Not to rain on the parade today, the 40th anniversary of the moon walk, but the space program figures in a new Florida “Paradise Lost” story from Time magazine.

The Cape Canaveral region stands to lose 6,000 jobs when the space shuttle program winds down in 2010. “Six thousand one,” quips Space Coast economic-development director Lynda Weatherman, “if I can’t figure out how to attract new ones.”

That’s nothing, really, compared to the litany of locusts and boils in the Time piece by senior writer Michael Grunwald of Miami. The list is familiar to those of us who live here – real estate, drinking water, school enrollment, property insurance.

Grunwald gives a nod to the familiar tone of his article, noting that a Time headline declared “Paradise Lost” here in 1981, too.

It was drugs and crime then, so he does freshen the story with the latest trends—and some voices from across the spectrum about the state of the state of Florida. Here’s a few:

Former Sen. Bob Graham, known for his sense of humor when he was governor, seems to have lost it here: “This may be our tipping point.”

Allison DeFoor, prominent Republican and seventh-generation Floridian: “Sure, it’s the end of Florida as we know it. It’s always the end of Florida as we know it.”

Tampa’s own Gary Mormino, historian and Tribune correspondent: “The dream is fading.”

And Charlie Crist, sounding a little like Spongebob Squarepants: “We’re going to make a new Florida!”

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