The morning edition

Highest tides of the year return as coastal flood alerts stack up along South Florida's coast

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Good Morning! On October 25, 1971, Roy O. Disney stood on Main Street, U.S.A. with Mickey Mouse beside him and read the dedication of Walt Disney World, closing out a three-day celebration. A 1,076-piece marching band paraded past a crowd of tens of thousands that included Gov. Reubin Askew. The park had quietly opened its gates on October 1, and Disney had taken a few weeks to work out the kinks.

In This Issue: The year's highest tides are back, with coastal flood alerts stacking up along South Florida's coast; USF lands a record $775 million in research funding; and Florida's national parks are free to enter Tuesday. Plus: UCF stuns No. 2 BYU in double overtime.

Weather: Storms are likely Sunday from Daytona Beach through Miami, while the Panhandle and Gulf coast stay mostly sunny. Coastal flood alerts cover the Atlantic coast (see Top Stories), and a Wind Advisory covers the Atlantic coast from Nassau to Martin until 8 p.m. Sunday. (NWS)

Tropical: The National Hurricane Center expects no tropical cyclones to form in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf over the next seven days. (National Hurricane Center)

Rip Current Report: High rip current risk Sunday along the entire Atlantic coast from Nassau through Miami-Dade, with surf of 9 to 12 feet in Brevard and 9 to 11 feet from Nassau through St. Johns, under High Surf Advisories. The risk is also high from Escambia to Okaloosa, in Franklin County and in Charlotte and Lee, moderate from Walton through Gulf and from Pinellas to Sarasota, and low elsewhere on the Gulf coast. (NWS)

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Coastal Flood Alerts in Effect as Highest Tides of the Year Return

Coastal flood alerts are in effect as the highest tides of the year return, and Local 10 says the moon's alignment, a strong onshore flow and rounds of rain starting Sunday could lead to significant coastal impacts across South Florida; rounds of heavy rainfall could lead to localized flooding.

In Palm Beach County, four coastal alerts are stacked — a High Surf Advisory with breakers of 5 to 10 feet through Monday and a Coastal Flood Watch through Monday evening — after a severe thunderstorm Friday evening produced ping-pong- to golf-ball-sized hail in Riviera Beach, Lake Park and North Palm Beach.

USF Secures Record $775 Million in Research Funding

The University of South Florida secured a record $775 million in research funding in fiscal year 2026, up 3% from the previous year and 42% over five years; federal agencies provided $387 million and private-sector funding reached $315 million.

Florida National Parks Offer Free Admission Tuesday

Florida residents and visitors can get into the state's national parks for free Tuesday, Oct. 27, in recognition of President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday; Florida is home to three national parks and eight other federally designated sites.

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❖ Miami/Miami-Dade: Demolition and construction permits have been filed for Fouquet's Miami at 3995 North Miami Avenue, a 12- and 24-story development with 143 condos, an 85-key hotel and 20 condo-hotel units. Condo prices are expected to start at $1.8 million.

❖ Tampa/Hillsborough: Nordstrom Rack opened a 24,700-square-foot store Thursday, Oct. 22, at The Plaza at Citrus Park. It is the retailer's third Florida Rack opening this fall, after Pompano Beach and Lake Nona West.

❖ Orlando/Orange: Less than two weeks after serving its final cups at Harmon Collective in Winter Park, the Vietnamese coffee shop Black Phin reopened Friday, Oct. 23, inside Bash & Brew on East Colonial Drive. Owners Saeng and Linda Khouvongsavanh got 30 days' notice that their time at Harmon Collective was ending.

❖ Jacksonville/Duval: Construction has started on Garage San Jose at 2890 University Blvd. W., a 30,000-square-foot project with 26 climate-controlled vehicle storage suites renting from $3,500 a month. S&H Development, a partnership of the Huntley and Sleiman families, bought the two-acre site for $1.975 million in March 2026; completion is expected in fall 2027.

❖ Tallahassee/Leon: Elder Care Services is moving ahead with a $1.2 million renovation of its Meals on Wheels kitchen, adding about 1,000 square feet, new appliances and packaging equipment. CEO Jocelyne Fliger says hundreds of seniors are on the waiting list, and the kitchen hasn't been updated since the 1980s.

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❖ President Trump and Melania Trump Vote Early in West Palm Beach — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump cast their general election ballots Saturday afternoon at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office on Cherry Road, one of 28 early voting sites in the county. Trump then flew to a campaign rally in Georgia.

