The morning edition

Tiger Woods no-contest plea; license suspended five years. Pembroke Pines suspends plate readers.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Good Morning! On September 3, 1995, more than 70,000 fans packed Jacksonville’s brand-new municipal stadium — it did not yet have a sponsor name — for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first regular-season NFL game. Boyz II Men sang the national anthem from a stage set in a flag shaped like the United States; Navy F-18s flew overhead; and the Houston Oilers won 10–3 before a paid crowd of 72,363. The score looked like an expansion debut. The day itself marked something larger: the NFL had arrived in northeast Florida.

On September 3, 1952, Key West Mayor C.B. Harvey handed Gulf Atlantic Transportation Company a $25,000 check and the city became owner of Mallory Dock — the old Clyde-Mallory steamship landing on the harbor. A decade later the Old Island Restoration Foundation pushed a waterfront restoration; Mallory Square opened in 1961, and the nightly sunset celebration that still packs the pier grew from that city purchase.

In This Issue: Tiger Woods pleads no contest and loses his license for five years, Pembroke Pines suspends its plate-reader program, and Orange County schools cut another $8.5 million as enrollment falls.

Weather: Hot, humid Thursday with scattered to numerous afternoon showers and thunderstorms across much of the peninsula. Coverage is highest inland and west-central (Gainesville–Orlando–Tampa roughly 60–80%), moderate along the Atlantic coast and Fort Myers (~50%), lower for Miami (~40%) and Key West / Pensacola (~30%). Highs mid-80s at Atlantic beaches to low-to-mid 90s inland; heat index near 100–108. Isolated heavier cells can bring brief downpours, lightning, gusty winds, and street flooding in urban and poor-drainage spots.

Tropical: No Florida tropical watches or warnings (National Hurricane Center). Tropical Depression Edouard is inland over eastern Texas (WPC advisories); not a Florida land threat. The 8 p.m. EDT Wed Sep 2 Tropical Weather Outlook: tropical cyclone formation is not expected in the North Atlantic, Caribbean, or Gulf during the next 7 days.

Rip Current Report: High rip-current risk Thursday for Northeast Florida Atlantic beaches (Nassau–Duval–St. Johns–Flagler; NWS JAX through Thursday evening). Moderate for Volusia/Daytona and the Space Coast / Treasure Coast Atlantic (NWS MLB) and for eastern Panhandle / Big Bend Gulf beaches (South Walton–Bay–Gulf–Franklin; NWS TAE). Low for Palm Beach / Broward / Miami-Dade and Collier Gulf (NWS MFL), west-central and SW Gulf including Tampa Bay through Fort Myers (NWS TBW), and Pensacola–Destin (NWS MOB). Swim near a lifeguard; heed beach flags.

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Tiger Woods Pleads No Contest; License Suspended Five Years

Tiger Woods, 50, pleaded no contest Wednesday in Martin County Court to willful reckless driving and refusal to submit to testing stemming from his March 27 Jupiter Island Range Rover rollover; County Judge Darren Steele adjudicated him guilty, imposed about $1,500 in fines, and suspended his driver’s license for five years (concurrent reckless + careless suspensions), with no public-road exceptions including golf carts on public roads. Prosecutors dropped the original DUI after two toxicologists told State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl there was insufficient proof Woods was impaired by prescribed hydrocodone given his documented post-surgery tolerance; Woods left without addressing reporters.

Bakkedahl held a rare Wednesday press conference defending the plea as driven by eroded evidence, not celebrity deference, and warned that “of all the people in the world who should not get behind the wheel,” Woods is among the most recognizable; Woods’ counsel Douglas Duncan asked the public to let Woods and his family move on. The March crash involved Woods clipping a pickup trailer on South Beach Road; neither driver was injured. This is Woods’ second Florida reckless-driving resolution after a 2017 Palm Beach County case.

Pembroke Pines Suspends Entire LPR Program

Pembroke Pines Police on Wednesday suspended all license-plate readers citywide after Mayor Angelo Castillo’s call and the FDOT state-road memo; commissioners set to discuss Sept. 3.

Orange County Schools Cut Another $8.5 Million as Enrollment Falls

Orange County Public Schools confirmed Wednesday an additional $8.5 million in central-office budget cuts after its 10-day enrollment count showed continued decline; state funding tracks enrollment, and Superintendent Maria Vazquez had already flagged nearly 7,700 fewer students in the first 10 days versus a state projection closer to 2,000.

The district memo also cites a growing Employee Benefits Trust deficit — about $20 million added each month without health-plan changes — and notes more than 200 district-level jobs were eliminated last fiscal year with department budgets already cut 5% over two years. Classroom instruction remains the stated priority.

Hillsborough Creates Registry for 3,000-Plus Short-Term Rentals

Hillsborough County commissioners voted 7–0 Wednesday to require annual registration of short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated areas, a $200 fee per unit, a local contact reachable within one hour, and new Code Enforcement inspection tools, effective Jan. 1. Officials estimate more than 3,000 STRs in the unincorporated county; the ordinance also opens a path for Tampa, Temple Terrace, and Plant City to opt in.

