The morning edition

Florida Board adopts AI classroom rules. Jail waits lawsuit. DAVID breach how.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Good Morning! On September 17, 1943, Samuel Thornton Durrance was born in Tallahassee — a Florida boy who grew up in Tampa, lettered in football at Plant High School, and later flew as a NASA payload specialist. He logged more than 615 hours in space aboard Columbia (STS-35 / Astro-1, December 1990) and Endeavour (STS-67 / Astro-2, March 1995), operating the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope he had helped build. He later directed the Florida Space Research Institute at Kennedy Space Center and taught physics and space sciences at Florida Tech in Melbourne until he was named professor emeritus. (NASA)

In This Issue: Florida Board adopts AI classroom rules, a lawsuit over mental-health jail waits, and how the DAVID breach used a Plant City device.

Weather: Hot Thursday under a northeast breeze. Panhandle stays sunny and dry (Tallahassee sunny ~90; Pensacola sunny ~91). Northeast and north-central mostly sunny and breezy/windy with little storm risk (Jacksonville mostly sunny ~88; Gainesville mostly sunny ~91; Tampa mostly sunny ~90). Central Atlantic Coast sees chance showers / slight storm chances (Orlando ~30%; Daytona Beach ~30%). Afternoon storm chances climb for Southwest and Southeast Florida — Fort Myers scattered storms (~40%), Miami storms likely (~70%), West Palm Beach storms likely (~60%), Keys showers likely with storms possible (~60%). Heat index near 97–101 in spots along the SE and SW coasts.

Tropical: No Florida tropical watches or warnings (National Hurricane Center). Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook (800 PM EDT Wed Sep 16): a small area of low pressure (AL98) several hundred miles east of Bermuda continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Formation chance low (20%) in 48 hours and low (30%) in 7 days while it moves slowly westward then possibly southward over the subtropical Atlantic; not a Florida land threat. No Atlantic tropical cyclones at this time.

Rip Current Report: High rip-current risk Thursday for Northeast Florida Atlantic (Nassau–Duval–Flagler–St. Johns; NWS JAX SRF High through late Thu night), East-Central Atlantic including Volusia–Brevard–Treasure Coast (NWS MLB SRF — High Thu), Palm Beach Atlantic (NWS MFL SRF High through Fri morning), eastern Panhandle Gulf including Coastal Bay / Panama City, South Walton, and Coastal Franklin / Apalachicola (NWS TAE SRF High through late Thu night), and Pensacola–Destin / Escambia–Santa Rosa–Okaloosa coastal (NWS MOB CFW High through Thu evening CDT). Moderate for Miami-Dade and Broward Atlantic (NWS MFL). Low for west-central / SW Gulf including Nature Coast through Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Fort Myers Beach, and Naples (NWS TBW / MFL Collier). Swim near a lifeguard; heed beach flags.

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Florida Board Adopts Strict AI Rules for K-12 and Colleges

The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday at Polk State College in Winter Haven approved artificial-intelligence rules for K–12 districts and the state’s 28 Florida College System institutions, requiring parental notification and consent before a student uses an AI product, a comparable non-AI instructional alternative if a parent opts out, and district policy updates by July 1, 2027, for the 2027–28 school year (ClickOrlando / News Service of Florida). (ClickOrlando / News Service of Florida)

Education Commissioner Henry Mack said AI should supplement teachers, not replace them; the rules ban companion/emotional-relationship AI, undisclosed behavior monitoring, social scoring, and psychological profiling, bar vendors from selling or using student data to train commercial models, require staff training and the ability to disable tools without vendor help, and — for colleges — prohibit AI on graded work unless an instructor explicitly allows it; Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida “will not outsource childhood to a chatbot” (News4Jax). (News4Jax)

Lawsuit: Florida Jails Hold Mentally Ill Defendants Past Legal Limits

Disability Rights Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Florida Justice Institute filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit Wednesday in Miami accusing the Florida Department of Children and Families of routinely leaving defendants found incompetent to proceed in county jails far past the state’s 15-day transfer deadline to psychiatric hospitals, with DCF data cited in the complaint showing average waits of about 124 days and a fluctuating waitlist of 650 to 880 people (Florida Trib). (Florida Trib)

