The morning edition

Rain wipes extreme drought off Florida's map, while two Tampa Bay counties extend their mosquito emergencies

Friday, October 16, 2026

Friday, October 16, 2026

Good Morning! On Oct. 16, 1878, the South Florida Railroad was incorporated, aiming to link the St. Johns River port at Sanford with Orlando. The first train on the new line ran between Sanford and Orlando on Nov. 11, 1880. Henry B. Plant's Plant System bought three-fifths of the railroad's stock in 1883 and soon began laying track toward Tampa.

In This Issue: rain wiping extreme drought off Florida's map, dengue cases climbing to 368 as two Tampa Bay counties extend their emergencies, a hard year for the Florida panther and a November date for sinking the SS United States as the world's largest artificial reef. Plus: a startup turning yard waste into "super charcoal", Florida's lawsuit against Discord, Tampa's $80 million vote on a new Rays stadium, the homer that put the Guardians up in the ALCS and a Miami Beach teen who has taught coding to more than 10,000 students.

Weather: A strong cold front sweeps across North Florida late Friday night, bringing gusty winds and sharply cooler weekend highs in the mid-60s to mid-70s with little rain, NWS Tallahassee says. Farther south, showers and storms are likely this weekend in South Florida and the Keys. (NWS)

Tropical: The Atlantic is quiet: NHC says “Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.” Florida’s Isaias state of emergency covers 30 counties (Executive Order 26-212). (National Hurricane Center)

Rip Current Report: No beaches carry a high rip current risk Friday. The risk is moderate in Bay and Franklin, on the Atlantic from Volusia through Martin, and in Palm Beach; it is low elsewhere, including Nassau through St. Johns. (NWS)

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Florida Dengue Cases Climb to 368 as Pinellas Surges and Two Counties Extend Emergencies

Florida reported 72 new locally acquired dengue cases last week, bringing the total to 368, according to the Florida Department of Health's report for Oct. 4–10. Pinellas County added 17 cases to reach 37, and Hillsborough added 51 for a total of 310 since July.

Pinellas and Hillsborough extended their local states of emergency for dengue until Oct. 22. Health officials say the actual number of infections is likely higher because most infected people have no symptoms and may never be tested.

Extreme Drought Disappears From Florida's Map After a Week of Rain

Drought across Florida improved considerably over the past week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor update released Thursday. Between the Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 maps, extreme drought vanished from west-central and north-central Florida, and severe drought shrank significantly.

Much of Central Florida remains abnormally dry, and parts of Southwest and South Florida remain in moderate drought, while much of the Panhandle and parts of the Atlantic Coast are drought-free. Longer-term effects such as low groundwater may take more time to recover as Florida heads into its drier season.

Florida Panther Deaths Reach 14 This Year, With Vehicle Strikes Suspected in the Latest Two

Two more Florida panther deaths have been reported, raising the year's toll to 14: eight females and six males. A nine-month-old female found injured on County Line Road in Collier County in September was euthanized Oct. 7, and the remains of a four-month-old female were found on County Road 833 in Hendry County.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said both deaths were likely caused by vehicles. Eight of this year's deaths were in Collier County, three in Hendry, and one each in Lee, Glades and Polk.

SS United States to Be Sunk as the World's Largest Artificial Reef in the Second Week of November

Okaloosa County has set the second week of November to deploy the historic ocean liner about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin East Pass. Once on the bottom, it would surpass the USS Oriskany as the world's largest artificial reef.

Crews will cut holes and fill its cleaned fuel tanks with water so it sinks over a few hours.

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❖ Miami-Dade — Startup Turns Yard Waste Into 'Super Charcoal' at South Dade Landfill: Cutler Bay: Clean Earth Innovations is testing a way to turn yard clippings, branches and fallen trees into biochar, a carbon-rich "super charcoal," at the South Dade Landfill. Green waste makes up almost 12% of what Miami-Dade sends to landfills, and some estimates give the county five to seven years of landfill space left.