Bay Crest Park neighbors who pushed the rules said one neighborhood alone has roughly 120–127 STRs. A 90-day revisit is planned.

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➤ Homestead / Miami-Dade: Aconcagua Group locked a $35 million construction loan (Berkadia / S3 Capital) for Casa Princeton Phase III — 162 apartments (69 one-beds / 93 two-beds) in an eight-story building at 12867 S.W. 248th Street on 2.7 acres, with 307 parking spaces, dog park, spa, pool, and mini-market; Phases I–II already delivered, and the three-site community is planned for 374 total units by 2027–28. Coral Gables-based Aconcagua bought the parcel for $3.6 million in 2024.

➤ St. Petersburg / Tampa Bay: The historic Manhattan Casino at 642 22nd Street South reopens Sept. 19 after a $4.8 million city renovation as a municipal event venue (ribbon-cutting 10 a.m.), with a 2,232-sq-ft Legacy Room and 4,152-sq-ft Jordan Ballroom; six-hour rentals from $1,000. Built 1925 for Elder Jordan Sr., Chitlin’ Circuit stop; city landmark 1994, purchased 2002.

➤ Apopka / Orlando: Southwick Commons opened at 520 Brighton Ave. with 192 affordable one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments; rents from about $1,103 / $1,440 / $1,647. Wendover Housing Partners; pool, playground, community garden, business center. Orlando metro still has only 13 affordable units per 100 extremely low-income renter households (NLIHC 2026 Gap Report).

➤ Jacksonville: JWB Real Estate Capital broke ground Aug. 17 on Parkwood Commons West — 38 affordable townhomes at 3825 Ricker Road — part of a three-site $28.6 million / 108-unit LIHTC project (West + two Arlington sites) preserved 99 years for households at or below 60% AMI; city $3.8M loan in the $7.15M gap stack. Completion targeted 2027.

➤ Cape Coral–Fort Myers / Gulf Coast: Sizzle Dining’s 10th year runs all of September across Lee and Collier with a record 140 restaurants (Cape Coral to Marco Island), 46 of them new; 2025 served 87,483 meals. #DineWithPurpose charity pairing continues.

➤ Tallahassee / North Florida: Tallahassee City Commission voted 3–2 Wednesday to hire Deputy City Manager Karen Jumonville as next city manager after a national search (37 applicants / three finalists); contract ratification set Sept. 9. Mayor John Dailey and Commissioners Richardson and Williams-Cox yes; Matlow and Porter no. Jumonville joined the city in 1999; succeeds Reese Goad (retiring Sept. 30).

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House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa on Wednesday called for a special session to impeach Attorney General James Uthmeier over the $10 million Centene / Hope Florida Foundation diversion into political committees he once controlled, citing a leaked grand jury finding the money was “misappropriated” even though no one was charged; the caucus also wants a House committee to probe others named in the report. Uthmeier has called the leak a politicized attack; DeSantis and Uthmeier note no charges and defend the settlement’s legality. Former Rep. David Jolly supports further probes if elected governor; Rep. Byron Donalds says he would work with the Legislature to prevent a repeat rather than reopen old investigations.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Democracy Defenders Fund announced a third federal lawsuit (filed in the Southern District of Florida for Black Voters Matter Fund and LULAC) arguing Florida’s HB 991 “SAVE Act” citizenship-documentation rules conflict with the National Voter Registration Act; starting Jan. 1, 2027, flagged registrants would get 30 days to produce a passport, birth certificate, or other listed proof or face roll removal. Two earlier April 1 challenges (ACLU / NAACP) remain pending on First and 14th Amendment grounds and did not invoke the NVRA.

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal on Wednesday unanimously reversed a Sarasota circuit order that had sealed and ordered destroyed Sarasota Police records from the 2023 Christian Ziegler investigation, holding courts cannot invent Public Records Act exemptions from Fourth Amendment or spousal-privilege theories; FLCGA, Gannett, McClatchy, and Scripps intervened for disclosure. Case returns to circuit court for proceedings consistent with the opinion granting public access.

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Waymo began welcoming public robotaxi riders in Tampa on Tuesday, Sept. 1, after months of employee-driven mapping; the initial service area covers about 50 square miles from Westshore to Highland Pines / Hyde Park / Temple Crest, with access rolled out gradually to waitlisted app users (tens of thousands signed up). Tampa joins Miami and Orlando on Waymo’s Florida map; city officials framed the launch as another mobility option alongside Tesla’s earlier Tampa robotaxi service.

European auto-parts e-commerce firm FCP Euro is in Jacksonville city review as first tenant of a 268,342-square-foot Imeson International Industrial Park warehouse at 1215 Imeson Park Blvd., calling the project its largest logistics outlay — more than $30 million in capital and inventory — and projecting more than 400 hires over five years for a Southeast fulfillment node to open early 2027 beside existing Connecticut and Arizona centers. CEO Scott Drozd cited Florida’s concentration of European-car owners and Jax’s I-95 / I-295 access.

