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Thursday, Jun 18, 2026

Good Thursday morning. It’ll be a hot one (high of 95, low of 81).

In today’s edition, read about a baby boom at ZooTampa; whether Alligator Alcatraz is empty; and where to dine on Father’s Day.

You may have noticed Florida’s new congressional map is redder than a rare steak. 

What does this mean for the state? And what does this mean for the midterms? 

In this installment of Make It Make Sense, columnist Stephanie Hayes turns to Times political editor Michael Van Sickler to help parse the upshot of this off-season map meddling.

The magic number: The city of Clearwater has taken another big step toward deciding whether it wants to separate from Duke Energy. It appraised all Duke property the city would need to acquire to run an electric utility of its own.

“I’m not shying away”: After Tarpon Springs Mayor John Koulianos signed a proclamation congratulating a hometown native on his marriage to another man, religious activists from outside the city turned out to a recent City Commission meeting in protest. Koulianos doubled down, and he says an LGBTQ+ proclamation is next.

Three-phase plan: Related Group broke ground on the Manor Riverwalk District on Wednesday, marking the first step to reshape downtown Tampa’s Hillsborough River into a waterfront destination. 

"When there's smoke, there's usually fire": Hillsborough Commissioner Christine Miller urges a closer look at alleged conflicts of interest involving four Tampa Sports Authority board members.

No revisions yet: Pasco school board rejects changes to advanced course testing rules. 

Leadership updates: Despite getting close to locking in the next leader of the University of Florida, the chairperson of the board that oversees Florida’s university system wants to push back the vote to confirm the president-elect. Also, the school’s trustees voted to name Mike Griffin the board’s chairperson.

Mounting pressure: The Tampa Sports Authority says it has no intention of canceling Ye's Tampa concerts amid concerns about funding and free speech. The contract for his shows holds some answers.

Outage is over: Pinellas Park residents are under a precautionary boil water notice after a water outage yesterday.

How far does $100M go? At the Straz Center, it’s funding new classrooms, restaurants, a rooftop terrace and a stage facing the Riverwalk. Here’s a peek.

In January: The Largo Police Department announced that Chief Mike Loux will retire.

Near the Texas coast: Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the season. Here's what Floridians should know.

Pattern of “concerning behavior": A Seminole man who has fostered nearly two dozen children was arrested Wednesday morning on charges related to child sexual abuse material.