You may want to think twice before slurping down oysters.

Driving the news: Researchers from Florida International University found toxic "forever chemical" contaminants in oysters from Tampa Bay, Biscayne Bay and Marco Island, according to findings released Wednesday.

• FIU's Institute of Environment scientists detected the contaminants perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) and phthalate esters (PAEs) in 156 oysters sampled from the areas.

Why it matters: High PFAS levels can harm the body's immune system and cause issues like decreased fertility, high blood pressure in pregnant women, low birth weights and increased risk of some cancers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

• "These contaminants pose serious health risks to people and wildlife, and the oysters prove they are in the water and have crept into the food chain," FIU researchers wrote in the study.

The big picture: Oysters are "the best sentinels" to show an ecosystem's health and contamination because of their existence as filter feeders, researchers wrote.

• Because filter feeders eat the plankton and other nutrients suspended in the water, they absorb chemicals along with the nutrients they need.

Zoom in: Tampa Bay oysters "indicated low risk from PFAS and PAEs exposure," compared to those from Biscayne Bay, which had the highest concentration of contaminants.

Keep reading.

Investors bought just a quarter of all Tampa Bay homes sold in the first three months of the year, down 13% from the same period last year, according to a Redfin analysis of county records in the 40 top U.S. metros.

• Investors have also hit the brakes the most in areas where they've had the largest presence during the pandemic, like Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami.

What's happening: Experts say surging interest rates and high housing prices have made it harder for individuals and investors alike to buy homes.

• That could mean good news for individual homebuyers if they're not competing against as many cash offers.

✈️ Virgin Atlantic is launching daily nonstop flights from Tampa to London by the end of November. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

🦠 Four cases of monkeypox have been diagnosed in Pinellas County, and two in Polk County. (Tampa Bay Times)

🍃 Some medical marijuana providers are frustrated by what they allege are bad actors in the state's highly competitive cannabis industry, including online companies that hook up new patients with physicians and share the fee. (News Service of Florida)

💥 A Tampa health clinic owner is accused of staging car crashes to submit more than $970,000 in insurance claims. (WTSP)

📢 A social media firestorm erupted after a mom posted a video of her 13-year-old daughter being arrested by Lakeland police for using a megaphone at an abortion rights rally in Munn Park on Monday. (Lkldnow)

Quote du jour

"I don't see ghosts, but I see the results of ghosts."

👋 Hey, Ben here.

Anybody who boats on the sublime Hillsborough River knows what Tampa's most crucial waterway looks like after a hard rain.

• Flotsam and jetsam: gloves, plastic grocery bags, beer cans, medical masks.
• It's gross and depressing, and it washes from streets down storm drains and empties into the river, the Bay, the ocean.

Yes, but: Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and the City of Tampa are deploying a trash boat called Litter Skimmer to scoop surface trash off the Hillsborough River and the waters off Davis Islands and Bayshore Boulevard.

• Crews will work eight hours a day, four days a week.

Plus: On Saturday morning, the city is encouraging volunteers to clean up their own neighborhoods, or head to one of these four sites to help out:

• Cheney Park, 801 E. Yukon St.
• Borrell Park, 808 E. 26th Ave.
• Gadsden Park, 6901 S. MacDill Ave.
• Grant Park, 3724 N. 54th St.

📬 Know of a volunteer opportunity your neighbors might be interested in? Send us an email with the basics — who, what, where, when, why — and we'll try to plug it in an upcoming newsletter.

🚪 Open the door to a new career with our Job Board.

1. Director of Communications, WooCommerce at Automattic.
2. People Business Partner at Reliaquest.
3. ATMS Supervisor at Iteris.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

Chef Shane Schaibly has given the nation a taste of Tampa Bay.

• As senior vice president of culinary strategy with Bradenton-based First Watch Restaurants, he cooks by the "follow the sun" approach, highlighting seasonal fruits and vegetables at more than 430 locations in 28 states.

We wanted to know what the Dunedin native would order if he had one meal left to enjoy.

🥣 First course: "The mushroom soup from Café Ponte. It's the subject of legend and lore ever since the restaurant closed back in 2020."

• "I worked for the chef way back in the day ... so I know quite well the care that went into every spoonful and the ridiculous ratio of mushroom to heavy cream to butter involved. It's a special bite finished with crème fraîche, a touch of truffle and perfectly placed chives."

🥗 Second course: "Easily the 1905 salad from Columbia, paired with a sparkling pinot noir. … While the salad's ingredients are not especially difficult to find or exotic, the balance of the entire thing and the bite when you hit a briny olive or a dash of the Worcestershire is second to none!"

🦀 Pre-entrée: "Stone crab — as local as it gets."

• "My brother sets traps every season in Dunedin and there is nothing like that amazing, sweet reward after a long day on the water."

Read on for more of Schaibly's picks.