WASHINGTON -- Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week, an encouraging sign the job market may be slowly improving. Weekly applications dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 405,000, the Labor Department said, the lowest level in almost three months. Among the states with the biggest increases and declines for the week ending July 2 is Florida. Its claims were down 5,889, due to fewer layoffs in the construction, manufacturing, trade and retail industries.
Florida team gets ISS contract from NASA
ORLANDO -- NASA has picked a team from Florida to manage the national laboratory aboard the International Space Station.
The contract is worth up to $15 million and has the potential to create dozens of jobs.
NASA’s decision to award management of the station’s laboratory to the nonprofit Center for the Advancement of Science in Space could mean high-paying salaries for dozens of Kennedy Space Center workers in the immediate future. More jobs could come over the next several years. This somewhat softens the blow of 7,000 Florida jobs expected to disappear as the space shuttle program ends.
Space Florida President Frank DiBello says the new contract shows that the state will continue to play a role in the future of the space program.
Scientists uncover 123-year-old recording
TRENTON, N.J. -- Scientists using advanced imaging technology have recovered a 123-year-old recording made by Thomas Edison that is believed to be the world’s first attempt at a talking doll and may mark the dawn of the American recording industry. In the sound recording, a woman can be heard reciting a verse of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Historians believe Edison hired the woman to make the recording less than two years before he unsuccessfully put the first talking doll on the market. “Based on the date of fall 1888, it is the oldest American-made recording of a woman’s voice that we can listen to today,” said Patrick Feaster, a historian at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
Busch Gardens to host Grad Nite in 2012
TAMPA -- Busch Gardens is picking up where Disney’s Magic Kingdom left off.
Starting in April, the Tampa theme park will host Grad Nite for high school seniors. Busch Gardens already hosts a Grad Nite for eighth-graders each May.
Busch Gardens spokeswoman Kelly Heckinger says the event will offer roller coaster rides in the dark, along with musical acts and DJs.
High school seniors will only be able to get into the park for Grad Nite if they arrive with a school group. Tickets will cost $54.99 and the park will stay open until 2 a.m.
Disney ended its 39-year tradition with the Class of 2011. Disneyland in California continues to host the event.
-- Herald wire reports
