Idalia leaves some uncertain

The greater Tampa Bay region grappled with flooding and exceptionally high tides Wednesday afternoon, hours after Hurricane Idalia passed through. Some residents left their homes to stroll along downtown’s partially-flooded Riverwalk. One woman and her husband fared well in their downtown apartment, but the fate of their second home in Cedar Key was uncertain.

Pinellas County assesses damage

Pinellas County was spared from a direct hit from Hurricane Idalia but still felt its effects. The county assessed damage from the storm the morning after.

Federal disaster declaration

President Joe Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration to help with Hurricane Idalia recovery efforts. Individual assistance will be available for residents of 7 counties, including Taylor, Levy, Dixie, and Suwanee.

Duke Energy restoring power

Duke Energy Florida said yesterday that it expects to have power restored by Sunday night to 95 percent of the customers in areas damaged by Hurricane Idalia. As of early last night, the utility’s website said 26,188 customers lacked electricity. Duke said it had restored electricity to 156,000 customers as of 3 p.m. Thursday.

Stabbing at Countryside High

Two high school students were stabbed yesterday at Countryside High School and a 14-year-old suspect has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder. A ninth-grade victim was taken to All Children’s Hospital, while an 11th-grade victim was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. The suspect, who is a ninth-grader, is being questioned at police department headquarters.

Federal injunction

A federal judge has scheduled to hear arguments in Jacksonville on the injunction request in the lawsuit filed by authors Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and a third-grade Escambia County student against the Escambia and Lake County school districts and the State Board of Education on Sept. 15. At issue is school library access to the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three”, which tells the story of two male penguins who raised a penguin chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo.

Information from the Florida Public Media, News Service of Florida, and Associated Press was used in this report.

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