The complaint documents cases of psychiatric decline in solitary-style jail cells, says Disability Rights Florida identified at least three people who died in county jails while waiting for transfer, and seeks injunctive relief forcing a remedial plan for timely admissions; CBS Miami reported the same Miami filing and the pattern of multi-month jail waits after court-ordered treatment (CBS Miami). (CBS Miami)

FLHSMV: DAVID Breach Used Plant City Officer’s Personal Device

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said Wednesday that hackers who breached the state’s DAVID driver and vehicle information system last week got in through a Plant City Police Department employee’s personal device that improperly stored credentials — what cybersecurity professor Thomas Hyslip called “shadow IT” — after the group ShinyHunters claimed on the dark web that it obtained about 200,000 driver licenses and sought a ransom (WCTV / Gray Florida Capital Bureau). (WCTV / Gray Florida Capital Bureau)

FLHSMV said it notified Attorney General James Uthmeier and will notify Floridians whose data was stolen; the agency’s statement did not say whether any ransom would be paid, and the group’s previously stated Friday deadline passed without a public update (WCTV). (WCTV)

Hillsborough Expands Aerial Mosquito Spray After Dengue Detections

Hillsborough County Mosquito Management scheduled low-flying helicopter adulticide missions Wednesday night from 8:30 p.m. Sep. 16 through 6 a.m. Sep. 17 over Town ’N Country and East Tampa after surveillance traps tested positive for dengue activity, applying Dibrom at 0.66 ounces per acre from about 150 feet, with backup windows Sep. 17–18 if weather or tech issues interfere (Tampa Free Press). (Tampa Free Press)

MySuncoast / WWSB cited the latest CDC table showing 66 locally acquired dengue cases in Hillsborough County plus 6 each in Lee and Pinellas, while Hillsborough also ran daytime Pasco-assisted Bti larvicide helicopter passes over central Tampa; officials urged the “3 Ds” — dress, defend with EPA-backed repellent, dump standing water — and listed overnight spray-zone boundaries along Linebaugh/Memorial/Veterans/Montague and the Hillsborough River–Columbus–I-75–50th Street box (MySuncoast; Tampa FP). (MySuncoast)

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❖ Miami-Dade: Wolfsonian–FIU Free Friday is Friday Sep 18, 6–9 p.m., free admission at 1001 Washington Ave. — weekly free evening at the museum of modern design/objects; Florida residents also enter free anytime with ID; current shows include Foot Notes: Shoes, Symbolism and Society (through Feb 28, 2027) (Wolfsonian–FIU / Miami on the Cheap). (Wolfsonian–FIU)

❖ Tampa Bay: Seed Swap and Market is Saturday Sep 19 at 3302 E. 2nd Ave., Tampa — community seed exchange and market day for gardeners and neighbors (HappeningNext event listing). (HappeningNext)

❖ Orlando: Art Aftr Dark at Lake Nona Town Center is Friday Sep 18, 6–10 p.m. (also Saturdays) — free, no cover; Orlando Local Makers pop-up with handcrafted artisan products and food in the Town Center (Lake Nona official). (Lake Nona)

❖ Jacksonville: Quiltfest Jacksonville runs Thursday–Saturday Sep 17–19 at Prime Osborn Convention Center (1000 Water St.) — judged quilt show theme “Give Piece a Chance,” about 400 quilts, 50+ vendors, SAQA TRIO exhibit (FL/GA/SC); general admission $17, seniors/military $16, children under 12 free; Quilts of Valor presentation Friday Sep 18, 1 p.m., to 12 veterans (Visit Jacksonville). (Visit Jacksonville)

