It may seem strange to read, but $3.54 for a gallon of gas is considered a Memorial Day weekend relief for motorists. A week before the three-day weekend, gas prices were down 8 cents a gallon from a week earlier on average in Florida, 35 cents below a month earlier, according to AAA. The mark is 14 cents below the national average of $3.68. AAA predicts the prices will continue to retreat this week as 30.7 million Americans hit the roads in their cars for the holiday -- more may be expected.

SpaceX and NASA will try again Tuesday to get the Dragon space capsule into orbit and a potential hookup with the International Space Station. For those on the East Coast, the "demonstration" launch is scheduled for 3:44 a.m. Saturday's launch attempt was "aborted when the flight computer detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber. We have discovered root cause and repairs are underway," SpaceX posted on its website after scrubbing the early Saturday morning launch.

Gov. Rick Scott formally revoked the suspension of Osceola County Clerk of the Court Malcom Thompson on Friday afternoon. The lifting of the suspension was anticipated as Kim Hennecy, the chief deputy clerk who had been acting as Thompsons replacement, sent an email Thursday to employees notifying them of Thompsons pending return. Thompson had been suspended after being charged with battery and assault of an office employee. He was acquitted of the charges last month.

Gov. Rick Scott named Daliah Weiss, of Wellington, to the Palm Beach County Court. During Daliahs 17 years as a prosecutor, she has gained extensive trial experience in some of the most difficult cases, Scott stated in a release. Daliah has also demonstrated leadership skills as the chief of multiple units, and I am confident she will be a great addition to the bench in Palm Beach County. Weiss, 41, has been an assistant state attorney with the state attorneys office in Palm Beach since 1996.

High school students will compete in the first-ever State of Florida Astronaut Challenge on Saturday at the Challenger Learning Center in Tallahassee, the state Department of Education announced. High school students from across the state will participate in the STEM-focused competition designed to test their knowledge of space shuttle operations, engineering, launch, orbit and landing of the space shuttle Enterprise flight simulator.

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags lowered to half-staff at the City Hall of Fort Myers on Saturday for Oscar M. Corbin Jr., the former mayor of Fort Myers. Corbin, 94, died May 8. Corbin served as mayor from 1967-'76.The city hall has been named after him. Corbin also fought for civil rights of all residents during the 1960s and 1970s -- a time when it was unpopular to do so, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.

Twenty people in South Florida have been charged aspart of a criminal ring accused of making false insurance claims after torching rental homes, declared the state fire marshals office, state attorneys office in Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade Police Department. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater (the fire marshals office is under Atwater) announced the arrests as part of his weekly roundup on Friday.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, will host a federal contracting conference at the Womens Business Center at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday. Poseys office advises business leaders currently doing business with the federal government to register for Mondays discussion, while those not engaged in business with the federal government, but hoping to do so, to register to attend on Tuesday.

On Friday, former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon announced that he was going to enter the Republican primary to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

Former state Rep. Aaron Bean got a big boost for his bid to win a state Senate seat on Friday when he unveiled the endorsement of state CFO Jeff Atwater. Bean is running in the Republican primary to represent parts of Duval and Nassau counties and has strong opponents in the primary, including Rep. Mike Weinstein and attorney Wyman Duggan.

The states unemployment numbers continued to decline, falling to 8.7 percent, the lowest mark since January 2009, according to figures released Friday. The latest figures estimate that 804,000 Floridians were listed as jobless last month, down from 836,000 in March, when the statewide unemployment mark was 9 percent, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. The monthly total is 1.9 percent lower than where the state was a year ago. Florida still lags behind the nation, which has an 8.1 percent unemployment rate.

Amid a group of Floridas pro sports mascots, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will launch Summer BreakSpot on Tuesday, a summer nutrition program for needy kids. The summer program, which will be offered at about 3,000 locations across the state, is a continuation of the nutrition program the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began managing in January. The announcement will be held at Nap Ford Community School in Orlando.

Gov. Rick Scott is expected to lift the suspension of Osceola County Clerk Malcom Thompson today. Kim Hennecy, the chief deputy clerk who had been acting as Thompsons replacement, sent an email Thursday to employees notifying them of Thompsons pending return. "An executive order will be issued tomorrow reinstating Mr. Thompson to his position as clerk of court, Hennecy emailed employees on Thursday. I am not sure when the order will be issued or whether Mr. Thompson will be returning to work tomorrow or Monday."

Lake County residents will have an opportunity to sound off at a "Listening Tour" sponsored by the local Republican Party during the next few weeks. In calling for five Listening Tours beginning May 29, Lake County GOP leaders appointed a committee to organize a series of gatherings fashioned after town hall meetings. The meetings will be held across the county in five locations easily accessible from all population centers.

Florida already has more than 300 Spanish companies doing business in the state. But Gov. Rick Scott sees more. Earlier this week he proclaimed in a radio interview, "I want a thousand of them." Heading to Spain this weekend on a business development mission, the governor has a triumphant spirit. Riding with that spirit will be some 60 government officials and Florida businessmen to add girth and pomp to the occasion. Gov. Scott may need all that, and more.