❖ Tampa Bay — Former Warehouse Becomes Harvest Hope Workforce Center in Tampa's University Area: Tampa: The University Area Community Development Corp. is turning a former warehouse near Harvest Hope Park into the Harvest Hope Workforce Development Center. The 7,800-square-foot building will offer career training, housing support and community services, and the project is nearing completion.

❖ Orlando — Central Florida Zoo Wins $10,000 Award for Saving Sloth World Sloths: Sanford: The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens received a $10,000 NAVC Gives award from the North American Veterinary Community for rehabilitating 13 sloths donated after the failed Sloth World attraction. The sloths were dehydrated, malnourished and underweight when they arrived in April.

❖ Jacksonville — The District's Founders Plan a Second Springfield Restaurant Next Door: Jacksonville: The founders of The District SPR in Springfield plan to turn a single-family house next door, at 2030 Walnut St., into a 913-square-foot fine dining restaurant with 24 outdoor seats, project documents show.

❖ Broward — JetBlue's New 'BlueFirst' Cabin Will Debut on a Boston-to-Fort Lauderdale Flight: Fort Lauderdale: JetBlue's new BlueFirst first-class cabin will fly its first paying passengers from Boston to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Dec. 8. Fort Lauderdale was also the airline's first destination when it launched.

❖ Palm Beach — New Palm Beach Gardens Cancer Center Treats Up to 50 Radiation Patients a Day: Palm Beach Gardens: The Tampa General Mass General Brigham Cancer Center opened in August and already treats 40 to 50 patients a day. Its TrueBeam radiotherapy system can track a patient's breathing so doctors can target tumors and avoid the heart.

❖ Treasure Coast — Cleveland Clinic Plans Two Standalone ERs in Indian River County: Sebastian: Cleveland Clinic plans to open two standalone emergency rooms in early 2028. One will be on Sebastian Boulevard in Sebastian and one at Oslo Road and 27th Avenue SW in South County. The hospital says one in five North County residents now travel to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital for emergency and specialty care.

❖ North Florida — Tallahassee's 9/11 Whale Sculptures Will Move to a Panacea Marine Lab: Tallahassee: Bill Brinson's four humpback whale sculptures, a tribute to 9/11 victims that has stood in a Tallahassee front yard for 25 years, are headed to the Gulf Coast. Gulf Specimen Marine Lab founder Jack Rudloe saw WCTV's September profile and wants them as a new roadside display in Panacea.

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❖ Florida Sues Discord, Saying the Chat App Failed to Keep Predators Away From Children — Attorney General James Uthmeier sued Discord on Thursday after a six-month investigation, alleging the messaging platform failed to enforce safety measures and exposed children to adults posing as minors, FOX 13 reports. The suit makes claims under Florida's consumer protection laws, public nuisance and negligence. It seeks penalties of up to $50,000 per violation under the state's children's online protection law, plus court-ordered age verification and permanent bans for offenders. Florida has previously taken action against Roblox, Snapchat, Meta and TikTok.

❖ Santa Rosa Early Voting Opens on Schedule Monday Despite Isaias Recovery — Early voting in Santa Rosa County begins Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Oct. 31 at all six sites, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., NewsRadio 92.3 reports. County officials asked voters to be patient as recovery work continues on roads and around voting locations after the storm. Voters can drop off mail ballots at any early voting site.

❖ Fishback Sets Three Conditions for Endorsing Donalds — Former Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who won 10% of the primary vote with 173,575 votes, says he will endorse Byron Donalds only if Donalds pledges to end the use of Flock cameras, bar H-1B workers at state agencies and contractors, and sign a statewide pause on hyperscale data centers, The Center Square reports. Donalds said he wants "to earn the vote of every Floridian" and backs the data-center law DeSantis signed this year, which leaves zoning to local governments.

