The morning edition

Tampa Bay dengue hits 65. Fourth Vibrio death. Carnival faces ~$170M EU carbon cost.

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Good Morning! On September 5, 1876, Rose Wagner married Adam Richards at her family’s homestead near the Miami River off Wagner Creek — years before the City of Miami existed. Father Hugan of Key West made the long trip north to officiate in the small wooden Catholic chapel William Wagner had built beside the house the year before, the first house of worship in that pioneer settlement. Neighbors called it quite a social event; the Richards later raised ten children, and the Wagner house was later moved to Lummus Park, where it remains one of Miami’s last pioneer-era structures.

On September 5, 1977, at 8:56 a.m. EDT, NASA’s Voyager 1 lifted off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a Titan IIIE-Centaur. Its twin, Voyager 2, had left 16 days earlier; Voyager 1 flew a faster path to Jupiter and Saturn, then pressed on until it crossed into interstellar space in August 2012 — still the farthest human-made object from Earth.

In This Issue: Tampa Bay dengue cases climb to 65 as Surgeon General Ladapo urges action, a fourth Floridian dies from Vibrio, and Carnival projects about $170 million in 2026 EU shipping-carbon costs.

Weather: Hot, humid Saturday with scattered to likely showers and thunderstorms statewide. Highest coverage Southeast and Southwest coasts plus inland north-central (West Palm ~65–70%; Miami–Fort Myers–Tallahassee–Orlando ~60%; Gainesville ~50%); Jacksonville and Daytona ~40–50%; Tampa lower (~35–40%). Highs upper 80s to low 90s (Orlando–Jacksonville–Tampa ~93). Heat index values near 105–106. Brief downpours, lightning, and gusty winds possible.

Tropical: No Florida tropical watches or warnings (National Hurricane Center). Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook (800 PM EDT Fri Sep 4): tropical cyclone formation is not expected in the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of America during the next 7 days.

Rip Current Report: Moderate rip-current risk Saturday for the Space Coast / Volusia Atlantic and Treasure Coast (NWS MLB), and for eastern Panhandle / Big Bend Gulf beaches (NWS TAE). Low for Northeast Florida Atlantic including Jacksonville Beach (NWS JAX), Palm Beach / Broward / Miami-Dade (NWS MFL), west-central and SW Gulf including Tampa Bay through Fort Myers and Naples (NWS TBW / MFL), and Pensacola–Destin (NWS MOB). Swim near a lifeguard; heed beach flags.

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Tampa Bay Dengue Cases Surge to 65 as Ladapo Urges Action

Locally acquired dengue fever cases across Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties climbed to 65, up from about 33 earlier this week, according to Florida Department of Health surveillance summarized by FOX 13; Hillsborough alone accounts for 59 infections and 14 mosquito pools positive for DENV-2. Statewide, health officials reported 73 locally acquired dengue cases through Aug. 29, with Miami-Dade at 7 and Palm Beach at 1 in that summary.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo held a Tampa press conference Friday on the Bay Area surge, saying officials “do expect to see more cases” while urging residents to dress, defend with repellent, and dump standing water; Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, and Pinellas remain under mosquito-borne illness alerts, with Pasco and Palm Beach under advisories. Mosquito control teams are expanding aerial Bti treatments, ground fogging, and door-to-door breeding-site checks.

Fourth Floridian Dies From Vibrio as State Tracks 20 Cases

A fourth Florida resident has died from a Vibrio infection — this time in Broward County — as the Florida Department of Health tallies 20 confirmed cases and 4 deaths statewide in 2026 (table updated 9:30 a.m. ET Sep 3). ClickOrlando led its Florida news stack Friday with the update; infectious-disease physician Dr. Daniel Egan of Orlando Health warned that even tiny open wounds in warm lake, salt, or brackish water can seed aggressive infection within 24 hours to a few days.

DOH guidance also flags raw or undercooked shellfish — especially oysters — as an exposure path; cook oysters until shells open, then boil 5 more minutes or steam 9 more, and discard any that do not open. County table in the ClickOrlando package shows 2026 deaths in Bay, Broward, Marion, and Palm Beach among other case counties.

EU Carbon Rules Push Carnival’s 2026 Shipping Cost Toward $170M

Europe’s Emissions Trading System for large ships is reshaping costs for Florida’s cruise giants: Carnival projects about $170 million in 2026 allowance expense after recording $91 million in 2025, nearly 4% of last year’s $4.5 billion operating income, Florida Politics reported Friday. Rules cover vessels of at least 5,000 gross tons on EU-linked voyages (full charge on intra-EU legs; half on voyages such as Miami–Barcelona; full while docked in EU ports), with methane and nitrous oxide now included alongside CO₂.

