Over 50,000 Floridians have lost their lives to the coronavirus. The Florida Department of Health and the CDC say the total to date is 50,811, with 1,500 alone on Thursday. The delta variant is being blamed for one-fourth of those deaths over the summer. For more information on how to keep you and your family safe please click here for the Dove Coronavirus Guide.

AARP has released a new report that shows Florida leads the nation in nursing home deaths related to COVID-19 among staff and residents. Their information came from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and shows the delta variance as the leading cause.

The Tampa Riverwalk will be expanded with a 12-mile loop that will let you travel along on both sides of the Hillsborough River, and into some west river neighborhoods. $24 million dollars in federal funds will be used for the project from the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Board and another $6 million from the city will create the pathway along south side of Bayshore to Tampa Heights. Work should begin next summer.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced a plan to end The Florida Standards Assessments Tests Tuesday. That proposal will go before the Florida Legislature, which would mean the end of Common Core. This year’s test would be the final one for students, and from there teachers would use “progress monitoring,” The move has the support of the Florida Education Association.

Pinellas County residents should be aware of people going door-to-door posing as Duke Energy employees. Duke Energy said their employees are always dressed in outfits that include logo uniforms and long pants, and not the shorts the men caught on camera were wearing, and carry a badge. More information from Duke is available on social media.

A proposed new plan by the state to get traffic moving better coming on and off the Howard Frankland bridge and through the Westshore interchange could cost up to $1.2 billion dollars, with the first phase budgeted at $560 million. For more on the project please check here. Plans are for the project to begin in 2023.

©2021 Cox Media Group