❖ Obama Endorses Jolly and Nixon; Trump and DeSantis Back Donalds and Moody — Former President Barack Obama endorsed Democrat David Jolly for governor and Angie Nixon for U.S. Senate in videos released Saturday. "I'm supporting David Jolly for Governor because he believes in it, too," Obama said. Republicans Byron Donalds and Ashley Moody have endorsements from President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

❖ Single Donor Gives $200,000 to Committee in Sarasota City Commission Race — WUSF reports that David O. Campbell gave two $100,000 donations to Stand Up for Sarasota, a committee running ads for candidates Flo Entler and incumbent Jen Ahearn-Koch. That equals about 91% of what the three candidates have raised directly. Rival candidate Harshman raised the issue at a press conference.

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❖ Mexico Beach's Toucan's Reopens Eight Years After Hurricane Michael — Toucan's on the Beach in Mexico Beach reopened Friday, eight years after Hurricane Michael damaged the restaurant in 2018, and customers lined up almost an hour early. Partner Rob Hammer said the rebuilt restaurant has downstairs and deck dining, an outdoor tiki bar with live entertainment, and a second-floor sports bar. Original pieces from the old restaurant, including a Tyndall Air Force Base sign, are inside.

❖ Villages Home Sells for $1.25 Million, Nearly Doubling in Four Years — A home at 1349 Frazier Way in the Village of Hawkins sold for $1.25 million on Sept. 9, according to a warranty deed filed with the Sumter County Clerk of Courts. The sellers bought it from The Villages Land Company in April 2022 for $635,500, so its value rose about 97%. The 2,531-square-foot home backs up to a lake and preserve area. It's the latest in a series of Villages resales well above their original prices, including a Village of Richmond home that sold for $1.36 million three years after it was bought new for $663,800.

❖ Oh Que Bueno Heads to Altamonte; Tako Cheena Moving Back Home in Orlando Restaurant Shuffle — Oh Que Bueno, the Colombian restaurant with locations on South Semoran and South OBT, will open in Altamonte Springs before year's end at 1049 E. Altamonte Drive, in the former Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ space. Tako Cheena is moving from 948 N. Mills Ave. back into its old space at 932 N. Mills Ave.; no opening date has been announced. Amor y Chile Mexican Restaurant plans to open this fall in the former Tornatore's space at 3818 Edgewater Drive in College Park.

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UCF Stuns No. 2 BYU 39-31 in Double Overtime

Keyone Jenkins threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime, and UCF held when BYU's fourth-down pass from the 4-yard line fell incomplete. It was the Knights' first win over a top-5 team in school history. Jenkins, in his fifth start for the injured Alonza Barnett III, threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score. "Our backup is not a backup," coach Scott Frost said.

Toney Rewrites Record Book as No. 1 Miami Routs Pitt 52-23

Malachi Toney caught 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns at Hard Rock Stadium, breaking his own Miami record of 13 catches in a game. Darian Mensah completed 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. It was the Hurricanes' first game as the nation's top-ranked team.

FAU's Easton Messer Scores 5 TDs in 51-49 Win Over Rice

Easton Messer piled up 262 all-purpose yards and scored five touchdowns for Florida Atlantic, on two runs, two catches and a school-record 82-yard punt return. A blocked-punt safety proved the difference, and Rice missed a 55-yard field goal try with less than a minute left. Caden Veltkamp threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns as FAU improved to 5-2.

Scoreboard

Brewers 5, Rays 4 (World Series Game 2; Brewers lead series 2-0)

Mammoth 5, Lightning 4 (OT)

Orlando City 2, NYCFC 2

Hornets 115, Heat 110

Red Bulls 2, Inter Miami 0

Schedule (all times ET)

Sun Oct 25 — NFL: Dolphins at Jets, 1pm ET, CBS

Sun Oct 25 — NFL: Buccaneers at Panthers, 1pm ET, Fox

Sun Oct 25 — NHL: Panthers at Blackhawks, 3pm ET, Scripps Sports

Sun Oct 25 — NWSL: Gotham at Orlando Pride, 3pm ET, CBS Sports Network

Sun Oct 25 — NBA: Magic at Knicks, 7pm ET, NBA League Pass

Mon Oct 26 — NBA: Mavericks at Heat, 7:30pm ET, NBA TV

Mon Oct 26 — MLB World Series Game 3: Brewers at Rays, Tropicana Field, 8pm ET, Fox

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

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Florida regular averaged $4.13 a gallon Saturday (AAA, as of 10/24/26), essentially unchanged from Friday ($4.13) and about a penny below a week ago ($4.14). That is about 17 cents under the national average of about $4.30. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the most expensive metro at $4.28, and Pensacola is the cheapest at $3.77.

