed by late 2029, campus president Josh Carpenter told St. Pete Catalyst. The FORGE Incubator, to be managed by Embarc Collective in Moffitt’s Discovery and Innovation Center, should open in the first or second quarter of 2028 and support up to 20 early-stage life-sciences and biotechnology companies.

❖ Broward — Flood Sensors Track Rising Water: Fort Lauderdale: Broward County is installing solar-powered flood sensors in Fort Lauderdale that send rainfall and rising-water information every 10 minutes to officials through a map, phone alerts and email, Local 10 reports. The system pairs an above-ground sensor with another inside a catch basin; officials’ targets are 40 installations by the end of 2026 and another 50 across Broward County in 2027.

❖ Gainesville — Two Downtown Blocks Become a Permanent Pedestrian Space: Gainesville: Gainesville has converted 2 downtown blocks into the permanent Streatery pedestrian space along Southwest First Avenue, between South Main Street and Southwest Second Street. WCJB reports that the completed $4.5 million project adds brick pavers, outdoor seating and lighting to a street closed to vehicle traffic during the pandemic, giving the downtown area a permanent outdoor gathering and dining space.

❖ Gulf Coast — Culver’s Targets a Year-End Lehigh Acres Opening: Lehigh Acres: Culver’s is targeting an opening before the end of 2026 for its planned Lehigh Acres restaurant at 5670 Thoroughbred Drive, Jeffrey Liegel told What Now on Friday. Liegel is CEO of S&L Companies, the developer behind more than 130 Culver’s locations, and confirmed the opening target for the site across from Advance Auto Parts and Havana Bakery and Cafe.

❖ North Florida — Aldi Sets Cantonment Opening for November 19: Cantonment: Aldi has set November 19 for the opening of its Cantonment store at 1550 South Highway 29, in the former Winn-Dixie that closed in March 2026. The retailer already has 6 other Escambia County stores, including the Nine Mile Road location at Chemstrand Road that opened in March 2025, making the coming Cantonment store the county’s seventh.

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❖ Sarasota Ruling Tests State Live Local Law in Rural Zoning Districts — Circuit Judge Hunter W. Carroll rejected Sarasota County’s argument that the Live Local Act excludes rural districts with limited commercial uses, requiring review of a proposal for more than 600 apartments near Celery Fields to proceed. Four similar developer lawsuits remain pending before the same judge. The dispute tests how far Florida’s statewide housing law limits local zoning authority.

❖ Central Florida Congressional Races Finish Outside Automatic-Recount Threshold — Florida officials said neither the 7th nor the 9th Congressional District race qualifies for an automatic recount after unofficial returns. Democrat Darren Soto led Republican Dan Green by 1,506 votes, or 0.53 percentage points, while Republican Ryan Elijah led Democrat Bale Dalton by 1,631 votes, or 0.503 points, Central Florida Public Media reported. Both margins exceed Florida’s half-percentage-point trigger; results await Nov. 17 certification.

❖ ABC Reports DeSantis Has Not Settled on Another Presidential Bid — Gov. Ron DeSantis is keeping open the possibility of a 2028 presidential campaign but has not made a final decision, ABC News reported, citing two people familiar with his thinking. The sources said he is assessing the political environment and whether there is an opening for him. DeSantis previously ran in 2024; ABC said it had sought comment from his office.

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❖ Developer Plans for Former Wagon Wheel Flea Market Land — Belleair Development Group, led by Christian and Carlos Yepes, is under contract to buy the 156 mostly undeveloped acres at 7801 Park Blvd. in Pinellas Park that held the Wagon Wheel Flea Market. The market ran 54 years before closing in March 2020; the Hardy Huntley family has owned the land since it opened in 1966. The developer has no timeline yet and says it is "not considering data centers." Annexation is starting, and buried construction debris on the site is being investigated. Belleair also owns The Shoppes at Park Place.

❖ St. Pete Clears Chick-fil-A Rebuild That Would Displace Small Shops — St. Petersburg City Council voted 7-1 to approve land-use and zoning changes that let the operator of the Chick-fil-A at 4201 4th Street N. pursue a rebuild on a roughly 1.56-acre site. The vote overturned a 4-3 Planning Commission rejection. The restaurant would grow just 202 square feet, but parking would roughly double to ease drive-thru backups. The plan would demolish the Village Shoppes strip, home to Fourth Street Tackle and Aquatic Galleria, plus seven rental apartments. Operator David Neely's restaurant employs more than 130 people; the applicant estimates 50 to 75 more jobs.

❖ Used EVs Draw Buyers in Gainesville as Gas Nears $4 — With gas averaging almost $4 a gallon in Alachua County, used electric vehicles are getting renewed interest. Enrique Maldonado at Main Street Motors in Gainesville said his used EV sales over the last two months averaged in the low $20,000s, down from $60,000 to $70,000 new. Davis Gainesville Chevrolet's Alex Clark has sold one EV in the last month, with 10 among more than 150 cars on the lot. Florida has over 450,400 registered EVs and more than 4,500 public charging stations, fourth-most in the U.S.

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Stockstill Wins His FSU Debut as a Fake Field Goal Helps End the Road Drought

Florida State won on the road for the first time since Nov. 25, 2023, beating Boston College 31-24 in interim coach Rick Stockstill's first game after Mike Norvell's firing. Kicker Gabe Panikowski scored on a fake field goal just before halftime, taking a lateral from holder Carter Jula to put the Seminoles ahead 21-17. Amari Thomas supplied the decisive 11-yard touchdown run with 2:29 remaining, finishing a 90-yard drive. FSU improved to 4-5 and kept a path to bowl eligibility alive.

