“They are our shield,” St. Pete Peace Protest leader Terron Gland said. “They have it in their heart to put their life on the line and let us use our voices instead.”ST. PETERSBURG — Tate Leigh can’t distinguish between the bike chain grease and the bruises on her body.Both come from countless miles logged on a bike as she’s ridden in almost every protest that’s marched through St. Petersburg in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25. Leigh, 29, has joined hundreds of others in seeking racial justice and calling for an end to police brutality. But she’s never picked up a megaphone....…“They are our shield,” St. Pete Peace Protest leader Terron Gland said. “They have it in their heart to put their life on the line and let us use our voices instead.”ST. PETERSBURG — Tate Leigh can’t distinguish between the bike chain grease and the bruises on her body.Both come from countless miles logged on a bike as she’s ridden in almost every protest that’s marched through St. Petersburg in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25. Leigh, 29, has joined hundreds of others in seeking racial justice and calling for an end to police brutality. But she’s never picked up a megaphone....WW…

/A Tampa Bay Times data analysis and interviews with 15 experts help answer the question: Why not Florida?To a nation in the grips of coronavirus panic, Florida in mid-March looked destined to be the next hot zone.Spring breakers partying carefree on beaches. Senior citizens fraternizing in retirement communities. International travelers leaving germs around Disney World.Medical professionals saw a trajectory of cases that tracked alarmingly close to the early days of the outbreak in New York. They implored Gov. Ron DeSantis to swiftly shut down the state. He waited two weeks.After the...…/A Tampa Bay Times data analysis and interviews with 15 experts help answer the question: Why not Florida?To a nation in the grips of coronavirus panic, Florida in mid-March looked destined to be the next hot zone.Spring breakers partying carefree on beaches. Senior citizens fraternizing in retirement communities. International travelers leaving germs around Disney World.Medical professionals saw a trajectory of cases that tracked alarmingly close to the early days of the outbreak in New York. They implored Gov. Ron DeSantis to swiftly shut down the state. He waited two weeks.After the...WW…

//After weeks of being able to cast vote-by-mail ballots, Floridians in most counties started voting in person Monday.Thousands of voters flocked to cast ballots Monday on the first day of early in-person voting in Tampa Bay, with record turnout just the latest sign of this presidential election’s intensity.Both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties reported unprecedented numbers for first-day early voting, even with some heavy afternoon showers. Hillsborough had more than 24,000 voters come through its early voting sites, with more swinging by to drop off mail ballots. That’s compared to...…//After weeks of being able to cast vote-by-mail ballots, Floridians in most counties started voting in person Monday.Thousands of voters flocked to cast ballots Monday on the first day of early in-person voting in Tampa Bay, with record turnout just the latest sign of this presidential election’s intensity.Both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties reported unprecedented numbers for first-day early voting, even with some heavy afternoon showers. Hillsborough had more than 24,000 voters come through its early voting sites, with more swinging by to drop off mail ballots. That’s compared to...WW…