SpaceX's Falcon Heavy conducts first commercial flight from Florida

The most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, launched its first commercial mission on Thursday from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts. The 23-story-tall Heavy, which previously launched Musk’s cherry red Tesla roadster to space in a 2018 debut test flight, blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center carrying its first customer payload. More from Reuters, the AP, and the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida could soon bury more power lines. Customers might pick up the cost.

A pair of seemingly popular bills have been flying through the Florida Legislature, quietly passing through committees and likely headed to their respective chamber floors. On its face, the combined effort looks like good news for Floridians: It aims to strengthen the electric grid and minimize damage from hurricanes and tropical storms. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Innovation Partner: Florida hopes to capitalize on Israeli business success

According to the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index, Israel has the fifth-most innovative economy in the world, in large part because of its abundance of successful high-tech startups. When those companies look to grow, they typically open offices in Europe, Boston, New York or Silicon Valley, but the Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation is asking: Why not Florida? [Source: Florida Trend]

Secretive lab at Patrick AFB watches for nuclear explosions worldwide, protecting the U.S.

March marked the five-year anniversary of The Air Force Technical Applications Center's $158 million campus at Patrick AFB — which was the largest construction project in the Air Force at the time. Officials gave FLORIDA TODAY a rare glimpse inside AFTAC's surreptitious surveillance laboratory. The tour was the most in-depth media peek since the facility's March 2014 ribbon-cutting ceremony, said Susan Romano, AFTAC's public affairs chief. [Source: Florida Today]

In Florida, the fight over alimony can be brutal

Alimony has come a long way from its origins more than 3,700 years ago when a Babylonian king ordered that men must support women who had given them children. For several years now, legal minds have suggested it’s time for a task force in Florida to study alimony and produce a bill that’s fair for all. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sarasota County makes moves to create jobs, train workforce [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Several actions by the Sarasota County Commission could create a more skilled workforce and dozens of jobs in the area. The commission on Wednesday approved considering giving Career Edge Funders Collaborative $300,000 over the next three years to train more than 300 local people for jobs in the manufacturing, transportation, health care and insurance industries.

› New flour mill at Port Tampa Bay to cost $62 million [Tampa Bay Times]
Ardent Mills plans to spend about $62 million building its new flour mill and grain storage terminal at Port Tampa Bay to replace the old ConAgra mill near downtown Tampa. The project is expected to take 18 to 24 months and require a construction workforce of about 200.

› Florida House backs sales tax 'holidays,' commercial lease tax cut [Orlando Sentinel]
A pair of sales-tax “holidays” for storm preparation and back-to-school shopping and a tax cut on commercial leases dominated a package that advanced Thursday out of a key House committee. But Democrats raised questions about part of the proposal dealing with charter schools and money raised by school districts through local referendums.

› Hepatitis A outbreak spreads to Broward County [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Hepatitis A is spreading across the state, and the disease has now reached outbreak level in Broward County. On Thursday, the Broward County Health Department confirmed there have been seven cases of adults with Hepatitis A since the first of the year, making Broward a high-risk zone like the counties to the north.

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› A first look at Aquatica Orlando's KareKare Curl water slide [Orlando Sentinel]
The new water slide at SeaWorld’s Aquatica Orlando that officially opens Friday is only about 361 feet long, resulting in a ride that lasts about 15 to 20 seconds. But the ride meant for thrill-seekers (and has a minimum height requirement of at least 48 inches, so it’s not for small children) features a 35-foot drop down an enclosed tube slide.

› Florida city ranks in top 10 places to drink craft beer in the world [Palm Beach Post]
Miami is known for a lot -- popping nightclubs and being one of 2019′s most sinful cities -- but now craft beers join the list of reasons to visit The Magic City. Miami ranks as No. 8 of the top 10 places in the world to drink craft beer, according to Scanmovers.com, a Dutch startup that analyzed 100 cities and came up with a list of the best craft beer cities on Earth.

› Mystery philanthropist is bringing cash scavenger hunt to Jacksonville [Florida Times-Union]
The Hidden Cash scavenger hunt that went viral in 2014 is coming to Jacksonville on Friday. Hidden Cash is a Twitter page that goes by the handle @HiddenCash. It’s run by a real estate investor who wants to give his wealth back to society but doesn’t want there to be any focus on him, just his scavenger hunts, in which he places envelopes of money for people to find.

› Brocante Vintage Market in St. Petersburg announces plans to close [Tampa Bay Times]
Vintage aficionados, pickers and salvagers will have to look for new digs to buy and sell their wares after December, when Brocante Vintage Market will officially close. Owners Sean and Celesta Carter announced on social media Wednesday that the December market will be the last. Even though the market is thriving financially, they said, they have decided to end it for personal reasons.