/Area hospitals have less capacity to handle a continued surge in coronavirus cases than they did in April. But they say they are prepared.The Tampa Bay area is back on the brink of a possible surge in hospitalizations related to the coronavirus, and data shows the local health care system’s ability to respond has eroded since the spring.Between early April and now, about 38 percent more people have been admitted to hospitals in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, according to state data analyzed by the Tampa Bay Times.Elective surgeries have resumed and doctors say...…/Area hospitals have less capacity to handle a continued surge in coronavirus cases than they did in April. But they say they are prepared.The Tampa Bay area is back on the brink of a possible surge in hospitalizations related to the coronavirus, and data shows the local health care system’s ability to respond has eroded since the spring.Between early April and now, about 38 percent more people have been admitted to hospitals in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, according to state data analyzed by the Tampa Bay Times.Elective surgeries have resumed and doctors say...WW…

//Crises have diminished Trump's standing with nearly every demographic.President Donald Trump is losing his hold on important swing voters in Florida, imperiling his chance of another four years in office, according to recent polls.The global health catastrophe, ensuing economic collapse and protests nationwide have tested Trump’s leadership and left his popularity diminished, polls have found. The fallout has created an opening in the country’s largest swing state for his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.Biden leads Trump in Florida by 5 percentage points, 47.4 percent to...…//Crises have diminished Trump's standing with nearly every demographic.President Donald Trump is losing his hold on important swing voters in Florida, imperiling his chance of another four years in office, according to recent polls.The global health catastrophe, ensuing economic collapse and protests nationwide have tested Trump’s leadership and left his popularity diminished, polls have found. The fallout has created an opening in the country’s largest swing state for his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.Biden leads Trump in Florida by 5 percentage points, 47.4 percent to...WW…

/Rebekah Jones said the deputy Secretary of Health asked for misleading data on rural counties. She appeared later Friday night to discuss on CNN.Going further than previous comments that led to her ouster this week, a former data manager for Florida’s Department of Health said Friday that a top official directed her to change data to downplay the threat of COVID-19 in rural counties leading up to the reopening of the state.In text messages to the Tampa Bay Times, Rebekah Jones said the Deputy Secretary for Health, Dr. Shamarial Roberson, directed her to “manipulate” data used in the...…/Rebekah Jones said the deputy Secretary of Health asked for misleading data on rural counties. She appeared later Friday night to discuss on CNN.Going further than previous comments that led to her ouster this week, a former data manager for Florida’s Department of Health said Friday that a top official directed her to change data to downplay the threat of COVID-19 in rural counties leading up to the reopening of the state.In text messages to the Tampa Bay Times, Rebekah Jones said the Deputy Secretary for Health, Dr. Shamarial Roberson, directed her to “manipulate” data used in the...WW…

/Gov. Ron DeSantis incorrectly said a dropped harassment charge was open, but a stalking case still is.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office said Tuesday that a Department of Health data manager who was reassigned after objecting to an order to remove data was fired for insubordination, rather than retribution.By Wednesday, DeSantis said she shouldn’t have been working there at all, revealing that she faces an open criminal charge.He got key facts wrong in both of those allegations against her.Although DeSantis’s office said Rebekah Jones had been fired from her job as geographic information...…/Gov. Ron DeSantis incorrectly said a dropped harassment charge was open, but a stalking case still is.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office said Tuesday that a Department of Health data manager who was reassigned after objecting to an order to remove data was fired for insubordination, rather than retribution.By Wednesday, DeSantis said she shouldn’t have been working there at all, revealing that she faces an open criminal charge.He got key facts wrong in both of those allegations against her.Although DeSantis’s office said Rebekah Jones had been fired from her job as geographic information...WW…

//Fewer undecided voters is a good sign for the Democrat.Joe Biden is now polling higher in Florida than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump did at any point during the 2016 campaign.Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee and former vice president, carries a 6.8-percentage-point lead over incumbent President Donald Trump, as of the end of July, according to a Tampa Bay Times average of state polls. Biden leads Trump 50.1 to 43.3.Not every poll shows him with such a wide lead. Among the five latest unique polls in the Times survey, two — the most recent — show smaller leads for Biden,...…//Fewer undecided voters is a good sign for the Democrat.Joe Biden is now polling higher in Florida than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump did at any point during the 2016 campaign.Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee and former vice president, carries a 6.8-percentage-point lead over incumbent President Donald Trump, as of the end of July, according to a Tampa Bay Times average of state polls. Biden leads Trump 50.1 to 43.3.Not every poll shows him with such a wide lead. Among the five latest unique polls in the Times survey, two — the most recent — show smaller leads for Biden,...WW…

