🎉 Friday? FriYAY! We made it.

🌧️ Today's weather: Sunny then scattered showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 92 and a low of 73.

Sounds like: "Blues In The Night," Ella Fitzgerald

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Lora Smeltzly Finch!

This newsletter is 865 words, a 3.5-minute read.

The Tampa City Council voted 4-3 to deliver a long-awaited fix for South Tampa's flooding.

Why it matters: The South Howard Flood Relief Project has drawn fierce opposition from local businesses, some of which warn they cannot survive the years of construction needed to complete it.

• Chair Alan Clendenin, who voted "yes" on the project's maximum construction cost, called the decision one of the most difficult he's made on the council. "This makes baseball look easy."

Between the lines: Undersize storm drains have left South Tampa vulnerable to flooding for decades.

• The city designed this project to relieve flooding along South Howard Avenue and West Swann Avenue and in surrounding neighborhoods, including Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines.
• It involves building an underground drainage system to better move stormwater from the area toward Hillsborough Bay, with capacity for up to about 5 inches of rain over eight hours.

Friction point: Most opposition to the project has focused on how long the work would take and the disruption it could cause. The city has said that some driveways could be blocked for as long as seven weeks.

• The project also carries a nearly $93 million price tag, drawing from city stormwater, bond, grant and capital funds.
• Council member Bill Carlson, who voted no, argued that the project would consume nearly all of the city's flexible stormwater funding for years, leaving little for new projects elsewhere.

What they're saying: Lindsay Stewart, the owner of Italian restaurant AVA, said during public comment that the project puts more than 30 locally owned small businesses and their employees at "serious risk."

• "There is always another option besides tearing up Howard Avenue and forcing businesses to close," she added. "This project will hurt revenue and eliminate jobs."

The other side: David Adams, a Parkland Estates resident, called flooding in his neighborhood "unbearable," saying streets have seen 2 to 3 feet of water four times in the past 40 days alone.

• "This flooding problem must be fixed," he added. "Managing a stormwater system is a core government function, and this project provides a solution."

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A century-old St. Petersburg landmark is set to reopen this weekend.

Why it matters: After four years of renovations, a public ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow will kick off a new life for the Historic Manhattan Casino as a city-owned and operated event venue.

State of play: The property underwent about $5 million in renovations, including the addition of a first-floor event space, conference room, green room, and bar and kitchen, per the city.

• The second-floor music hall and ballroom got refinished floors, a raised ceiling and new drapery.

Flashback: The venue, built in 1925 by Black businessman Elder Jordan, was an entertainment center for Black residents during segregation and part of The Deuces business district.

• As part of the Chitlin' Circuit, a network of Black-owned venues across the South, it hosted legendary musicians including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

If you go: The reopening ceremony is from 10am-1pm.

• Residents are also invited to a "Deuces Day Out" after, with refreshments and music at Deuces Corner Park and free admission to the Woodson African American Museum of Florida as part of Free Museum Day.

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🎥 A documentary about Gov. Ron DeSantis' conservative takeover of New College of Florida will screen at St. Petersburg's Green Light Cinema today through Thursday. (WLRN) (Screening schedule)

🌀 Tampa International Airport is installing a nine-foot AquaFence to protect its electrical system from storm surge and ensure that the airfield's power remains on even during a hurricane. (Tampa Bay Times)

🧑‍⚕️ The University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus will begin offering a four-year nursing degree this fall, a move aimed at addressing workforce shortages across the region and state. (St. Pete Catalyst)

The chances of finding a public EV charger are better in Florida than in much of the country.

Why it matters: While U.S. public charging options grew 13% since last year, that growth hasn't been evenly distributed, according to HERE Technologies and SBD Automotive's annual ranking.

Zoom in: The Sunshine State has 124 public chargers per 1,000 miles, according to the data, more than double the national average.

• Florida ranks 23rd among states overall.

The fine print: HERE and SBD rank each state based on the number of registered EVs, public chargers and the chargers' availability and average power.

Go deeper: 2026 Here-SBD EV index

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💍 Kathryn is six months from her wedding and definitely not freaking out about it or anything.

📺 Yacob is rewatching Netflix's "Mindhunter."

This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.