The U.S. Department of Transportation shut down 110 truck-driving schools nationwide over English-language proficiency testing failures linked to more than 5,000 drivers, including three Central Florida campuses — East USA Training Academy in Sanford and Florida CDL Truck Driving School plus Road Pro CDL in Lake Wales — plus additional Florida sites in Plant City, Tampa, Opa-locka, Hialeah Gardens, West Palm Beach, and Miami. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said federal law has long required commercial drivers to speak English and that data analysis flagged the worst offenders.

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Mets Pound Rays 10–4 in Wednesday Rubber Game

The New York Mets beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10–4 Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, taking the series after Tampa Bay’s Tuesday 6–2 win; Rays entered roughly 83–56.

Bucs Add Super Bowl Corner Sean Murphy-Bunting to Practice Squad

Tampa Bay signed veteran CB Sean Murphy-Bunting — a Super Bowl winner with the club — to the practice squad Wednesday along with TE C.J. Dippre and S Silas Walters, filling the last of 17 practice-squad spots after releasing TE Devin Culp and S Rashad Wisdom; the secondary now has five DBs on that unit after the 53-man cut left the active secondary thin. Season opener is Sept. 13 at Cincinnati.

Dolphins Shuffle Practice Squad With Bonner and Llewellyn

Miami signed CB Ethan Bonner and EDGE Max Llewellyn (2026 seventh-rounder out of Iowa) to the practice squad and released TE Jeremiah Franklin and ILB Cam Riley, continuing post-cut roster churn under GM Jon-Eric Sullivan after earlier waiver claims and the first practice-squad wave.

Scoreboard

Mets 10, Rays 4 (Tropicana Field)

Schedule

Thu Sep 3 — Mets at Rays, Tropicana Field

Thu Sep 3 — Marlins at Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium

Sun Sep 13 — Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Week 1 — Dolphins open regular season

Mon Sep 7 — SMU at Florida State, Doak Campbell Stadium

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Florida regular averaged $3.9755 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA — up about 3 cents from Tuesday ($3.9420) and up about 5 cents from a week ago ($3.9245), and still about 14 cents under the national $4.1203. West Palm Beach–Boca Raton is the dearest named metro at $4.1122; Panama City is cheapest at $3.8256 (Pensacola $3.8346; Crestview–Fort Walton Beach $3.8348).

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Pine Ridge High School HVAC teacher Leland Wilbert, a nine-year technician before teaching, said Wednesday the Deltona program he runs with John Marotte has sent 37 students straight into the field over five years, with employers calling those grads top of the shop floor; students read pressures, amps, and temps on live units before some even graduate.

Florida State University student Julia Pieri won the $2,000 Community Impact Through Animal Service Scholarship from Blakeley Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers for fostering rescue dog Zeke when a classmate fell ill, keeping the dog’s routine stable through the medical transition.

Volunteer Florida announced $22.5 million in AmeriCorps funding to support 38 organizations strengthening communities statewide through national service programs.

Joke of the Day

A Florida snowbird is not a tourist. It is a seasonal resident who still asks which Publix is the good one.

Florida Almanac

Moon: Waning Gibbous, about 59% illuminated Thursday Sep 3 (TheSkyLive / lunaf; age ~21 days). Full Moon was Fri Aug 28. Next Last Quarter: Friday Sep 4.

Sunrise / Sunset (Thursday Sep 3; Orlando, EDT — times vary across the state; most of Florida is Eastern; Pensacola is Central): 7:04 a.m. / 7:44 p.m. (timeanddate).

Gardening Early September opens Florida’s fall garden window. Start cool-season crops (broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, collards, cabbage) by region; Central and South Florida can prepare strawberry beds for late-September set dates, while North Florida strawberries typically wait until October. Warm-tolerant herbs (basil, mint, rosemary, Mexican tarragon) still go in. Check local fertilizer blackouts that often run through September. (UF/IFAS Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide)

Coastal / Red Tide (FWC): FWC written statewide red-tide status was last dated August 28, 2026 (next report due Sep 4). Prior update: Karenia brevis in East Coast samples with a bloom in one Nassau County sample; not observed in Southwest or Northwest Florida; no red-tide fish kills or respiratory-irritation reports in that weekly window. Labor Day weekend beachgoers: pair any water plans with the rip-current map above.

Florida by the Numbers

Florida’s ocean economy supported 908,808 jobs in 2023 (517,779 direct) and contributed $96 billion to Gross State Product — about 6.1% of state GSP — ranking Florida No. 1 in the United States for ocean-economy employment. Source: Florida Atlantic University Office of Ocean Economy / SFRPC analysis (2025).

Today’s Poll

Will you vote for Amendment 3 in November?

Yesterday’s Results

Lake County and Miami-Dade just pulled local automated license-plate readers after FDOT ordered them off state roads. Should local ALPRs come down too?

Yes — local readers should come down too 35% · Leave it to each county and city 35% · No — keep readers on local roads where still allowed 30%