Carnival broke ground in May on a new global headquarters in Miami-Dade meant to house more than 2,000 employees; Royal Caribbean and Norwegian also keep corporate HQs in Miami, and Port Canaveral hosts LNG cruise ships for Carnival and Royal Caribbean. FlaPol notes Florida cannot rewrite Brussels rules but must account for them in terminal and infrastructure planning.

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❖ Hillsborough: University Collection shopping center near USF extended Wells Fargo financing through 2031, raising the loan from $131 million to $151 million.

❖ Tampa: The University of South Florida breaks ground 9 a.m. Mon Sep 8 on the nearly $500 million first phase of its Fletcher District (~30 acres at 13801 N. 46th St.): about 700 student housing beds, 4–6 restaurants, retail, a hotel/conference center, and an academic research building, aimed at fall 2028 near the new on-campus stadium — split roughly $270M P3 and $225M academic research.

❖ Winter Garden: Toll Brothers is pitching Golden Cypress — a 21-unit single-family subdivision along Winter Garden-Vineland Road (homes about 3,900–4,500 sq ft, ~$2 million each) — seeking rezoning from R-CE to R-1A plus a lot-width variance (65 ft vs 75 ft). More than 30 residents attended an Aug. 26 community meeting.

❖ Broward Health / Memorial: Gov. Ron DeSantis reappointed 3 North Broward Hospital District board members and 4 South Broward Hospital District board members days after both boards cleared Shane Strum to lead the two systems at once (combined footprint about 10 hospitals / ~28,000 workers).

❖ Hollywood / Broward: Opportunities Industrialization Centers of South Florida convenes the Middle Class Summit Sep 9–10 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, expanding this year’s agenda to AI/workforce, affordable housing, healthcare access, and economic mobility; OIC of South Florida marks 25 years (from 2 employees to more than 180).

❖ Boca Raton / Palm Beach: Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for the east side of 212-acre North Park at 5800 NW 2nd Ave — walking/riding trails, dog park, and playground under a Butters Construction contract; City Pickle’s ~100,000-sq-ft / 25-court indoor club on site targets a November open.

❖ Tallahassee: Some Florida State University students leasing at Perla are still in hotels after repeated move-in delays; latest anticipated turnover is Sep 12 as Hedrick Brothers works fire/building finals with the City of Tallahassee.

❖ Fort Pierce / Treasure Coast: St. Lucie Public Schools broke ground on a new 215,000-sq-ft K–8 campus (~1,800 students, six buildings) in Fort Pierce.

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❖ Charlie Crist holds a 52%–27% lead over Mayor Ken Welch (St. Pete Polls, Mon–Tue, 509 likely St. Petersburg voters, ±4.3), Crist’s first majority since entering the race, with 21% undecided ahead of the Nov. 3 runoff; Welch’s job rating sits at 24% approve / 49% disapprove, and Crist’s affiliated PC St. Pete Shines has raised more than $1.9 million to date versus nearly $407,000 for Welch’s St. Petersburg Progress.

❖ Gainesville Democrat and former lawmaker Cynthia Moore Chestnut endorsed Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds, prompting Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis and other Democrats to object; Chestnut wrote that Black voters are “not political property,” while Bracy Davis cited Donalds’ record against voting-rights bills.

❖ An advocacy group says it helped more than 400 people with felony convictions submit Division of Elections advisory-opinion requests to learn whether they are eligible to vote under Florida’s Amendment 4 / financial-obligations framework; the division must respond within 90 days under a November 2024 rule born from settlement talks after 2019 implementing legislation.

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❖ Five new Florida specialty plates authorized under SB 246 begin their Oct. 1 presale path — UFC (“UFC Lives Here”), Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Outsider, St. Petersburg College, and First Responders Resiliency — with each organization required to submit art within 60 days and sell 3,000 vouchers within 2 years or face deauthorization and refunds.

❖ X Company filed plans for a 7-story mixed-use building on the last vacant Baldwin Park Village Center parcel — studios to three-bedrooms plus about 13,000 sq ft ground-floor retail on New Broad Street.

❖ Kin Insurance, a Florida-rooted homeowners insurer protecting nearly $100 billion in home and auto assets, signed a four-year jersey-patch partnership with Florida State Athletics — the first brand patch across FSU uniforms — debuting Mon Sep 7 when football hosts SMU and rolling across 18 varsity sports.

