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Happy Cinco de Mayo, indeed!

The 10-foot, 2-inch-long great white shark Miss May has been hanging around Brevard waters, recently pinging three times Sunday night — 8:21, 9:48 and 10:31 p.m. Cinco de Mayo — at Patrick Air Force Base and Satellite Beach.

If we want to get really nerdy, Miss May had another "holiday" ping session:

• 6:09, 6:23, 8:06, 8:16, 8:54 and 9:11 p.m. May 4 (May the Fourth Be With You!) off Port Canaveral

According to shark advocacy research group Ocearch, the great white's tracker shows the creature surfacing several times off the coast of the Space Coast, after 6 p.m. and the latest after 10:30 p.m. since April 26. Before its Space Coast visits, the shark surfaced in Edgewater. Its last visit to the Space Coast was in February.

Miss May's Cinco de Mayo visit isn't the only holiday visit from Ocearch sharks.

Thanksgiving 2018

An 11-foot, 5-inch-long tiger shark named DeMott pinged off the coast of Melbourne a day before Thanksgiving, and the 14-foot-long great white shark Katharine pinged off the coast a day after — on Black Friday.

DeMott, weighing 607 pounds, pinged at 8:57 a.m. Nov. 21, off the coast of Melbourne and Palm Bay. The shark gets its moniker from David DeMott, one of the four founders of SeaWorld in 1964.

Its larger, heavier Ocearch buddy Katharine pinged off the coast of Brevard twice on Black Friday, at 9:21 a.m. off the coast of Melbourne, then 11:37 a.m. off the coast of Palm Bay.

Memorial Day 2018

Great white shark Savannah pinged off the coast of Cocoa Beach on Memorial Day weekend. On the evening of May 26, the 8-foot, 6-inch-long shark pinged here and was likely heading north after being "spotted" in the Keys before that.

April Fool's Day 2018

Hilton, a 1,326-pound great white shark, pinged off the coast of Titusville at 8:33 p.m. April 1 (Yes, that was April Fool's Day, but this is no joke).

The great white shark, named after the Hilton Head, S.C., community where he was tagged — and not the hotel chain or the hotel heirs — was tagged in March 2017.

Valentine's Day 2018

Fellow great white shark Miss Costa, weighing 1,668 pounds, pinged off the coast of Melbourne and Titusville on Feb. 11, a few days before Valentine's Day.

The 12-foot, 5-inch-long shark named after Ocearch partner Costa Sunglasses, pinged off the coast of Palm Bay and Sebastian on Feb. 11, then again between Titusville and New Smyrna Beach on Feb. 12.

New Year's Day 2018

Before that, Savannah pinged off Cape Canaveral on Jan. 1.

Ocearch tweeted about that visit on New Year's Day: "8ft 460lbs female white shark @SharkSavannah pings southbound off the Canaveral National Seashore!"

Savannah, named after Savannah, Ga., weighs 460 pounds.

For more information on these great white sharks and other tagged creatures, visit ocearch.org.

Sangalang is a social strategist at USA TODAY Network-Florida.

Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630

or jsangalang@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @byjensangalang

Support local journalism: Subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY at floridatoday.com/subscribe.

The U.S. Northeast woke up to a "horribly smoky day" on Wednesday (June 7), as a low-pressure system funnels toxic smoke from wildfires in Canada across the Atlantic Coast.

The beige-tinged haze can be seen in imagery captured by the weather forecasting satellite GOES East, but plentiful eyewitness reports of the smoke have also cropped up on social media since Tuesday afternoon (June 6).

Boston-based air-quality researcher Sotirios Papathanasiou shared an eerie photograph of a setting sun surrounded by a neon-bright orange halo Tuesday evening, explaining that the sight is more dangerous than mesmerizing.

"Many will think that this is a nice sunset but in reality this is a toxic sunset as it indicates the presence of tiny particles in the atmosphere and in the breathable air," Papathanasiou said in a tweet. "Don’t stay outside for a long time and wear N95 masks."

Related: NASA's new air pollution sensor will monitor smog above America in real time

NASA researcher Ryan Stauffer said that concentrations of tiny ash particles in the atmosphere — the so-called PM 2.5s — in New York, Philadelphia and other cities in the region will likely hit record highs on Wednesday.

"The smoke PM2.5 values coming in this evening are extraordinary," Stauffer said in a tweet on Tuesday evening. "Today and tomorrow will rival, and in some cases may surpass the event of record for the region, July 7th 2002."

According to NBC News, air quality alerts have been put in place in 13 U.S. states as of Wednesday morning.

The air pollution comes from smoke generated by dozens of wildfires that have been blazing through the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia in recent weeks. A large area of low air pressure that is currently swirling above the northwestern parts of the Atlantic Ocean is funneling the pollution southward. According to predictions, the ash cloud may affect air quality as far as South Carolina.

"Today's horribly smoky day in the Eastern U.S. as seen by satellite," the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University tweeted, along with an image showing the beige-tinged river of air pollution being pushed southward by a rotating mass of thick white clouds.

The images were obtained by GOES East, a geostationary weather satellite operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that constantly monitors the eastern parts of North America and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.

NASA satellites, too, have been keeping an eye on the wildfires, which are burning with unprecedented ferocity this year, following a period of exceptionally high temperatures in early May and an unusually dry spring.

According to NASA, only about 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers) of land burns in Quebec by early June during an average wildfire season. This year, 600 square miles (1,550 square km) of land have already been ravaged by blazes, which wildland firefighters have had a very hard time controlling.

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Space Coast Daily’s Ron Lighthall and Juan Rodriguez were at the Highland Mint to report on producing the official coin for Super Bowl LVIII, and other memorabilia they offer.