Three Seconds Left: Piening's Catch Ends UCF's 12-Game Road Skid

UCF let a 19-point lead slip away at Kansas, then rescued the game with a 10-play, 73-yard drive in the final minute. Alonza Barnett III found Caden Piening at the left pylon for a 6-yard touchdown with three seconds remaining; replay upheld the catch, giving the Knights a 33-32 win and ending their 12-game road losing streak. Kansas had scored 25 unanswered points and gone ahead with 1:06 left. UCF is 5-4, with Arizona State visiting next Saturday.

Miami Surrenders a Three-Goal Lead but Takes the East's No. 2 Seed

Inter Miami led Charlotte 3-0 at halftime of its regular-season finale, only to settle for a 3-3 draw after Rodolfo Aloko put away a rebound in the 90th minute. Ian Fray, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul scored for Miami before Liel Abada's two goals started Charlotte's comeback. Lionel Messi finished the regular season with 26 goals. Miami nevertheless secured second place in the Eastern Conference with 60 points after New England lost at Orlando, and will open its best-of-three first-round playoff series at home.

Scoreboard

Capitals 4, Panthers 3

Inter Miami 3, Charlotte FC 3

Orlando City 1, New England 0

Lightning 4, Wild 3 (OT)

Warriors 126, Magic 119 (OT)

Schedule (all times ET)

Sunday Nov 8 — Lions at Dolphins, 1pm EST — Fox

Sunday Nov 8 — Panthers at Bruins, 1pm EST — NHL Network

Sunday Nov 8 — NASCAR Cup Series championship race, Homestead-Miami Speedway, 3pm EST — NBC

Sunday Nov 8 — Lightning at Jets, 6pm EST — The Spot

Sunday Nov 8 — Buccaneers at Bears, 8:20pm EST — NBC

Sunday Nov 8 — Heat at Kings, 9pm EST

More Scores: NFL | NBA | NHL | NCAAF

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Florida's average for regular is $3.81 a gallon, AAA says, down about 2 cents from yesterday ($3.84) and about 7 cents below a week ago ($3.88). That's about 22 cents under the national average of $4.04. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the most expensive metro at about $3.99; Panama City is the cheapest at about $3.53.

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❖ A bass bigger than the boy (West Palm Beach): In 2022, Tiffany White surprised her son Jacoby with an upright bass so he could audition for Dreyfoos School of the Arts. He taught himself the instrument from YouTube videos and earned a place despite an instructor's doubts. Her TikTok of his stunned reaction, followed by footage of him playing in a Dreyfoos jazz ensemble as a senior, has drawn attention from bassist Ron Carter and Justin Timberlake.

❖ Science teacher tops Martin County (Stuart): Richard Acosta, the Related Arts-Science teacher at Pinewood Elementary, was named Martin County Teacher of the Year. An educator since 1991 who joined the district in 2019, he secured two Martin County Education Foundation grants to support innovative science projects. He also developed a Birds of the Everglades curriculum with Friends of the Everglades and Inwater Research Group, to be piloted at Pinewood in fall 2026, and his efforts contributed to a 12-percentage-point rise in fifth-grade science proficiency.

❖ Funkateer turns 70 (Jacksonville): Reggie Dantzler celebrated his 70th birthday with a Harlem Renaissance-themed party at VFW Post 197. In 2010 he founded the 12-member Special Formula Band, which averages four shows a month. Through a Myrtle Avenue youth program, he also helped enroll more than 300 young people.

❖ Fifteen years cancer-free (Vero Beach): Zena Armella, 58, says she has been cancer-free for 15 years, having been diagnosed with breast and thyroid cancer in 2011. The Colombian native moved to Vero Beach in 2014 and serves at St. Helen Catholic Church. Her message to other women facing cancer is to seek support and not let the disease "extinguish your light."

❖ A 98-year-old vet and his Gen Z neighbor (Lake Placid): Ross Longo, a 98-year-old World War II and Korean War Navy veteran from Lake Placid, has become a social media star through @your98yearoldvet, an account run by his 26-year-old neighbor, Sevastian Munguia-Barajas. Longo has lived next door to the family for more than 20 years and moved into their home last month. The pair also help other Highlands County veterans, donating Longo's used recliners and a scooter and buying veterans breakfast.

❖ Stranded boaters swim for it (Cayo Costa): On Saturday morning, two people whose boat broke down off Cayo Costa tried to swim to shore. Lee County's Marine Emergency Response Team found them and used a side-tow to bring the boat and both people to the nearest shore. The agency said everyone came through safely.

Today’s Quote

"In Florida, a plant passed from one yard to another comes with growing instructions and a little neighborhood history."

— original / Front Porch

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waning crescent, about 1% lit; the new moon arrives early Monday, Nov. 9.

Sunrise / Sunset: Orlando: sunrise 6:43 a.m., sunset 5:36 p.m. EST, 10h 53m of daylight. Times are Eastern Standard (Pensacola and the western Panhandle are on Central time); times vary across the state.

Gardening Notes: Endive, lettuce's "sophisticated cousin," is a cool-season green that bolts in warm weather, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says. North Florida gardeners can grow it September through April (protect it from freezes); in Central and South Florida, wait for December through March. Curly types are sold as frisée and broad-leaved ones as escarole.

Coastal / Red Tide: FWC's Nov. 6 report finds red tide at bloom levels in six samples from Gulf County, with lower levels in Bay and Escambia counties and a single background sample in Pinellas County; none on the East Coast. Next update: Nov. 13.

Florida by the Numbers

92.2%: Florida's federal high school graduation rate for the 2024-25 school year, the highest in state history, according to the Florida Department of Education. That's up 2.5 percentage points from the year before, with English language learners gaining the most (5.6 points).