❖ Broward: Oakland Park Latin Fest 2026 is Friday Sep 18, 6–10 p.m., free at Jaco Pastorius Park (4000 N. Dixie Hwy.) — live Latin music (Salsabor All Stars), Florida Elite Event Dancers, food trucks (Las Mexicanas, Lugi’s Sabor Argentina, others), Sensory Village, Kid’s Kitchen; Lyft/Uber promo window 5–11:59 p.m. (City of Oakland Park). (City of Oakland Park)

❖ Palm Beach: Hispanic Heritage Month concert at Commons Park is Friday Sep 18, 5–9 p.m. (Kiannely 7–9 p.m.), free at 11600 Poinciana Blvd. — outdoor concert with food trucks (Miami on the Cheap / Village listing). (Miami on the Cheap)

❖ Gulf Coast: 4th Annual St. Armands Circle Art Festival with Craft Marketplace is Saturday–Sunday Sep 19–20, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., free admission at 1 St. Armands Circle — outdoor fine art and craft marketplace produced by Howard Alan Events (Your Observer sponsored listing). (Your Observer)

❖ North Florida: Gallery Night: Viva Pensacola Latino Festival is Friday Sep 18, 5–9 p.m., downtown Pensacola — Gallery Night Pensacola presented by Publix with 70+ art vendors, open-air market, live performances celebrating Latino culture and the local arts scene (Visit Pensacola). (Visit Pensacola)

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❖ Statewide: A Florida Policy Institute report published Tuesday warns that Amendment 3 could strip children’s services councils of more than $278 million over the next two fiscal years — about 15% of their total revenue — putting after-school care, child care, and early-learning programs at risk of cuts or elimination; author Norín Dollard said CSCs lean heavily on the property taxes the amendment would shrink and cannot easily replace that money with fees, while Gov. DeSantis still called the homestead package “modest” and urged a YES vote (WUSF). (WUSF)

❖ Statewide: The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (~3,000 planners) says it supports tax relief but opposes Amendment 3 because ballot language was locked in about three days in early June without the fiscal analysis planners say counties need; APA Florida President Allara Mills-Gutcher warned cash-strapped cities may defer comprehensive-plan updates required every seven years if forced to choose between police/fire and planning work, as RPOF endorsed YES on 3 and DeSantis pledged to campaign for it (WLRN / Florida Phoenix). (WLRN / Florida Phoenix)

❖ Broward / Miami-Dade: Broward and Miami-Dade school leaders stood with unions Tuesday to urge voters to renew existing school taxes this November — Broward Superintendent Howard Hepburn said losing the levy would cost about $358 million amid declining enrollment; Miami-Dade’s renewal supports about $570 million, mostly salaries plus security (Local10). (Local10)

❖ Clearwater: Save the Garden said it collected more than 9,000 Clearwater voter signatures seeking to overturn Ordinance 9907-26, the City Council’s June 3–2 transfer of a 470-foot stretch of South Garden Avenue to the Church of Scientology for an entry plaza tied to a planned L. Ron Hubbard Hall; petitions go to the city clerk for certification, and Council is set Thursday for legal guidance on Referendum Petition 26-01 (FOX13). (FOX13)

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❖ Titusville: Officials broke ground Wednesday on Space Coast Innovation Park, a 50-acre three-phase aerospace and defense hub on Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority land near Grissom Parkway (~4 miles from I-95, near Kennedy Space Center) expected to deliver 1,500 to 2,000 high-tech jobs and about 1 million square feet of offices, hangars, and testing space in a partnership involving Florida Commerce, Space Florida, and FDOT; EDC of Florida’s Space Coast CEO Lynda Weatherman said supply-chain and defense firms want Space Center access, and airport authority lead Kevin Daughtery said the parcel sat unused about 20 years (Spectrum News 13). (Spectrum News 13)

❖ Brevard: Health First notified 214 associates Wednesday that their positions are being eliminated — about 2% of its 10,350-person workforce — mostly administrative, management, and clerical roles, with no hospital or ER closures; the system is ending Hospital at Home (current patients finish care), closing the Viera Integrated Care site (patients move to Gateway), and folding standalone comprehensive health assessments into primary-care wellness visits, while offering 60-day paid notice, benefits, and internal job-search help (ClickOrlando). (ClickOrlando)