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❖ Tampa Council Approves $80 Million Bond Contribution for New Rays Stadium on 4-3 Revote — Tampa City Council approved the potential use of bonds for an $80 million city contribution, paid to the Rays over four years, toward a new stadium on the city's west side, FOX 13 reports. The 4-3 approval came after an initial 3-3 vote failed while Council member Bill Carlson was out sick; he then joined virtually. A community benefits agreement vote is set for Oct. 29, a county commission vote is still required, and the Rays plan to open the stadium for Opening Day 2029.

❖ St. Petersburg's Jabil Signs Deal Toward 50-50 AI Data Center Equipment Venture With India's Adani — St. Petersburg-based Jabil and Adani Enterprises have signed a nonbinding agreement to form an equally owned venture to make AI data center equipment in India, TBBW reports. The gear would include server racks, storage and networking systems, transformers and liquid cooling. Jabil reported $36 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue. Neither company disclosed the investment size, factory locations or a production timeline.

❖ Avelo to Launch West Palm Beach–North Dallas Nonstop Dec. 17 With $69 Fares — Avelo Airlines will begin twice-weekly nonstop service on Thursdays and Sundays between West Palm Beach's Trump International Airport and North Dallas/McKinney National Airport on Dec. 17, with introductory one-way fares from $69, WPTV reports. Avelo says it will be the only airline on the route, its third nonstop destination from the airport.

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Halpin's Two-Run Homer Lifts Guardians Past Rays 3-2 for 2-1 ALCS Lead

Rookie center fielder Petey Halpin hit a two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the fifth inning, erasing a one-run deficit and producing the final runs as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Rays 3-2 on Thursday to take a 2-1 lead in the American League Championship Series. Chandler Simpson's two-run triple accounted for Tampa Bay's offense. Guardians starter Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings. "He knew the wind was blowing in and still got it," teammate Steven Kwan said of Halpin's homer.

Empty Seats at the Trop Spark Backlash From Rays Fans

Low attendance and falling ticket prices during the Rays' first home ALCS in nearly 18 years drew wide fan criticism. Attendance dropped from 35,361 for Game 1 to 32,125 for Game 2, the lowest League Championship Series crowd since 1985. "For a family of five, it's almost $1,000 just to get in the door," said lifelong fan Pete Boland. Rays CEO Ken Babby said the team understands "how important affordability is" and has offered a variety of ticket options.

Unbeaten Miami Hosts Struggling Florida State as a Three-Touchdown Favorite

Third-ranked Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC) hosts unranked Florida State (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium as a three-touchdown favorite. Miami has won six of the last nine meetings and leads the series 37-33, but 18 of the last 25 games were decided by eight points or less. "For Miami and for me personally, it's always been the greatest rivalry in sports," Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. Florida State is coming off a 44-20 loss at Louisville.

Scoreboard

Thu Oct 15 — Guardians 3, Rays 2 FINAL (ALCS Game 3; Cleveland leads 2-1)

Thu Oct 15 — Lightning 4, Kraken 3 FINAL (OT)

Thu Oct 15 — Panthers 3, Canucks 2 FINAL (OT)

Schedule (all times ET)

Fri Oct 16: Rays at Guardians, ALCS Game 4, 6 p.m., TBS/truTV

Sat Oct 17: Canucks at Lightning, 4 p.m., The Spot

Sat Oct 17: Kraken at Panthers, 6 p.m., Scripps Sports

Sat Oct 17: Florida State at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN

Sat Oct 17: Inter Miami at Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV

Sat Oct 17: D.C. United at Orlando City, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV

Sat Oct 17: Rays at Guardians, ALCS Game 5, 8 p.m., TBS/truTV

Sun Oct 18: Texans at Jaguars (London), 9:30 a.m., NFL Network

Sun Oct 18: Steelers at Buccaneers, 1 p.m., CBS

More Scores: NFL | MLB | NHL | NCAAF | WNBA

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Florida regular averaged $4.23 a gallon Thursday (AAA, as of 10/15/26), up about 2.6 cents from Wednesday ($4.20) and up about 4.7 cents from a week ago ($4.18). That is about 10.8 cents under the national average of $4.33. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the most expensive metro at $4.36, and Pensacola is the cheapest at about $3.95.

