Category: News
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For the first time in more than 15 years, Pinellas County has confirmed local transmission of dengue fever — and instead of waiting on Washington or Tallahassee for direction, the county’s own mosquito control team has moved swiftly to contain it. The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County issued a mosquito-borne illness alert on…
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The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered local police departments to rip out automated license plate readers installed along state highway rights-of-way, giving agencies just 30 days to comply. The move, spelled out in a memorandum issued Monday, revokes existing approvals for the devices and shuts the door on any future installations on state roads.…
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Dunedin city officials are scheduled to hold a second hearing Thursday on a proposal to permanently ban jet skis and other motorized watercraft from launching off the south side of the Dunedin Causeway — a move that would make a temporary hurricane closure into a lasting restriction on public access. The Causeway has been closed…
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Downtown Sarasota residents took their frustration directly to City Hall this week, rallying against a paid-parking program that critics say has functioned more like a revenue scheme than a traffic management plan. The rally followed a poster-making gathering the day before at Mattison’s on Main, where organizers prepared signage to bring to City Hall as…
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More than 2.5 million low-income Florida households now spend over 30 percent of their income on housing, and 1.4 million of those spend more than half, according to the Florida Housing Coalition’s newly released Home Matters 2026 report, presented this week at the group’s annual conference in Orlando. The numbers on entry-level homeownership are stark.…
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After nearly seven years of taxpayer-subsidized golf cart rides around town, St. Pete Beach officials have quietly pulled the plug on the Freebee on-demand shuttle service — no formal vote, no public fanfare, just an acknowledgment that the money isn’t there anymore. City commissioners said at last week’s meeting that St. Pete Beach is still…
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St. Petersburg City Council quietly signed off on nearly $2.9 million in federal funding last week to elevate seven flood-prone homes in the city — the latest installment in a mitigation push that continues to rely heavily on taxpayer-funded disaster spending rather than private insurance or market-based solutions. The council approved seven grant agreements with…
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A new tropical depression has formed in the northern Gulf of Mexico, marking the fifth organized system of the 2026 hurricane season, though current tracking keeps it well clear of the Tampa Bay area. Tropical Depression #5 developed roughly 100 miles south of the Louisiana coast and is forecast to push west toward northeast Texas…
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Pinellas County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to seek $15 million in state grant funding to upgrade a wastewater plant whose pumps have been running for three decades — well past their service life — as flooding risk from sea-level rise and storm surge threatens the aging facility. The South Cross Bayou Advanced Water Reclamation Facility,…
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Local business owners are sounding the alarm over a proposed paid-parking plan that would carve the island into color-coded zones, warning that charging beachgoers to park could drive away the very customers their livelihoods depend on. The City of Anna Maria will hold a public hearing Monday at 4 p.m. to present the proposed parking…
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Two years after historic flooding devastated homes and businesses across Sarasota County, the County Commission this week approved $32 million in stormwater upgrades — a fix that arrives only after residents filed lawsuits, an independent investigation exposed the county’s own failures, and taxpayers footed the bill for a brand-new $100 million administration building. The funding,…
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The wrecking balls that leveled most of Sarasota Square Mall this year are clearing the way for something the old shopping center never was: a walkable, high-density mixed-use development betting that Palmer Ranch residents want to live, shop, and dine in the same few blocks. For longtime locals like Mike Wayne, who brought his son…
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Hillsborough County taxpayers won’t be writing a check for the Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium, but visitors already have been for years, and now the bill is coming due in a big way. The Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commission this week approved funding for the Rays’ new $2.3 billion ballpark along Dale Mabry…
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A 50% jump in tariffs on Canadian aluminum is squeezing Tampa Bay manufacturers, forcing companies to eat rising material costs or pass them along to customers, industry leaders say — the latest test of how well local businesses can adapt to a shifting trade landscape. Southern Manufacturing Technologies, a Tampa-based supplier that produces components for…