❖ Two weeks after launch, Jacksonville’s $20 million Jax GAP Fund already has 2 applications in process representing 304 potential affordable units, with a term sheet issued on one; goal remains ~$80M development / ~400 units.

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Cubs Beat Marlins 6–1 Friday at loanDepot park

The Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 6–1 Friday night at loanDepot park (ESPN FINAL).

Rangers Shut Out Rays 6–0 Thursday Night

Texas shut out the Tampa Bay Rays 6–0 Thursday night (ESPN FINAL, Quantrill / Seager).

Jaguars Enter 2026 With Coen–Lawrence Playoff Rematch Bar

ESPN’s Michael DiRocco framed Jacksonville’s 2026 bar around coach Liam Coen and QB Trevor Lawrence seeking back-to-back playoff berths after a 13–4 / division title 2025; season opens Sun Sep 13 vs the Browns (1 p.m. ET CBS). FPI listed a 52.4% playoff chance / 9–8 projection at file.

Scoreboard

Cubs 6, Marlins 1 (FINAL)

Rangers 6, Rays 0 (Thu FINAL)

Schedule

Rays continue at Texas (check club / ESPN for Sat first pitch once Fri FINAL posts)

Marlins host Cubs — Sat Sep 5 and Sun Sep 6

Florida State hosts SMU — Mon Sep 7 (Kin patch debut)

Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals — Sun Sep 13, 1:00 p.m. ET FOX

Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders — Sun Sep 13, 4:25 p.m. ET FOX

Jaguars host Browns — Sun Sep 13, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS

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Florida regular averaged $3.9516 a gallon Friday (AAA) — down about 3 cents from Thursday ($3.9813) and up less than a cent from a week ago ($3.9488), and still about 20 cents under the national $4.1474. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the dearest named metro at $4.0955; Tallahassee is cheapest at $3.8831.

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❖ St. Johns County Fire Rescue engineer Charles Cook was honored at Fire Station 3 this week by County Commissioner Clay Murphy for an off-duty July rescue on I-95 near mile marker 305 / SR 206, when he and bystanders swam to a sinking sedan in a retention pond, punched out windows, and pulled a family including a 10-year-old to safety; Amber Ross, 38, was the last person out.

❖ Sarasota-based Sisterhood Project USA, founded by Melissa Mangiapanella after family losses to domestic violence, funded 40 scholarships for sports, music, and arts in its first year for children affected by domestic violence and other at-risk youth; the annual gala is Oct. 9, 2026, at Aleur Event Collective in Sarasota.

❖ The first SportsAbility Expo Central Florida lands Sep 11–12 at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex / Camp Margaritaville Expo Hall in Auburndale — free for participants (registration required) with try-it stations such as rock-wall climbing, sit water-skiing, kayaking, adaptive archery, and bocce (10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sat).

❖ Play Street Museum in Winter Garden offers 90-minute play sessions at $17 per child in a miniature city opened early 2026.

❖ Florida DOE / Volunteer Florida 2026 Hispanic Heritage art/essay contests (Sep 15–Oct 15): K–3 art winners get $200 supply cards; grades 4–12 essay winners get a two-year Florida College Plan scholarship plus $200 card.

Joke of the Day

A Florida "short walk to the beach" listing is not distance. It is cardio with a closing cost.

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waning Crescent Saturday Sep 5 (~37% illuminated). Last Quarter was Fri Sep 4 (~3:51 a.m. EDT). Next New Moon: Thu Sep 10.

Sunrise / sunset (Saturday Sep 5; Orlando, EDT — times vary; Pensacola is Central): 7:05 a.m. / 7:42 p.m.

Gardening: Early September is prime for cool-season starts (broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, collards, cabbage) by region. Central and South Florida can prep strawberry beds for late-September set dates; North Florida strawberries usually wait until October. Warm herbs (basil, mint, rosemary) still go in. Check local fertilizer blackouts through September.

Coastal note: FWC statewide red-tide status updated September 4, 2026 (next written report due Fri Sep 11). Over the past week, Karenia brevis was observed at background in one Northwest Florida sample (Franklin County); not observed in Southwest Florida or along the East Coast. Northeast Florida bloom samples remain identified as Karenia papilionacea, not K. brevis. No red-tide–related fish kills or respiratory irritation reported past week. (FWC red tide)

Florida by the Numbers

Florida State Parks hosted over 28 million visitors in Fiscal Year 2024–25 across the state’s award-winning park system (nation’s only four-time Gold Medal Winner). (DEP public-access report)