Dengue Death Confirmed

A Hillsborough County resident has died of dengue fever, the Florida Department of Health confirmed Friday.

The state didn’t release details. The Tampa Bay Times, which first reported the death, described her as an elderly Tampa woman who died Sept. 4, on her 80th birthday. “She met the wrong mosquito, and that’s it,” her daughter, Anna Small, said. 

Hillsborough County has logged more than 130 locally acquired cases this year, in a county that normally sees a handful. “This is wildly unusual for us,” said county spokesman Chris Wilkerson.

The statewide total stands at 152, second only to the nearly 200 cases reported in 2023. Orange County issued its own mosquito alert Thursday after two locally acquired cases turned up in Apopka, following one in Pine Hills on Sept. 2.

Explosion under Investigation in Taylor County

State and federal investigators have taken over the site of Wednesday’s explosion at the PACEM Defense plant in Taylor County.

The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of War are all working the scene. No cause has been released.

Sheriff Wayne Padgett said Friday that his office called the governor’s office, which routed the response to the Florida National Guard, now on site. Padgett said there are “no public safety issues.”

Dispatchers logged the blast at 6:58 p.m. Wednesday, and residents across the area heard and felt it.

Only two people were on the property, a security officer and a main office employee, and neither was hurt. One building was destroyed and is a total loss.

Sheriff May Appeal Miami-Dade Budget

Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz says she may ask the Florida Cabinet to overrule the county commission on her budget.

Commissioners passed a $14.26 billion county budget at daybreak Friday after an all-night hearing, keeping the operating property tax rate flat at 4.57 mills. Cordero-Stutz wanted $45 million more than she got.

She told commissioners her starting salaries are too low, the agency is understaffed, and $62.5 million in collective-bargaining costs is fixed. “They are in terrible shape,” Cordero-Stutz said of the agency’s stations.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says the commission added $66 million and the sheriff’s office will run on $1.2 billion, a budget that tops $1 billion for the first time.

Gov. Ron DeSantis chairs the Cabinet’s Administration Commission, which can take up the appeal. If it sides with the sheriff, Levine Cava says commissioners will have to reconvene and decide what services to cut.

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➤ Statewide: AAA is warning Florida parents that many move their children out of car seats and boosters too early, a finding released for National Child Passenger Safety Week. Seatbelt fit depends on a child’s height, not age. (More)

➤ Franklin County: Tom P. Haney Technical College opened its Aviation Academy East extension at Apalachicola Regional Airport, giving rural students a place to train close to home. Five students are enrolled in the hybrid program, which can take 15 and leads to an airframe and powerplant license. (Read Story)

➤ Indian River County: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his 18th death warrant of the year Friday for William Reaves, convicted of killing an Indian River County sheriff’s deputy in 1986. The execution is set for Oct. 20 at Florida State Prison. (More)

➤ Orlando: Police showed off a new high-water rescue truck built to reach people cut off by the fast flooding Central Florida sees during storms and hurricanes. (More)

➤ Vero Beach: Elsa, a loggerhead sea turtle tagged by OCEARCH, a global nonprofit that tags marine mammals with an online tracker for researchers’ studies, pinged off Vero Beach Friday. (See Photo)

➤ Broward County: Thunderstorms flooded streets across Broward on Friday, backing up traffic near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. In Dania Beach, cars sat partially submerged at Southeast Second Avenue and Seventh Street as a school bus eased through. (See Video)

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➤ Darian Mensah completed his first 24 passes and set an ACC record with 35 consecutive completions across two games as No. 5 Miami defeated Wake Forest 33-20 on Friday. (More)

➤ Florida State squandered a 15-point lead in Tuscaloosa, falling 50-36 to No. 10 Alabama, which scored touchdowns on five straight possessions. (More)

➤ Jadan Baugh rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns as Florida defeated Auburn 44-39 in a high-scoring Southeastern Conference road opener. (More)

➤ Florida Atlantic’s Collin Rogers made three of four field goal attempts as the Owls defeated Florida International 16-10 to win the Shula Bowl. (More)

➤ Florida’s NFL slate features three games today. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars visit the Denver Broncos, and the Miami Dolphins face the San Francisco 49ers. (See Schedule)

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➤ Fun Spot America will move several rides from its shuttered Atlanta park to its Orlando and Kissimmee locations. The Fayetteville, Georgia, park closed Aug. 2. (More)

➤ A Winter Garden couple who nearly died after being struck by lightning while walking along the West Orange Trail gave an interview Friday. The wife, Clare Walenga, stopped breathing; four runners who had just passed them called 911 and started CPR. (Read Story)

➤ Disney World says its wardrobe operation is the largest in the world: about 900 operational costume designs, 746 hat styles, and more than 1,500 costuming cast members. Parking attendants’ uniforms carry a hidden pattern of Cruella de Vil’s car, a Kilimanjaro Safaris truck, and a TRON Lightcycle. (See Details)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. 

➤ The world’s most valuable company wants the AI race to move even faster. (Hear More)

➤ SpaceX scored another massive NASA deal to keep astronauts flying through 2030. (Listen Now)

➤  Two mighty whacks opened the taps at the world’s biggest beer celebration. (Podcast Available)

Martin County claimed the world record for the longest Cuban sandwich with a 400-foot creation, eclipsing Tampa’s previous 365-foot record while raising money to fight local hunger.

When the thunder starts, how fast do you head for cover?

1. First rumble
2. When the rain hits
3. When it’s right overhead
4. I finish what I’m doing

Yesterday’s Results:

Panama City Beach is launching a coffee trail on National Coffee Day. How do you take yours?

1. Hot and black: 37%
2. Cream and sugar: 23%
3. Other: 17%
4. Not a coffee drinker: 16%
5. Iced, year round: 4%
6. Something fancy and/or seasonal: 3%

Which Florida city recorded the first locally acquired dengue cases in the continental U.S. outside the Texas-Mexico border since 1945?

Show me the answer