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Clearwater city officials here are scrambling to draw up contingency plans after acknowledging that Amendment 3, the proposed statewide property tax relief measure, could strip more than $20 million from its coffers — a number that has bureaucrats openly worried about trimming a payroll that ballooned to nearly 140 more full-time positions than the city…
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A flood-tracking network built on ordinary residents snapping photos with their phones has quietly become one of the most effective storm-response tools in Pinellas County, in contrast to the often slow-moving, taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects local governments typically rely on. The system, known as CRIS-HAZARD, was developed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg professor Barnali…
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Nearly two years after Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through the Tampa Bay area, Clearwater is still fronting the cost of its own recovery while it waits on Washington to make good on $9.3 million in promised FEMA reimbursement. City officials say the bureaucratic process remains ongoing even as residents have largely put their lives…
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St. Petersburg residents will pay more for water, sewer, and trash service starting soon after the City Council voted Thursday night to raise utility rates across the board, brushing aside objections from a room full of ratepayers. The council approved increases to water, wastewater, stormwater and sanitation charges. Customers with reclaimed water hookups will see…
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By the slimmest possible margin, the Tampa City Council voted 4-3 on Thursday to commit public dollars toward a $2.3 billion stadium and mixed-use development intended to lure the Tampa Bay Rays to a new home at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus. Council Chair Alan Clendenin and members Bill Carlson, Luis Viera and Naya Young…
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A grassroots group called “Dump Duke” has filed paperwork to put the question of the city’s electric utility future directly before voters, bypassing a St. Petersburg City Council that has yet to make its own decision. The filing kicks off signature gathering for a ballot measure asking residents whether the city should abandon Duke Energy…
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed suit against two of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of striking a secret pricing deal that gutted reimbursements to local pharmacies and left Floridians with fewer places to get their prescriptions filled. The lawsuit, filed against Prime Therapeutics LLC and Express Scripts, Inc., alleges the…
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Less than a year after committing $18 million in taxpayer funds to a waterfront property purchase, Madeira Beach commissioners are eyeing another multimillion-dollar land deal at the entrance to the city — this time putting up $15,000 of public money just to find out if the numbers make sense. At a special meeting Aug. 20,…
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Manatee County has $252 million in federal disaster recovery money on the table for homeowners still repairing damage from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton — and when the county held a public hearing this week on how to spend it, exactly one resident showed up. The hearing, held Wednesday, was meant to gather feedback on…
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Pinellas County commissioners voted Tuesday unanimously to seek $15 million in state grant money for aging pumps at the county’s main wastewater treatment plant — but the project’s own paperwork leaves an $11.8 million gap unaccounted for, and commissioners spent almost no time asking about it before signing off. The vote authorizes the county to…
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More than two years after St. Petersburg quietly doubled its network of license-plate-reading cameras, the City Council took up the matter in public for the first time Thursday, prompted by a growing coalition of residents who say the program was built without their knowledge or consent. Council Vice Chair Richie Floyd placed the item on…
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The Safety Harbor Pier reopened this week after a nearly two-year closure, giving residents back a waterfront fixture that Hurricane Debby damaged and Hurricane Helene ultimately destroyed during the 2024 storm season. City officials confirmed the rebuilt pier came in under budget, with a final price tag below $1.26 million — a detail worth highlighting…
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Tropical Storm Dolly formed Thursday morning in the central tropical Atlantic, becoming the season’s latest named storm, according to National Weather Service data. As of the storm’s formation, Dolly carried maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was tracking west at a brisk 24 mph. Forecasters say Dolly will be short-lived and is not expected…
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St. Petersburg residents could soon be paying more for water, sewer and trash service as city council members prepare to vote Thursday on a fresh round of utility rate increases. City officials say the utility rate hikes are needed to fund infrastructure improvement projects, with the new rates set to take effect Oct. 1 if…
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The Tampa City Council will decide Thursday morning whether to lock the city into its share of funding for a new $2.3 billion Tampa Bay Rays ballpark, a vote that could commit taxpayer dollars to the project for years to come. The council meets at 10 a.m. to consider finalizing the city’s contribution to the…
