Saturday, August 22, 2026

Good Morning! On August 22, 1954, WJNO-TV Channel 5 began broadcasting from an old slat-house on Coconut Row in Palm Beach, the area’s first VHF television station and an NBC affiliate from the start. Two years later, after John H. Phipps bought it, the calls changed to WPTV.

In This Issue: a roughly $2.36 billion ballpark, a three-alarm fire, and Amendment 3.

Tallahassee 93°/74° | Jacksonville 94°/75° | Gainesville 93°/74° | Orlando 95°/77° | Tampa 94°/78° | Fort Myers 93°/78° | Miami 91°/83° | West Palm Beach 89°/82° | Key West 92°/82° | Pensacola 93°/78° | Daytona Beach 94°/76°

A mid-level trough keeps southwest flow across Florida. Storm chances are highest in the north. NWS Tallahassee has showers and thunderstorms likely Saturday (Tallahassee 70%), with locally heavy rain and gusty winds possible. The peninsula is drier than Friday. NWS Tampa Bay has most of west-central and southwest Florida at 30% or less. South Florida still sees typical afternoon sea-breeze storms. Latest NWS Miami grids are nearer 30% for Miami and West Palm Beach. Highs mostly low to mid 90s. Heat indices generally 102–108°F. No Heat Advisories currently out for Saturday. No tropical cyclone threat to Florida.

NHC, 8:00 p.m. ET Friday: no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Caribbean, or Gulf. Three disturbances, none near Florida.

Rip currents Saturday (NWS Surf Zone Forecasts): Low along Northeast Florida, the west-central and Southwest Gulf, and the Southeast Atlantic. Moderate along the Panhandle, with High risk at Gulf County state-park beaches.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Friday the city, Hillsborough County, and the Tampa Bay Rays reached definitive agreements on a roughly $2.36 billion ballpark at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus.

Hillsborough’s contribution stays at up to $796 million.

Tampa’s cash piece is now an $80 million direct city contribution, with the Rays on the hook for overruns.

Tampa City Council votes Aug. 27.

County commissioners are expected Aug. 27 or 28.

Pasco County Fire Rescue said Friday a lightning strike started a three-alarm fire Thursday at Cobalt Apartments in Wesley Chapel, destroying a four-story building and displacing about 200 residents from more than 90 units.

Chief Ryan Guynn said the fire had about a 25-minute head start.

No resident or firefighter injuries reported. The building is condemned.

Six pets on the top floor remain unaccounted for.

A Palm Beach County school bus carrying about 10 students from Dr. Joaquín García High School collided with a pickup around 6:35 a.m. Thursday at West Lantana Road and Plantation Boulevard.

None of the students were taken to the hospital.

All four people in the truck were seriously injured, extricated, and taken to a trauma center. PBSO is investigating.

Prosecutors rested Friday in the trial of Jaylen Edgar, charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in the 2024 downtown Orlando Halloween shooting.

An FDLE DNA analyst testified a blood stain on Edgar’s yellow shirt contained a mixture of his DNA and that of Tyrek Hill, 25.

Timothy Schmidt Jr., 19, a UCF student, was also killed.

Judge Keith Carsten denied a defense motion for acquittal.

Trial resumes 9 a.m. Monday.

After machine and manual recounts Friday, Nancy Bostock won Pinellas County School Board District 6 over Amanda Lord by 7 votes.

More than 42,100 ballots were cast.

More than 5,800 undervotes and overvotes were reviewed by hand.

Bostock, 57, a former board member (1998–2008), replaces Stephanie Meyer.

➤ FSU: FSU students assigned to the new Perla Apartments in College Town cannot move in yet.

A last-minute Thursday email pushed move-in to next Friday, Aug. 28.

Perla offered displaced residents free hotel rooms starting Sunday, a $50 per diem, a $20-per-day Uber gift card, and rent credit until keys are issued.

The builder said floors three through seven will not be ready as scheduled.

➤ Fort Myers Beach: Lee County broke ground Friday on a replacement Fort Myers Beach Pier, nearly four years after Hurricane Ian.

The new pier will run about 1,000 feet by 12 feet.

Design and construction: $14.4 million.

Target completion: late summer 2027.

➤ Broward: Broward commissioners on Thursday put a possible takeover of Fire Rescue from the Broward Sheriff’s Office on the Sept. 22 agenda.

BSO has run the department since 2003.

Commissioner Lamar Fisher said the service has 907 employees.

Agenda-setting only, not a vote to take over.

BSO had not commented as of Thursday night.

➤ Miami: Miami voters approved a management agreement for historic Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, with more than 68% in favor.

Spectra would manage the venue for 40 years.

The 1963 stadium has been closed since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

➤ Cape Canaveral: SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:14 a.m. EDT Friday.

Booster B1078 landed about 8.5 minutes later on droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, the 30th liftoff and touchdown for that booster.

Florida TaxWatch launched its Property Tax Research Center on Friday at propertytaxfl.org to brief voters on Amendment 3, which would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 and needs 60% in November.

