New Titusville mayor takes on strategic plan

By Jessica Raynor
Florida Today

Jim Tulley wants to take on the city’s strategic plan as one of the first issues he’ll tackle as Titusville’s new mayor.

It’s an issue that will be brought before a new council tonight, with new Titusville City Councilor Martha Jane Long sitting in Tulley’s vacated council member’s seat.
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Crist in Brevard in countdown to commercial launch capability

COCOA — The first commercial launch from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station could come as early as 2010 or 2011, said Space Florida President and CEO Steve Kohler.    “We have customers we are talking to,” said Kohler.    Gov. Charlie Crist and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp joined Kohler today to formally announce the lease of SLC 36 from the Air Force at a press conference in the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium at the Brevard Community College Cocoa campus.

Crist said the agreement would help Brevard County’s economy during the expected economic slump due to the end of the shuttle program in 2010.
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Early primary voting fires up

Early voting got off to a smooth start today, with thousands of Floridians casting ballots for Florida’s primaries.

“This really takes the pressure off for Election Day,” said Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. “Early voting is so new, the archival information is just not large enough to make an extrapolation about what it means for voter turnout, but it’s extremely popular.”

Johnson said the process was moving smoothly at 13 early voting locations across Hillsborough.   

In Brevard County, assistant Elections Supervisor Duwayne Lundgren said there was one minor problem when a key to a ballot-scanning machine was missing, but the delay was only about three minutes. He said things were running smoothly at five locations in the county.

A spot-check of elections offices across the state also showed heavy demand for mailed ballots this year. Voter interest is usually higher in presidential years, and voter registration figures released Sunday night showed a gain of 415,000 voters statewide over the past seven months.   

Some candidates used the occasion to grab a little free publicity, by showing up with their families and crowds of supporters to vote on the first day of pre-primary balloting. Campaign strategists also like the method because it allows party volunteers to vote early and be free on Election Day to work for their candidates.

Operating hours and days vary from county to county, but early voting is generally available at county courthouses and satellite locations during normal business hours and for eight hours next weekend. Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho said weekend operations can be either Saturday or Sunday, or four hours on each day, depending on a county’s staffing demands.   

Early voting ends on Sunday, Aug. 24, so elections offices can use the Monday before the primary date to distribute machinery and get ready for the big day.

Brevard park projects may be finished by 2010

Before voters agreed in 2006 to borrow up to $85.7 million to finish more than 20 park referendum projects, Brevard County officials said they hoped to complete the parks within two years.
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Titusville gets money to develop new park

A recently received state grant will allow the city to embark on its first riverfront park development project.
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