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A new industry survey finds that more than a quarter of Florida dog owners let their pets ride loose in the car, even though nearly all of them say they know better — a gap that AAA is using National Dog Day to spotlight, without calling for any government mandate to close it. According to…
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Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously this week to block Flock license plate reader cameras from county facilities, parks and buildings, siding with residents who argued the technology amounts to government overreach into everyday life. The 5-0 vote came after commissioners heard from constituents who said they never agreed to have their movements tracked simply for…
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St. Pete Beach City commissioners rejected a push to create a new short-term rental registration program this week, choosing instead to enforce the rules already on the books rather than risk a legal protection that lets the city regulate vacation rentals more tightly than most of Florida. The proposal, floated by Vice Mayor Lisa Robinson,…
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Beachgoers who have parked at some of Pinellas County’s most popular waterfront parks for years on a flat $6 daily fee may soon be asked to foot a much larger bill, as county commissioners weigh a fee restructuring that could push costs as high as $28 a day. Under the proposal, the county would scrap…
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Manatee County commissioners voted Wednesday unanimously to prohibit Flock license plate-reading cameras from being installed at county-operated parks, facilities and buildings, citing concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of surveillance technology. The 5-0 vote comes as automated license plate readers face increasing scrutiny across the Tampa Bay region and elsewhere in Florida. The decision…
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Temple Terrace city officials here are weighing a water rate increase of as much as 35% on residents next year, the price tag for a water treatment overhaul that critics say should have been addressed years ago. The city’s water treatment plant is roughly 40 years old and has reached the end of its useful…
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The City of Tampa has settled with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection after state inspectors documented illegal discharges, permit violations and persistent sewage odors at the Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, south of downtown. The city was staring down a fine of nearly $590,000. Instead, under a deal state regulators call an…
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The Florida Department of Education is pushing forward with a proposed rule that would require every public college in the state to take artificial intelligence seriously before it further disrupts classrooms. Under the proposal, all 28 institutions in the Florida College System would be required to adopt clear policies governing how students, staff, and campus…
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A license plate reader program credited with helping deputies solve felonies and locate missing children is being shut down after Pasco County commissioners turned against it, Sheriff Chris Nocco announced this week. Nocco notified the Board of County Commissioners that he is terminating the interlocal agreement governing the license plate detection systems, effective September 30.…
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Tampa’s real estate market is doing exactly what a healthy market should: attracting capital, building housing, and creating value across the region. A recent CBRE survey ranked Tampa seventh among U.S. markets targeted by commercial real estate investors in 2026, with multifamily housing the top target — 74% of investors surveyed said they want in…
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A routine briefing on license plate cameras turned into a heated confrontation Monday night, as residents pressed city officials over how much surveillance authority local government has quietly amassed — and how long it plans to hold onto their data. Plant City Police Chief Richard Mills and a Flock Safety public affairs representative, Jalen Johnson,…
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Longtime Clearwater residents near The Landings golf course are pushing back against a city-backed plan to convert the greenspace into a multi-use recreation center, arguing that City Hall’s redevelopment ambitions threaten to upend a quiet residential neighborhood that never signed up for the change. Neighbors say they aren’t opposed to development outright — but they…
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Florida families now have a formal window to weigh in on a state proposal that would hand parents more control over their children’s vaccination decisions, as the Department of Health moves to strike four vaccines from the list required for school attendance. The public comment period opened Monday and runs through Sept. 14. Under the…
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Two years after the City of Tampa scaled back regulations on accessory dwelling units, homeowners across the city are moving to add small second structures to their properties — proof, backers say, of what happens when local government gets out of the way of private property owners. Renee King has had an ADU on her…
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