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❖ Miami Beach Teen's Young Coders Initiative Has Reached More Than 10,000 Students: When a teacher shortage left some Miami high school computer science classes short of instructors in 2022, then-eighth-grader Arihant Jaggi and his brother started free coding sessions at the North Shore Library. Now a 16-year-old Cushman School senior, he leads the nonprofit Young Coders Initiative: 18 chapters and 100-plus teen volunteers who have reached more than 10,000 students, including programs in India and the UAE. "You need a laptop to code," he says; the group has given more than $9,500 in laptops, scholarships and prizes to under-resourced students.

❖ FSU Fraternities Help Unload Pumpkins Rerouted From Pensacola: Florida State University fraternity members helped unload a shipment of pumpkins for Tallahassee Heights Methodist Church's pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were meant for churches in Pensacola, but when they couldn't be reached, Tallahassee Heights took the shipment. It's the church's 40th year running the patch, and proceeds support missions around the world.

❖ Wellington's Doug "Smooth" Matthews Headed for the International Air and Space Hall of Fame: Longtime Wellington resident Douglas G. Matthews, a 28,000-hour pilot and decorated Vietnam veteran who taught F-4 Phantom fighter pilots for the Navy, will be inducted Nov. 21. He joins more than 200 members including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong, and he has set more than 100 U.S. and world aviation records, including the world altitude record for propeller planes.

❖ Minions and Monsters, Inc. Roll Down U.S. 1 for Marathon High's Homecoming: Marathon High School kicked off homecoming with a parade down U.S. 1 for hundreds of fans, with each class building a movie-themed float, from Despicable Me minions to Monsters, Inc. and Marvel superheroes. The sophomore Class of 2029 won top marks from the judges, and students crowned Billy Roberts and Itzi Gale homecoming king and queen.

❖ Little Havana Walk Celebrates White Cane Day: The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired held its annual White Cane Day Walk from its Little Havana campus, honoring "the independence and achievements represented by the white cane." The morning began with breakfast and a program featuring the Miami Jackson Senior High JROTC Honor Guard, and Billy the Marlin joined in the fun.

❖ Baby Manatee Paddles Alongside Mom in the Silver River: A young manatee calf swims right beside its mother through the clear water of the Silver River at Silver Springs State Park. Sara Harris of Florida Springs Kayaking captured the close-up during a guided kayak tour.

Today’s Quote

"Friday is the only day of the week that shows up already dressed for the weekend."

— original / Front Porch

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waxing crescent Friday, Oct. 16 (about 32% illuminated). First quarter is Sunday, Oct. 18, and full moon is Monday, Oct. 26 (USNO).

Sunrise / Sunset: In Orlando on Friday, sunrise is at 7:27 a.m. and sunset at 6:55 p.m. EDT, for about 11 hours, 28 minutes of daylight. Times vary across the state, and Pensacola is on Central time.

Gardening Notes: Strawberries grow best in Florida’s cooler months, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says. Central Florida gardeners can plant through Oct. 25 and South Florida gardeners from Oct. 1 until Dec. 1, using cultivars such as ‘Sweet Charlie’ and ‘Festival’.

Coastal / Red Tide: FWC’s latest update (Oct. 9) found background to very low red tide levels along the Gulf Coast and none on the East Coast.

Florida by the Numbers

Florida’s 44,400 farms and ranches use 9.7 million acres. In 2024 the state grew 33% of the U.S. sweet corn crop by value ($293 million) and 32% of bell peppers ($200.9 million), according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, citing USDA figures.