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❖ Orlando Bar Hunts for Its Mystery "Banana Hero": Stephanie Oropeza was heading home from a Halloween party with her fiance, still dressed as a banana, when an SUV crashed into the patio at Moderne around 4 a.m., and she stopped to help. The SUV hit a cement planter, the patio railing, several tables and about 20 seats, but no one was hurt. Oropeza, a future nursing student, said, "I feel like that's the bare minimum you can do to be a decent human being these days." Moderne posted video looking for the "banana hero," and employees want to treat her to dinner.

❖ Five Trips to One Yard Sale Ended in a Wedding: Kathy White kept going back to Xena White's driveway sale on Fairway Avenue in High Point, buying a $5 shovel, a wooden ladder and a $3 rolling office chair. "She showed up at my yard sale five different times," Xena said. Those visits led to drinks, and the couple married in December 2024. Their running joke is that Xena got nearly every item back, plus a wife.

❖ A Promise Ring Speech Interrupted by a Marina Rescue: Maxim Constantino was on a date with his girlfriend, Kendall Richmond, at the Panama City Marina on Thursday night when a car went through the fence and into the bay. "I was holding her hands. I was giving her a nice big speech before I was gonna give her a promise ring," he said. A fisherman threw the driver a rope, and Constantino and a few others pulled her to safety. His mother, Julia Constantino, said he is thinking about becoming a first responder like his dad.

❖ From Disney's Ariel to Broadway's Wednesday, Seminole's Rachel Potter Comes Home: Rachel Potter, a Seminole High graduate, was working retail at the mall when someone told her to audition for Disney, and she was cast as Ariel. She went on to play Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family on Broadway. She says she sang "Part of Your World" "seven times a day, five days a week for four or five years." Potter, now a Nashville mom of three who sells real estate, returned to sing at Largo's Central Park Performing Arts Center for its 30th anniversary gala.

❖ Valrico's 1890s Galvin-Carl House Gets a Second Chance: The Galvin-Carl House on Mulrennan Road in Valrico dates to about 1890; some local records say 1893. Builder John McCormick put it up for Daniel J. Galvin, an early Brandon businessman, on a property that once covered about 40 acres and included a citrus grove. Demolition looked likely, but the owner chose to restore it instead. The story says the goal is to rebuild the house "to last another 100 years."

❖ Florida's First HBCU Turns 160: Edward Waters University was founded in 1866 and is Florida's first historically Black college or university. It celebrated its 160th anniversary with a homecoming week themed "Born First, Built Different." Vice president Dr. Jame'l Hodges urged Jacksonville to back its hometown school, saying, "there is one right here in your backyard." The week ended Saturday with a parade, a game against Clark Atlanta, and a step show.

Today’s Quote

"Sunday dinner is the only meeting in town where everybody shows up and nobody checks the time."

— original / Front Porch

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waxing gibbous Sunday, nearly full; the full Hunter's Moon arrives Monday, Oct. 26, at 12:11 a.m. ET.

Sunrise / Sunset: Orlando: sunrise 7:32 a.m., sunset 6:46 p.m. ET, 11h 13m of daylight. Times vary across the state; Pensacola is on Central time.

Gardening Notes: Kohlrabi is a quick, productive cool-weather crop planted much like cabbage, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says; ‘White Vienna’ is a popular Florida choice, ready about 55 days from seed. Space plants about 4 inches apart, keep them away from other cole crops that share pests, and harvest young, before the bulbs turn tough.

Coastal / Red Tide: FWC’s Oct. 23 update found red tide at bloom levels for the first time this season in two St. Joseph Bay samples (Gulf County), with suspected fish kills reported in Northwest Florida; only background levels were found off Lee County, and none on the East Coast.

Florida by the Numbers

0.9 percent: how much Florida home prices rose in the year ending in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase-only House Price Index. That puts Florida among the 11 slowest-appreciating states and D.C.; four states saw prices fall.