We're headed back into the COVID woods, as cases rise in Tampa Bay.

What's happening: The Florida Department of Health's weekly report on Friday showed Hillsborough County with an 18.1% average positivity rate in the last week — five percentage points higher than the previous week, per Florida Politics.

• Cases in Pinellas County have doubled. Pasco County also came close to doubling.

But, but, but: More people are taking the coronavirus vaccine in Hillsborough County — 8,918 people were vaccinated in the past week, compared to 7,002 the week before. Pinellas and Pasco are also reporting slightly higher vaccination rates.

Why it matters: We're looking at an even bigger surge this fall if we can't get this under control.

• A University of South Florida epidemiologist told the News Service of Florida that Hillsborough County could reach enough daily COVID-19 cases in September to exceed hospital bed capacity.

Between the lines: When cases started falling in late spring, the Florida Department of Health stopped sharing key data points with the public, like hospitalizations, infections in nursing homes, and county level infections and vaccinations by race, age and gender.

• But now, the Tampa Bay Times reports, health experts are saying that not sharing that data could have consequences for disease control.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, told the Times the state has no plans to re-up daily reports, adding, "Anyone who is worried about COVID should get vaccinated."

The bottom line: We know we sound like a broken record, but we'll say it again. If you're not getting vaccinated, be prepared to get COVID.

Tokyo 2020 kicked off with wins for Tampa Bay.

🥇 Anastasija Zolotic, 18, who's from Largo but trains in Colorado Springs, earned the United States' first gold medal in women's taekwondo.

🥈 Emma Weyant, 19, from Sarasota, took the silver in the women's 400m individual medley swim.

One to watch: Brandon tennis player Austin Krajicek won his first round men's doubles match with Tennys Sandgren yesterday against Australia's Max Purcell and John Peers.

Hold on to your wallets.

What's happening: A new report from Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University called Tampa Bay "the most concerning of the state's metro areas" for overpriced homes.

By the numbers: Florida homes were selling for 21.8% above their long-term pricing trend as of June 30 — up from 19.2% in May and 17.2% in April.

• Tampa-area homes sold in June for a 32% premium, compared to 28.5% in May and 26.1% in April.

What they're saying: Researchers aren't predicting a housing crash, and said property appreciation eventually will taper off. People who paid top prices recently risk being stuck for a while before they can get solid returns on their investments.

Be smart: You're better off renting right now and reinvesting the money you would have spent on homeownership, according to Ken H. Johnson, associate dean in FAU’s College of Business, and Eli Beracha of FIU's Hollo School of Real Estate.

• Rents are increasing, but nowhere near the spike in home prices, they said.

🦠 A Cape Coral doctor is the 'chief online spreader' of coronavirus and vaccine misinformation. (New York Times)

🤑 After Zoom gave him $14 billion for his company, John Sung Kim is investing it in Tampa Bay's tech scene. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

🧑‍💻 Hackers may have stolen 58,000 people's personal data, including Social Security and PIN numbers, through Florida's unemployment website. (Bradenton Herald)

🍔 Quote du jour

"The nonstandard McDonald's is an endangered species."

In the 100th game of the season, set to lead the American League East, the Rays lost their grip yesterday.

What happened: The game started off strong for the Rays but ended with the Cleveland Indians edging them out 3-2.

State of play: They move on without one of their best: reliever Collin McHugh.

• McHugh was placed on the 10-day injured list for "arm fatigue," the Tampa Bay Times reports.

What's next: They face the Yankees tomorrow night back at home.

👋 Ben here. I'm almost totally over bowls as a food trend — the whole grain-veggie-protein thing has long felt lazy and uninspired. I will debate you.

• But hold the phone: I absentmindedly ate almost all of my girlfriend's bowl of farro, kale, sweet potatoes and chargrilled chicken from newcomer Naked Farmer when we plopped down at Sparkman Wharf the other day. And it was delicious.
• I now see why Naked Farmer raised enough funding for "rapid expansion."

👋 Selene here. I second this. The salmon and cilantro avocado dressing are my favs.

🍽 Have you eaten anything great lately? Hit reply and let us know. Or join us at The Feed on Nextdoor.

The week 1 winner of the Summer Bucket List contest is ...

Katherine Anderson!

Her favorite retreat from the heat: The Dalí Museum. She writes in:

"Dalí takes typically boring geometry and twists the eye's perception, giving you the pleasure of an optical spa day. Visiting the Dalí reminds me that it's more important to normalize the bizarre than to find comfort in the mundane. Where's the fun in that?"

🎉 Congrats, Katherine!

💎 This week's theme: Hidden Gems

• Show us your favorite place to go to get away from everyone, whether it's for a quiet walk, great food/coffee/drinks, shopping, swimming or anything else (that's legal).
• Reply to the newsletter or send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Hidden Gem" to enter.
• Don't forget: The winner gets a $25 gift card to a local business of their choice!