❖ Statewide: Florida Realtors said statewide single-family closed sales fell about 1.5% year over year in August and condo/townhouse closed sales declined just under 2%, ending a long growth streak in single-family pendings, while single-family inventory dropped 13%, condo/townhouse inventory 11.5%, and medians rose to about $415,000 (single-family, +~1%) and just under $298,000 (condo/townhouse, +~3%) — chief economist Brad O’Connor called it a leveling market, not a crash (Florida Realtors Sep 16). (Florida Realtors)

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Rays Hold Off Athletics 4–3 for Fifth Straight Win

Nick Martinez improved to 15–4 and Cole Sulser closed for his third save as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Athletics 4–3 Wednesday night at Tropicana Field for their fifth straight win and a 4½-game AL East lead over the Yankees; Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson drove in first-inning runs with doubles, Nick Fortes and Ryan Vilade added RBIs in the second, and Tampa Bay improved to 92–59 after clinching a postseason berth last week (CBS Sports / AP / RotoWire). (CBS Sports / AP)

Ruiz’s 11th-Inning Double Lifts Marlins Past Diamondbacks 4–2

Esteury Ruiz hit a two-out, three-run double in the 11th inning Tuesday night in Phoenix to lift the Miami Marlins over the Arizona Diamondbacks 4–2, dealing a blow to Arizona’s NL wild-card hopes; Griffin Conine had tied the game earlier with a solo homer, Josh Ekness (2–3) earned the win with two innings of relief, and Miami improved to 75–77 while the D-backs fell to 80–72 (AP / ABC News / Reuters). (AP / ABC News)

Mayfield Turns Focus to Browns Home Opener — and Ball Security

Baker Mayfield told reporters Wednesday he wants to come out on the winning side of any history with Cleveland but is emphasizing ball security and corrections after losing three fumbles in Tampa Bay’s 33–27 Week 1 loss at Cincinnati; the Buccaneers (0–1) host the Browns (0–1) Sunday Sep 20 at 1 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium — Mayfield’s first home game against the franchise that drafted him No. 1 in 2018 (CBS Sports / Buccaneers.com). (CBS Sports / Buccaneers.com)

Bucs Week 2 Storylines: Trenches, Egbuka/Ward, and Mayfield History

Tampa Bay’s Week 2 preview package highlighted trench matchups, receivers Egbuka and Ward, and Baker Mayfield’s history with Cleveland ahead of Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET home opener vs. the Browns at Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers.com Sep 16). (Buccaneers.com)

Scoreboard

MLB: Rays 4, Athletics 3 — FINAL Wed Sep 16 — Tropicana Field (CBS Sports)

Schedule

Rays host Athletics Thursday (RHP Drew Rasmussen vs. LHP Jeffrey Springs) — try for series sweep at Tropicana Field.

Marlins wrap Arizona series at Chase Field.

Buccaneers host Browns, Sunday Sep 20, 1 p.m. ET, Raymond James Stadium (Week 2) (Buccaneers.com).

Jaguars at Broncos, Sunday Sep 20, 4:05 p.m. ET (Week 2).

Dolphins at 49ers, Sunday Sep 20, 4:25 p.m. ET, Levi’s Stadium (Week 2).

Florida at Auburn, Saturday (SEC opener) — WR Eric Singleton Jr. and DE Emmanuel Oyebadejo listed questionable (The Alligator).

