Free Trackers after Child Drownings

Two Jacksonville children with autism drowned in retention ponds this month, and a state lawmaker wants families to know free trackers exist.

Republican Rep. Wyman Duggan is spotlighting Project Leo, which supplies wearable search-and-rescue devices to people at risk of wandering. The program returned to law on July 1 with $1 million for devices, distributed through sheriff’s offices.

A 7-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl wandered from Northside homes and were found in nearby ponds, prompting a City Council member to push pond safety rules. The National Autism Association says drowning causes 71% of deaths when children with autism wander.

NASA’s $4.3B Roman Telescope Launches

NASA’s $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope blasted off on Sunday from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy.

The bus-sized observatory is headed 1 million miles out to join the Webb telescope, a trip of more than three months. Its field of view is more than 100 times wider than Hubble’s, and it’s built to map billions of galaxies and to hunt planets around other stars.

Minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s two side boosters landed back at Cape Canaveral with sonic booms. The observatory honors NASA’s first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman.

Four-Month Tax Holiday Starts Tuesday

Florida’s four-month sales tax holiday on hunting, fishing, and camping gear begins on Tuesday.

Shoppers pay no sales tax on firearms, ammunition, and accessories, with no price cap. Camping and fishing gear qualifies under limits: tents up to $200, rods and reels $75, sleeping bags and stoves $50, per the state’s official tax guidance.

Retailers are cheering what Florida Retail Federation President Scott Shalley called “a win for Florida families.” The holiday, authorized in this year’s budget, runs through Dec. 31.

A Note from Cole, CEO of The Flyover

Dear Reader,

This week, The Flyover’s editions, including The Flyover Florida, passed six million readers combined.

Before anything else, thank you. A milestone like this belongs to the people who open our email every morning—that’s you.

But the number isn’t the point. The point is what six million of you showed up for, and what you have walked away from.

You know what’s on the other channel. Anchors telling you what to think before they’ve told you what happened. So-called “straight news” pages that read like opinion pages. The legacy media had one job, reporting the news, and somewhere along the way they decided their real job was converting you to their ideology.

The slant isn’t an accident, and it isn’t decided in front of you. It happens in rooms you’ll never see. Every so often, the door cracks open: last fall, a leaked memo revealed that a legacy media outlet had spliced a presidential speech into something it never was. Two top executives resigned. That’s one leak from one room. The decisions that never leak? Those just become the evening news.

We run on the opposite principle: the truth survives the light. The facts arrive the way we found them. We don’t bend them toward a conclusion, and we don’t decide what you’re allowed to make of them. That’s your job.

We report what happened, not what to think about it.
We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts.
And The Flyover stays free.

That was the deal at reader one. It’s the deal at six million. It’ll be the deal at sixty million.

Because here’s what I’ve learned this year, watching those newsrooms shrink and quietly walk away from their readers: a promise like ours doesn’t get broken all at once. It erodes, one compromise at a time, when an outlet stops answering to its readers.

We keep ours by staying answerable to you.

So on the week you made us six million strong, I’m asking you to put your name behind the promise. If news that plays it straight is something you want to see thrive, this is how you feed it.

Support the news you can trust. Free, every morning.

Make a generous donation to support The Flyover Florida.

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Our promise: we answer to you. Help us keep it.

– Cole
CEO, The Flyover

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Statewide: The National Hurricane Center raised seven-day development odds on Sunday to 20% for Dolly’s remnants, which could approach Florida by midweek, and 30% for a northern Gulf system drifting toward Louisiana and Texas. (More)

➤ Stuart: Lightning struck a boat’s outrigger about 6 miles off the coast on Saturday, injuring three people and sending one conscious and alert passenger to a hospital with minor injuries. (Read Story)

➤ Flagler County: Police arrested two suspects after an alleged knifepoint carjacking in Ormond Beach sparked a pursuit into Flagler County, where deputies stopped the vehicle carrying two children and captured a fleeing man. (See Details)

➤ St. Cloud: Electricity returned to a mobile home park after repeated multiday outages during the summer heat, with residents blaming a privately owned power line and warning the failures endangered older neighbors. (Read Story)

➤ Key Biscayne: The Florida Department of Health advised visitors to avoid swimming at Crandon Park North after testing found bacteria levels above state guidelines, pending improved follow-up results. (See Advisory)

➤ Fort Myers: An FGCU graduate student is expanding adaptive sports opportunities across Southwest Florida, helping athletes with disabilities find competition, community, and confidence. (See Video)

Enjoy reading Flyover Florida? Click here to share with your friends and family. ✈️

➤ The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the season with undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels as Baker Mayfield’s backup quarterback, according to NFL Network. Daniels beat out veteran Jake Browning after impressing during training camp and the preseason. (More)

➤ The Miami Dolphins acquired quarterback Kyle McCord from the Green Bay Packers on Sunday for a 2028 sixth-round pick. McCord is expected to back up Malik Willis after Miami traded Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville. (More)

➤ The Jacksonville Jaguars are releasing quarterback Nick Mullens after acquiring Quinn Ewers in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. Mullens appeared in five games for Jacksonville last season. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | WNBA | IndyCar | LLWS

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➤ Do you know what the 4 Warning Signs that your vision is Declining… Nearly 93 million Americans are considered at high risk for serious vision loss. (More)

➤ Sanford is moving its $64 million annual procurement operation to PlanetBids, a digital platform officials say will improve transparency and make bidding for city contracts easier for local vendors. (More)

➤ Florida’s luxury housing market showed renewed strength in July as sales above $1 million rose 9.6% from a year earlier, fueled by wealthy buyers, retirees, and corporate relocations. (More)

➤ Buc-ee’s CEO Arch “Beaver” Aplin III said the chain will prioritize conservative, business-friendly, family-oriented states as it plans new Florida locations in Ocala, Fort Pierce, and Tallahassee. (More)

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➤ Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Orlando restaurant will launch its inaugural Sushi Showdown Sept. 21, pitting local chefs against one another as diners sample the evidence and select a champion. (More)

➤ A juvenile black bear wandered into the Naples Zoo Saturday, prompting officials to safely evacuate visitors and staff while wildlife officers developed a plan to capture and relocate it if necessary.

➤ Tallahassee roared back to life over the weekend as Florida State and Florida A&M opened their football seasons, filling tailgates, restaurants, and streets with fans while giving local businesses a welcome boost. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Surgeon Warns About “Drunken Gut” Phenomenon. Former surgeon and gut expert Dr. Steven Gundry is shedding light on “Drunken Gut,” a phenomenon where poor gut conditions may cause the body to produce alcohol internally. If you struggle with bloating, fatigue, weight gain, or trouble concentrating, Gundry says these could be warning signs worth knowing. Check for the signs now ==>

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

➤ One simple change to your eating habits could lower your risk of depression and dementia. It has nothing to do with what’s on your plate. (Hear Why)

➤ Canada is hiring away dozens of American researchers with a $362 million fund. The move opens a new front in the trade war. (Hear Details)

➤ A survival expert was dropped alone in the Arctic Circle with 10 tools, a camera, and grizzly bears for neighbors. His training began with boiling sea snails as a boy. (Hear Adventure)

Which part of the college football season do you enjoy most?

1. Watching the games
2. Tailgating
3. Rivalries
4. Marching bands and traditions
5. I don’t follow college football

Yesterday’s Results:

Have you ever performed the Heimlich maneuver on someone?

1. Yes: 18%
2. No: 82%

Which Florida city claims to have the world’s smallest police station?

Show me the answer