Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s Community Task Force on Policing met shortly after the three guilty verdicts came down in the Dereck Chauvin murder trial. The Task Force has already found more than a dozen possible policy changes for TPD and say they will continue working on stronger community engagement. The president of the NAACP Hillsborough County president Yvette Lewis was quoted as saying she had quite a few emotions, but that she could “finally breathe.” Chauvin is being held without bail pending sentencing in the death of George Floyd.

Over 100 Hillsborough County Public School teachers were told in an email Friday they would not have a job next year. Some of the laid-off teachers had been told their jobs were safe before receiving that email. With a $140 million dollar operating deficit, Hillsborough County Superintendent Addison Davis had previously said up to 1,000 positions could be eliminated. That’s now down to 800 with some positions being shifter to other schools.

5,645 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday for a state total to date of 2,178,783. Many sites have rescheduled appointments with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on hold. The FEMA site at the Tampa Greyhound Track on Waters Avenue in Tampa is administering the first doses of the two-dose Pfizer vaccines, and in Polk County the demand for vaccinations has dropped so far that no appointments are necessary at the Health Department site. Please take a moment to check in with us on the Dove Vaccine In Florida page for vaccination and testing sites and answers to your questions.

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran would like to see the wearing masks voluntary in schools next school year. A letter was sent to all school districts making the masks voluntary, but also stated he wants the issue to be addressed school by school. Current CDC rules state students must wear mask and be seated six feet apart.

NASA’s Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for liftoff Thursday with a crew of four astronauts. But the weather could keep the crew on the ground with gusty winds in the forecast. Weather permitting, liftoff is scheduled for 6:11 am from Pad 39A with NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and France’s Thomas Pesquet.

The Florida State Fair opens Thursday at the Fairgrounds in Tampa with one of our favorites back on the midway with Flaming Hot Cheetos funnel cakes. Mama Jane Harris will be there throughout the fair which runs through May 2nd. The fair was postponed from February and if you go make sure you bring a mask. Payments will be cashless, and gates will open at 11 am each day.

Cox Media Group