Tampa Bay's congressional districts are getting a sweeping makeover under a newly signed map.

Why it matters: New congressional lines splinter Tampa's Democratic voters and stitch together far-flung communities with little in common, an overhaul that could cost the region's taxpayers more than $1 million.

Driving the news: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a new map that could net Republicans four more seats in Congress, eliminating Tampa Bay's lone Democratic-leaning seat in the process.

• DeSantis posted the map on his X account, with the caption: "Signed, sealed, delivered." He has said the redistricting effort was intended to reflect Florida's population boom and make the map "race neutral."
• A lawsuit filed by the civil rights group Equal Ground Education Fund, however, argues that DeSantis' map violates the state constitution's ban on partisan gerrymandering.

Between the lines: Democratic elections analyst Matt Isbell tells Axios that one of the map's goals was to divide the Democratic bloc in downtown Tampa to create a seat more favorable to Republicans.

• To that end, the redrawn map splits downtown Tampa into Districts 12, 14 and 15, leaving the region's lone congressional Democrat, Rep. Kathy Castor, vulnerable. Each of those districts now leans Republican.
• The new districts also create some odd pairings: St. Petersburg with DeSoto and Hardee counties, and downtown Tampa with Citrus County — places that now share a representative, if not much else.

Zoom in: District 12 covered Citrus and Hernando counties, as well as parts of Marion and Pasco. Now, it only goes as far north as Shady Hills in Pasco County and as south as Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa.

• District 13 once stretched as far north as Tarpon Springs, east to Oldsmar, south to Fort De Soto and west to Indian Rocks Beach. Now, it only goes as far south as Indian Shores and extends eastward into Kenneth City.
• District 14 used to cover Keystone, Westchase, East Lake-Orient Park, downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg. Now, it only goes as far north as Town 'n' Country, east to Plant City and south to rural Wimauma.
• District 15 once included Zephyrhills, Plant City, Northdale, Carrollwood, and University Area. It now goes from Tampa into Florida's Nature Coast, covering Hernando and Citrus counties and part of Pasco County.
• District 16 used to cover Manatee County and parts of southeast Hillsborough. Now, it includes St. Petersburg, parts of Sarasota and Polk counties and all of Manatee, DeSoto and Hardee counties.

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The gasoline price surge is reigniting political chatter about suspending the federal tax on the fuel to help consumers, thanks to a recent round of populist proposals from high-profile Democrats.

Why it matters: It's one of those go-to ideas that never actually happens, but often surfaces when prices climb.

• Congress would have to approve a suspension of the gas tax, and so far, it never has. But political winds could shift in these not-normal times, with no end in sight to the throttling of global oil shipments.

The big picture: Pump costs are spiking anew this week, with the U.S. average $4.53 per gallon yesterday, per AAA, and more increases looming.

• Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are seeing similar prices at the pump.

Between the lines: Suspending the 18.3-cent-per-gallon gas tax and 24.3-cent diesel tax would bring some relief to consumers.

• But it wouldn't come close to offsetting the nearly $1.50-per-gallon gas price jump since the war started.

By the numbers: In late April, when gasoline prices were lower but still well above $4, the Bipartisan Policy Center estimated that suspending the tax would cut retail prices by 9%-14% per gallon.

• Most, but not all, of the suspension gets passed along to consumers, it notes, because suppliers take a cut.
• And a tax holiday, depending on the duration, would slash federal revenues used for maintaining the nation's highways.

Go deeper

🚽 Pasco County schools say children entering kindergarten must be potty trained, noting that more students have arrived in diapers post-pandemic and that teachers cannot be expected to change them. (Tampa Bay Times)

🚧 Tampa Bay Water will shut down a stretch of McMullen Road in Riverview for seven weeks while crews prepare to install the 26-mile Hillsborough Pipeline. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

🍽️ An "elevated coastal Mexican steakhouse" is coming to downtown Tampa in 2027 from the team behind Forbici Modern Italian and Union New American. (Creative Loafing Tampa Bay)

With your Mother's Day plans hopefully sorted, here are some more ways to spend the weekend in and around St. Petersburg.

🌈 St. Pete Pride Community Yard Sale: Shop furniture, decor, office supplies, merch from past Pride celebrations and more, courtesy of St. Pete Pride office and storage spring cleaning.

• Saturday, 9am-4pm, at St. Pete Pride, 3251 3rd Avenue North.

😱 Tampa Bay Screams: This spooky convention will feature film screenings, panels and appearances by horror icons including Rhonda Shear, Jeff Lieberman and Bin Furuya.

• Friday and Saturday at the Holiday Inn St. Petersburg N - Clearwater, 3535 Ulmerton Road.

🤠 Country Thunder Florida: The music festival that's been all over the news is this weekend at its new location in Clearwater. Tickets start at $150 for one-day access and $355 for the full weekend.

• Friday-Sunday at Coachman Park.

🏖️ Deaf Beach Hangout Social: This beach weekend, bringing together members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, kicks off Friday with happy hour, then an all-day beach day on Saturday.

• Friday, 5pm-close, at Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill.
• Saturday, 8:30am-dusk, at Fort De Soto North Beach shelters 1 and 2.

🌀 Hurricane Expo '26: Get ready for *sigh* hurricane season with vendors and experts with advice for how to prepare you, your family and your home.

• Saturday, 10am-1pm, at The Centre of Palm Harbor, 1500 16th Street.

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Bucs wide receiver Emeka Egbuka teamed up with USAA this week to pack hurricane disaster kits for military families in Tampa.

• Do you have your kit ready?

Go deeper: How to prep for hurricane season 2026