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Monday's Afternoon Update

A canceled spring training could be devastating to local economies in Florida

While the owners and the MLB Players' Association are expected to ramp up negotiations this week in the hopes of salvaging the preseason, reports indicate that both sides remain far apart on several key issues. The delay is devastating for cities in Arizona and Florida that host Spring Training games. Many communities were hoping 2022 would mark a return to normalcy after COVID-19 wiped out most Spring Training in 2020 and limited attendance in 2021. Now, the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues are dealing with the possibility of another canceled preseason. More from KXLFand the AP.

SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX took a couple weeks off, but sent up another batch of Starlink satellites to add its expanding internet empire. The Falcon 9 rocket with 46 Starlinks on board lifted off under clear skies at 9:44 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch from Space Launch Complex 40 took a southerly trajectory with the first stage booster, making its 11th flight, landing the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. More from the Orlando Sentinel .

Brightline CEO on the future of high-speed rail in Florida

The option to take a high-speed train from Orlando to Miami will soon become a reality. Brightline, the only private passenger rail company in the country, hopes to wrap up construction in Central Florida by late 2022. The company resumed service in November after suspending operations for nearly 20 months due to the pandemic. More from Click Orlando.

Opinion: Residents, not out-of-state businesses, should govern Florida cities

Our country was founded on the value of “we, the people” — the idea that we hold power and have a say in the governing of our communities. Floridians alone are tasked with selecting who makes up our government and how our community should be run. But state mandates proposed in Tallahassee would further undermine our ability to freely govern our communities, allowing corporations and their big teams of lawyers to run them instead. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Orlando Museum of Art’s downtown expansion is called off

The deal to add a branch of Orlando Museum of Art to a luxury tower in the heart of downtown has been called off. Museum spokeswoman Emilia Bourmas-Fry blamed timing for scuttling the agreement, which was announced with much fanfare last May. It would have seen the museum acquire thousands of new square feet of exhibition space in the high rise, built by Summa Development Group. Plans also called for a rooftop garden featuring glass sculptures by acclaimed artist Dale Chihuly. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Nature and Environment
Manta rays establish shadowy presence in South Florida, as global population threatened

 Giant manta rays radiate menace as they sweep across the ocean surface, their wings reaching a span of up to 29 feet. But despite their foreboding appearance, these marine phantoms are harmless, except to plankton. A juvenile population of giant manta rays has been discovered in South Florida, and it’s being studied as the federal government draws up plans for protecting the species.

» More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

 

Out of the Box
Photo shows one million mosquitos caught on Florida island

floridaThe squeamish should look away. The Lee County Mosquito Control District posed a question on social media Wednesday – “Ever wonder what 1 million mosquitoes looks like?” According to LCMCD, the mosquitoes were part of a trapping project that happened on Sanibel Island last summer.

» Read more from WFLA.