Wednesday, looking good!

🌧️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny then scattered showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 92 and a low of 76.

Sounds like: "Yesterday," The Beatles

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U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is the only candidate in the governor's race with a record in state government. But if you're looking to it for a preview of how he'd govern Florida today, you'll come up short.

Why it matters: Donalds hasn't changed his political affiliation like his opponent, Democratic nominee David Jolly, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed positions.

• The portrait his campaign paints is sometimes at odds with the Donalds who left Tallahassee for Washington, D.C.

Zoom in: In 2017, long before Donalds vowed to make Florida the "most transparent" government in America, he filed a bill that critics said would have rendered the state's Sunshine Law "meaningless."

• The then-freshman state lawmaker sought to allow two members of a local board or commission to meet privately to discuss official business without public notice or a record of the meeting.
• Donalds argued that local officials should operate under the same rules as state lawmakers. The First Amendment Foundation, however, panned the bill, and it died in the state House.

He also championed legislation in 2019 to raise the state's felony theft threshold from $300 to $1,000, a proposal his Republican rivals later seized on to paint him as soft on crime, calling it "pro-shoplifting."

• Donalds' bill went nowhere, but his idea did. Florida later raised the threshold to $750 through legislation he co-introduced.
• He also twice unsuccessfully sought to let judges impose sentences below mandatory minimums for drug trafficking defendants with no serious criminal history who cooperated with prosecutors.

Friction point: Asked whether he still stands by his public records legislation or the criminal justice reforms he championed in the Legislature, Donalds did not answer.

• Gates McGavick, communications director for Donalds' campaign, instead told Axios that he "will put affordability, accountability, and public safety front and center in his administration."
• "That's why he's endorsed by 58 Florida sheriffs and the Florida Police Chiefs' Association," McGavick added.

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Labor Day weekend may behind us, but we've got the next best thing: a short week.

• Here are some weekend events to look forward to.

⚽️ Tampa Bay Sun's home opener, Downtown Tampa: Watch the Sun face in-state rival Fort Lauderdale United in their home opener at Blake High School's Suncoast Credit Union Field.

• Saturday, 6pm. Tickets start at $18. 1701 North Boulevard.

🛍️ Totally Rad Vintage Fest, East Lake-Orient Park: Pick up some retro clothing, toys and home goods from the '80s, '90s and Y2K eras at this vintage fest in the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.

• Saturday, 10am-5pm. Tickets start at $25. 4800 U.S. Highway 301 North.

🎃 Howl-O-Scream 2026, Terrace Park: The annual, after-hours fright fest returns to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this weekend, with an all-new haunted house and two new scare zones.

• Friday and Saturday, 7-11pm. Tickets start at $48.99. 10165 North McKinley Drive.

🐟 Fridays I'm in Love, Downtown Tampa: The Florida Aquarium is hosting an after-hours date night Friday, offering one free admission with the purchase of a ticket after 5pm.

• Friday, 5-8pm. Tickets start at $45.20. 701 Channelside Drive.

Gay Small, 80, of Tampa died of dengue fever, her children said, marking Tampa Bay's first death in nearly a century from the mosquito-born illness that's infecting a record number of people this year. (Tampa Bay Times)

• While most people with the illness recover, seniors, people with preexisting conditions and those who have had it before are more vulnerable.
• Small was healthy and active, so her children wonder if she'd been infected before while traveling and didn't realize it.

🏈 The Bucs and quarterback Baker Mayfield agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $165 million, ending uncertainty over his future with Tampa Bay five days before the 2026 regular season. (ESPN)

🏠 High housing costs in Tampa are causing workers to live farther from their workplaces. Tampa General Hospital is addressing the issue with an employee housing development slated to break ground this fall. (Tampa Bay Business & Wealth)

💧 When it comes to flooding, Tampa Bay residents are most worried about extreme rainfall, according to a recent survey by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and a conservation nonprofit. (Times)

• It's part of a plan to identify flood-prone areas and find solutions that work across the region.

🧱 The Jackson House, a historic segregation-era boarding house in downtown Tampa, partially collapsed just a week after the city pledged $1 million toward its restoration. (WTSP)

The University of South Florida broke ground yesterday on its nearly $500 million mixed-use district, newly christened "Uptown Landing," at the site of the former Claw golf course.

• The district will include 700 student beds, 150 apartments, a 150-room hotel, restaurants and retail, and 350,000 square feet of academic and research space.

Follow the money: USF partnered with a private development group to fund the project, so the university is only on the hook for the $225 million academic building.

• Private funds will cover the rest of phase one, which is expected to cost about $500 million.

What's next: Student housing is expected to open by fall 2028, per USF's timeline.

Nothing has improved my work and life more than my new operating philosophy: Simplify, writes Axios co-founder Mike Allen.

• I've seen such a dramatic improvement at Axios, and in my personal life, that I co-wrote a new book explaining step by step how it works. It's called "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less."

Why it matters: Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and I dig deep into real-world experience and science to show you why most people waste years of their lives doing needless stuff out of habit or inertia.

• You'll learn the three-step Simplify operating system we've personally stress-tested: Confront what you do, Delete what you shouldn't do, and Amplify what brings you joy and achievement.

Preorder Simplify today from a spot in your area like Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg or wherever you get your books.

🏊‍♀️ Kathryn is getting foiled by these storms every time she tries to go swimming. Can Florida fall hurry up already?

🛍️ Yacob is shopping for an outfit to wear to the Bruno Mars concert.

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This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.