Hurricane Michael thrashes Florida Panhandle with historic fury

First came the shrieking winds, at maximum speeds of 155 mph, ripping off roofs and bringing down palm trees. Then the rain, sideways, with the force of a million tiny daggers. Finally, the storm surge, swallowing beach-front homes and businesses from Panama City to Apalachicola, leaving behind 10 feet of water in some places. By the time the eye of the storm passed through Florida to Georgia late Wednesday evening, little was recognizable in this Spring Breakers paradise, this cradle of oyster beds and fishing boats, this military hotbed. More from the Tampa Bay Times, the Orlando Sentinel and UPI.

See also:
» Michael hitting Southeast after bashing northern Florida
» Ground zero: See the damage Hurricane Michael inflicted on Mexico Beach
» Hurricane Michael: 2 deaths confirmed as storm inundates Panhandle
» Hurricane Michael ranks among most intense Atlantic storms
» The pattern that brought all this heat helps spare Tampa Bay from Hurricane Michael strike
» Brunswick port closed to shipping, First Coast preps for limited impacts from Michael
» Hurricane Michael will muddle U.S. economic data for months
» Hurricane Michael causes flooding and erosion in Sarasota

Commentary: Aging Florida sewage systems pose threat to health — and tourism, real estate

Many Florida utilities rely on aging sewage systems that have not been upgraded in some cases since the 1950s. Florida should to take a comprehensive and a forward-looking approach to upgrading Florida’s domestic wastewater infrastructures. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Will young people make the difference in Florida's election?

Turning out young people to the polls has been such an unfulfilling endeavor for campaigns that many do little more than lip service to even try. Young people are the largest eligible voting bloc – and Florida's become the testing ground for whether they'll finally ready to act on it. [Source: US News & World Report]

Scathing NASA report blasts SLS rocket and Boeing overruns; first launch likely to be delayed

Originally slated to launch from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39B in December 2017, a 322-foot-tall version of the rocket known as SLS Block 1 will likely still be unprepared for a liftoff on the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 by June 2020. "In light of the Project’s development delays, we have concluded NASA will be unable to meet its EM-1 launch window currently scheduled between December 2019 and June 2020," a portion of the 50-page report reads. See the full report from NASA's Office of Inspector General, here. Also see more at Florida Today, WMFE, the Orlando Sentinel, and Ars Technica.

Why is Florida so special? N.J. wants answers from feds on offshore policy

Months after the Trump administration announced that Florida would be exempted from future offshore oil drilling, New Jersey is still wondering: Why not us, too? The federal government has remained tight-lipped on the situation. Now, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is suing for answers. [Source: NJ.com]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Miami medical company will move to Tampa after Dr. Kiran Patel’s $60 million investment [Tampa Bay Times]
Cardiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Kiran Patel has invested $60 million in a medical device company whose headquarters will move from Miami to Tampa. The investment in Concept Medical Inc. will pay for clinical studies
Related Florida Trend Archived Content » Floridian of the Year: Kiran Patel: ‘First, I give to charity'

› Free pharmacy celebrates year of helping homeless in Gainesville [Gainesville Sun]
Most of the homeless people in Alachua County have limited options to fill their prescriptions, largely due to their limited income and lack of transportation. But at Grace Pharmacy they can get it for free. “Some people out here can’t even afford $1 and medicine costs a whole lot more than $1,” said pharmacist Tim Rogers.

› Miami’s first craft beer brewery is sold. What this means for South Florida craft beer drinkers [Miami Herald]
Miami’s first craft beer brewery is now the property of Portland, Oregon. Wynwood Brewing Company, which opened in the popular arts district in 2013 as Miami’s first full-production craft brewery, has been purchased by Portland-based Craft Brew Alliance, a publicly traded company. Also see the pres release about the purchase, here.

› Broward County's top executives get bigger raises than rest of employees [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Broward County employees will be getting 3 percent raises this year, but commissioners decided that wasn’t good enough for three of the county’s top executives. Instead, County Administrator Bertha Henry, County Attorney Drew Meyers and County Auditor Robert Melton will be receiving 4 percent raises.

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› Disney's history lives on in Orlando library collection [Orlando Sentinel]
Up in the downtown Orlando library’s fourth floor, if you know where to look, there is a collection of Walt Disney World history that’s enough to make a Disney fanatic’s head spin.

› New biometric scanning at Fort Lauderdale airport could mean shorter lines at security [Miami Herald]
Some passengers flying out of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport can now use biometric scanning to move through TSA security faster, the company CLEAR announced today.

› Florida's new school safety app debuts, earns Trump's praise [Orlando Sentinel]
Florida unveiled its new school safety app this week, hoping to give students an easy, and anonymous, way to report suspicious activities and threats. The new FortifyFL app, devised in the wake of the Parkland school shootings, allows students to use their phones to alert authorities to potential trouble.

› 2 Sarasota County manufactured-home parks sold for $165 million [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Two of the region’s largest manufactured-home communities are under new ownership. An Arizona real estate investment company paid a combined $165 million last month for the Camelot East Village and Camelot Lakes Village communities, according to court records.