BREVARD COUNTY • INDIAN HARBOUR BEACH, FLORIDA – The Highland Mint, located at the corner of Eau Gallie Boulevard and South Patrick Drive in Indian Harbour Beach, will produce the official coin to be used in Super Bowl LVIII, which will be played in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The Highland Mint has produced the official coin for the big game since Super Bowl XXVIII in 1993.

“The Super Bowl flip coin is really something special because it’s actually used to start a game,” said Michael Kott, President of the Highland Mint.

“You know, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and we like to say here ‘the game doesn’t start without us’ so there’s a lot of pride when you see that coin.”

Related Story:HOT OFF THE PRESS! Feb. 14, 2022 Space Coast Daily News – Brevard County’s Best Newspaper

The coin will also be used for any overtime flips that are necessary, such as was the case in Super Bowl LI held in Houston between New England and Atlanta six years ago.

The coin that will be used will also be sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio after it is used.

Coin #1 will be flipped to start the Super Bowl, the rest will be made available to the public.

The coin is carefully struck in a fine silver plate and selectively plated with 24kt gold. Each 1.5-inch diameter flip coin is individually numbered and protected in an acrylic capsule to preserve its mint condition.

The coin is presented in a custom 6-inch x 4-inch booklet case, allowing you to flip the center page to view both sides.

Each coin comes with an individually-numbered certificate of authenticity to match the number on the coin is included in the custom case.

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A crocodile is calling Brevard County home, and some neighbors say it needs to go before someone gets hurt.

FOX 35 News first told you about the reptile when it was spotted eating a small pug dog in Satellite Beach a few months ago. People who live on the water near De Soto Park say it’s coming even closer to homes. On Sunday, neighbors saw the 8 to 9-foot croc on land about 20 yards away from homes. The community is asking for help before someone gets hurt.

"I’ve lived here over 10 years, and we’ve never experienced anything like this," said Cheri Marks who’s been concerned about the animal from the beginning.

Marks is leading the charge trying to control this crocodile because she cares about her community and sees the risks from her back porch. The reptile came on land in Brad Dyer’s backyard over the weekend. He says it could have been out for longer, but he spotted it when he returned from church and says it stayed in the open for about 30 minutes.

"So far, we have just got replies that this is their natural habitat, there’s nothing we can do," Dyer said. "They’re a protected species."

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Though no one won the Powerball jackpot on Monday night, three Powerball tickets worth $1 million were sold in Central Florida, according to lottery records.

Neighbors say the canal where the crocodile is living is full of activity. While on the scene, FOX 35 cameras captured someone washing off their shoes in the water in the same location the croc’s been known to hide under the deck.

"I feel like they are taking the crocodile’s concerns over the people," Marks exclaimed.

She says she wasn’t satisfied with the response she received from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) over the weekend when she reported the sighting. In an email, they say the crocodile is basking which people mistake for the animal becoming abnormally bold. The agency’s response didn’t calm her concerns.

She feels "not heard." Marks says, "I have reached out several times. They told me to keep in touch, and if the behavior changed, then they would take a look into what can be done."

Cooler weather may push the animal away, according to experts.

"Chances are really high it’s going to head back south," said Joe Wasilewski who’s a conservation biologist in South Florida who specializes working with crocodiles.

He’s worked with crocodiles for decades. He says unlike alligators, crocodiles need warmer water to thrive, and re-location will be a challenge because of federal protections.

"They are managed by the FWC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the last thing either agency wants to do is relocate the animal," he concluded.

FWC tells FOX 35, it is continuing to monitor the situation. It also says they’ve made numerous visits to speak with concerned residents in the area. These homeowners say, no one’s been out to talk with them once.

Some homeowners are worried Airbnb’s and short-term vacation rentals are taking over the community.

City leaders in Indian Harbour beach (IHB) are starting a new program to crack down on out-of-control properties, but state law makes regulating the surge in demand a challenge.

In an IHB neighborhood, some homes have yard signs with a simple message: No Airbnb in IHB.

"We’re just trying to figure out what can we do to protect our homes and protect our children," said Leigh McElroy who calls IHB home and is worried about the future of the small, close-knit town.

She isn’t alone.

"They’re constantly out back partying. we’ve had domestic disputes going on till 5 a.m.," said Adam Dyer who also lives in IHB. The father of four says out of six homes right by him, three are short-term rentals.

Both these homeowners say their streets are lined with short-term rentals and cars spilling into the street, blocking sidewalks. On the weekends and holidays, partying is constant.

"They’re just come and go – here one night, gone the next repeatedly," Dyer added.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Indian Harbour Beach voted to implement a new surveillance program to track rentals. The city can’t stop more from coming. but they want to know where the homes are and make sure they're operating up to code.

The new artificial intelligence system costs around $30,000 per year and also comes with a 24/7 hotline neighbors can call with concerns at properties.

"If you live in a nice quiet neighborhood, then all of a sudden, on one side or both sides of you is a different person three or four nights a week, your neighborhood has changed overnight," said John Coffey who’s the City Manager for IHB.

He’d like to see common sense legislation passed to help cities mitigate these issues but is hoping this new program will offer some relief for taxpayers.

The city estimates there are more than 200 vacation properties in the 2.5 square mile city right now.

"Out of every 10 houses, three to four homes are now Airbnb’s," McElroy added.

Because of the uncertainty of not knowing who is staying in nearby homes, the Dyer family doesn’t let their children go past a nearby stop sign when playing outside. They say it’s disappointing because the close-knit element of the city was what encouraged them to settle down there.

"We need to bring that community feel back because I think it’s something that’s worth fighting for," he concluded.

These homeowners would like to see density restrictions to limit how many single-family homes in a neighborhood could be rented out. That would require changing state law, so they’re asking local legislators to get involved in the issue.