President Jeff Kottkamp said the path to the ballot was rushed and that even after a court-ordered summary rewrite some voters remain unclear.

Tampa Bay 28, citing Kottkamp, reported an estimated $45.8 billion local property-tax cut over five years.

Megan Tennimon won Sarasota School Board District 4 with 55% of the vote.

Beth Mayberry won District 5 with 57%.

District 1 goes to a Nov. 3 runoff between Jimmy Glover (44%) and Heidi Brandt (32%).

Former Hawthorne Mayor Jacquelyn Randall won the five-way House District 21 universal primary with 27.7% of the vote, beating Antione Fields by 174 votes.

With no Republicans or other candidates on the November ballot, Randall wins the seat and will succeed Rep. Yvonne Hinson.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6% in July, down 0.1 point from June and up 0.7 point from a year earlier.

FloridaCommerce counted 515,000 jobless people in a labor force of 11.121 million.

Nonfarm payrolls were 10,037,300, up 4,500 on the month.

Two transportation and warehousing WARN notices: Postal Center International closing its Weston headquarters (181 workers) and Saddle Creek Logistics Services cutting 178 jobs at its Plant City facility in October. Combined: 359.

Bay County commissioners approved a 10-year property tax exemption for electric-boat maker Voltari.

The company is investing about $40 million to retrofit a deep-water Panama City site.

CEO Cam East said the yard is scaling toward about 260 local employees.

Economic-development officials cited 300 jobs at an average salary of about $70,000.

Klay Thompson plans to sign a two-year, nearly $13 million deal with the Miami Heat after clearing waivers following a Dallas Mavericks buyout announced Friday. He is not signed yet.

The deal includes a player option in year two.

If unclaimed, the earliest he can sign is Sunday.

Tampa Bay (1-0 preseason) hosts Kansas City at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.

Todd Bowles confirmed starters will play, including Baker Mayfield.

Last season Mayfield threw for 3,693 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Inter Miami hosts Toronto FC on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Nu Stadium after a 2-2 midweek draw at Philadelphia.

Leo Messi leads the team with 13 regular-season goals and 9 assists.

The Jaguars hosted the Panthers on Friday night at EverBank Stadium, the last season there before a planned 2028 rebuild.

Final: Panthers 34, Jaguars 17.

Miami (0-1 preseason) plays the New York Giants at 4 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

Thursday’s joint practice featured multiple scuffles.

AP counted at least six would-be sacks by the Giants’ pass rush.

Florida’s regular-unleaded average is $3.918 a gallon as of Friday, Aug. 21, per AAA, about 3 cents cheaper than Thursday and about 19 cents below the national average ($4.109).

West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the dearest named metro at $4.075.

Pensacola is the cheapest at $3.820.

The Lighter Side

A Keys family found 64 hatchlings in their backyard pool in Islamorada after the home’s lights disoriented them.

The Turtle Hospital cleaned and fed all 64.

After several days they were released into the Gulf Stream.

Montreace Fields, 43, a CNA for more than a decade, earned her GED on Thursday night at St. Petersburg High School, 25 years later.

She was among more than 100 Pinellas students, ages 16 to 61, at the countywide adult and GED ceremony.

She plans to start bachelor’s coursework in September toward becoming a nurse practitioner.

Joke of the Day

In Florida, we don't ask whether the air conditioner is working. We ask whether it's winning.

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waxing Gibbous, 74% illuminated. First Quarter was Aug. 19, 10:46 p.m. EDT. Next Full Moon Aug. 28, 12:18 a.m. EDT.

Sunrise / sunset (times vary; most of Florida is Eastern; Pensacola is Central):
Tallahassee 7:08 a.m. / 8:11 p.m. EDT
Miami 6:57 a.m. / 7:50 p.m. EDT
Key West 7:05 a.m. / 7:55 p.m. EDT
Pensacola 6:20 a.m. / 7:23 p.m. CDT

Gardening (UF/IFAS late August): Peak heat still limits new flower planting to heat-tolerant types. Fall vegetables can go in now. Dates differ north of SR 40, central SR 40–70, and south of SR 70. Many municipalities ban lawn fertilizer June through September. IFAS warns against “hurricane” or “pineapple” pruning of palms.

Coastal / red tide (FWC, Friday Aug. 21): Karenia brevis in 25 East Coast samples. Bloom concentrations in one Nassau County sample. Background to medium in Nassau, background to low in Duval, background and very low in St. Johns. Gulf: background only in two samples offshore Pinellas. No red-tide-related fish kills or respiratory-irritation reports in the past week, per FWC. NOAA names possible respiratory irritation with onshore winds in Duval County only. No official source used the word “safe.”

Florida by the Numbers

23,379,261 Florida residents as of April 1, 2025. Official statewide resident population (usual-residence count). UF BEBR, posted by EDR.

Today’s Poll

Amendment 3 would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028. How are you leaning?

• Yes

• No

• Still reading

Yesterday’s Results

First edition. No prior poll.