Steve Newborn

Mangroves tamper down waves, keeping shorelines from eroding. They are being chopped down faster than they can be replaced.

Hurricanes and red tides could become more powerful as the Gulf of Mexico heats to record levels. But budget cuts are threatening a system that monitors conditions there — including programs based in St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

Researchers at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg launch an undersea glider as part of the Gulf monitoring network

Members of such oversight boards can still discuss police department or sheriff's office policies, but cannot investigate individual officers.

In an interview with WUSF, Hillsborough state attorney Andrew Warren said the November election will be a choice between a candidate who has been elected twice and someone appointed.

An extension to a half-cent sales tax that has been in place for nearly 30 years will go before the voters in November in Hillsborough County. But it also reduces the amount that would go to the county's public schools.

Specifics on the appearance — his first campaign stop in Florida since winning the Democratic nomination — have yet to be released.

The issue of abortion will be the focus when President Joe Biden visits Tampa Tuesday afternoon. It will be one of the centerpieces of his reelection campaign.

The additional money pledged by the state comes as an impasse continues with the Army Corps of Engineers over allocating federal funds to replenish eroded beaches.

Supporters of an amendment that would enshrine a right to clean water in the state constitution are once again ramping up their efforts to get it on the ballot. This time, they're eyeing the 2026 election.