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Florida regular averaged $4.1987 a gallon Wednesday (AAA current as of filing) — up about 7.7 cents from Tuesday ($4.1220) and up about 12.2 cents from a week ago ($4.0771), and still about 17 cents under the national $4.3672. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the most expensive named metro at $4.3425; Crestview–Fort Walton Beach is cheapest at $3.9989 (Panama City $4.0080; Pensacola $4.0182). --- (AAA)

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❖ Pasco County: Pasco County Fire Rescue presented life-saving awards to six firefighters after two extraordinary calls: Ryan Garrity and Alexander Garcia swam more than 200 yards to free a parachutist whose chute was pulling him under in a lake, and Andrew Breuer, Justin Garver, Anthony Claycomb, and Steven Morejon pulled a critically injured worker with multiple severed arteries from a 12-foot trench collapse — the patient survived after multiple surgeries (WFLA Sep 15). (WFLA)

❖ St. Johns County: St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick was updating the public Monday on 16-year-old Benjamin Adcock — reported missing Saturday and living with schizophrenia and mild autism — when word arrived live that a good Samaritan who recognized Adcock’s social-media photo had found him safe after nearly 48 hours; Hardwick hugged Adcock’s mother on camera as the briefing flipped from search update to celebration (MySuncoast / WSVN). (MySuncoast / WSVN)

❖ Miami Gardens: Two-year-old K-9 Gael was discharged from VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital Tuesday after vanishing about a week when he jumped from a patrol vehicle Sep 7; surveillance showed him struck by a car, a resident later spotted him in a front yard, and Chief Delma Noel-Pratt said he is healthy and will return to duty after rest (WSVN). (WSVN)

❖ Port Orange: After Port Orange Trap-Neuter-Return advocate Candace Park died of breast cancer, Furry Nation Salvation founder Tonja Heer and community volunteers found 55 cats in her mobile home and have since placed more than half — about 25 remained needing homes, with roughly 7–10 friendly adoptable cats and less-social animals lined up for a ~1,600-mile Green Cat Shack sanctuary drive to Colorado (ClickOrlando). (ClickOrlando)

❖ Seminole County: FOX 35 Care Force honored Seminole County Fire Station 22 for helping save Lila Pagan, who was accidentally run over by a truck at age 3, intubated, and placed in a coma; three years later Lila is 6 and thriving, and Lt. Marcus Gomes’s crew has stayed close with her family beyond the call (FOX 35 Orlando Sep 16). (FOX 35 Orlando)

❖ Vanderbilt Beach / Collier: Eighth-grader Christian Woodward of Troop 2001 built two Vanderbilt Beach lifeguard stands — about $10,000 in materials each, raised or donated — as North Collier Fire unveiled Ocean Rescue Tower 29, Collier County’s first ocean rescue tower, aiming to cut drownings on Naples-area beaches (WGCU). (WGCU)

Today’s Quote

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

— Mother Teresa

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waxing Crescent; about 39% illuminated (Almanac / Orlando; 38.7% for Thu Sep 17). Next First Quarter: Fri Sep 18 (4:44 p.m. ET); next Full Moon (Harvest Moon): Sat Sep 26 (12:50 p.m. ET).

Sunrise / sunset (Thursday Sep 17; Orlando, EDT — times vary across the state; most of Florida is Eastern; Pensacola is Central): 7:11 a.m. / 7:27 p.m. (timeanddate).

Gardening: Mid-September remains a strong window 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. (UF/IFAS Vegetable Gardening Guide / regional calendars)

Coastal note: FWC written statewide red-tide status dated September 11, 2026 (next written report due Fri Sep 18). Sep 11 update: Karenia brevis was not observed in samples collected statewide over the past week; no red-tide–related fish kills or respiratory irritation reported. Prior Northeast Florida bloom samples were Karenia papilionacea (not K. brevis). Pair beach plans with the rip-current map in the weather strip. (FWC red tide)

Florida by the Numbers

In its most recent biennial assessment cycle, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection assessed 4,252 surface-waterbody segments statewide and determined 2,230 of them to be impaired — not meeting applicable water-quality standards — according to DEP’s April 2026 Integrated Water Quality Assessment for Florida (Clean Water Act Sections 303(d)/305(b)/314). Of those impaired segments, 1,360 still require development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The most common impairments are nutrients, fecal indicator bacteria, and dissolved oxygen. --- (FDEP)