/She said she was offered a settlement and the option to resign in lieu of being fired.One day before a top Florida Department of Health data manager lost her role maintaining the state’s COVID-19 data, she objected to the removal of records showing people had symptoms or positive tests before the cases were announced, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis said she had been fired.According to the emails, department staff gave the order shortly after reporters requested the same data from the agency on May 5. The data...…/She said she was offered a settlement and the option to resign in lieu of being fired.One day before a top Florida Department of Health data manager lost her role maintaining the state’s COVID-19 data, she objected to the removal of records showing people had symptoms or positive tests before the cases were announced, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis said she had been fired.According to the emails, department staff gave the order shortly after reporters requested the same data from the agency on May 5. The data...WW…

Our coronavirus coverage is now free for the first 24 hours. You can find the latest information at . Please consider . Already a subscriber? . Thank you. /The state’s death toll has jumped by 401 people.The past week marked the deadliest in Florida since the novel coronavirus took hold in the Sunshine State more than two months ago.The state’s death toll jumped by 401 people, an average of 57 new recorded fatalities each day since May 1.Many of the deaths came Tuesday when the state recorded 113 fatalities, including more than three dozen non-resident deaths, some of which had occurred...…Our coronavirus coverage is now free for the first 24 hours. You can find the latest information at . Please consider . Already a subscriber? . Thank you. /The state’s death toll has jumped by 401 people.The past week marked the deadliest in Florida since the novel coronavirus took hold in the Sunshine State more than two months ago.The state’s death toll jumped by 401 people, an average of 57 new recorded fatalities each day since May 1.Many of the deaths came Tuesday when the state recorded 113 fatalities, including more than three dozen non-resident deaths, some of which had occurred...WW…

/The Sunshine State’s death toll grows to 1,536 as it begins to reopen.One day after reopening, Florida posted a record number of new deaths Tuesday from the novel coronavirus — 113, including 11 in the Tampa Bay region.Part of the surge appears to be from the state adding the deaths of 41 people who aren’t considered Florida residents, a Tampa Bay Times analysis shows. Some of the deaths appear to have occurred several weeks ago but didn’t show up in the state’s count until Tuesday.The new cases bring the state’s death count to 1,536.Tuesday was the first time since the epidemic took hold...…/The Sunshine State’s death toll grows to 1,536 as it begins to reopen.One day after reopening, Florida posted a record number of new deaths Tuesday from the novel coronavirus — 113, including 11 in the Tampa Bay region.Part of the surge appears to be from the state adding the deaths of 41 people who aren’t considered Florida residents, a Tampa Bay Times analysis shows. Some of the deaths appear to have occurred several weeks ago but didn’t show up in the state’s count until Tuesday.The new cases bring the state’s death count to 1,536.Tuesday was the first time since the epidemic took hold...WW…

//Amendment 4 from 2018 was supposed to restore the vote to up to 1.4 million felons. Instead, it might be America’s biggest case of voter disenfranchisement.TALLAHASSEE — Nearly two years after Florida voters approved a landmark constitutional amendment allowing felons to vote, state officials don’t know how many have registered. They also don’t know how many felons on the voter rolls owe court fees, fines or restitution that would disqualify them from voting under a subsequent state law that limited the amendment’s scope.Florida officials have not removed any felons from the rolls for...…//Amendment 4 from 2018 was supposed to restore the vote to up to 1.4 million felons. Instead, it might be America’s biggest case of voter disenfranchisement.TALLAHASSEE — Nearly two years after Florida voters approved a landmark constitutional amendment allowing felons to vote, state officials don’t know how many have registered. They also don’t know how many felons on the voter rolls owe court fees, fines or restitution that would disqualify them from voting under a subsequent state law that limited the amendment’s scope.Florida officials have not removed any felons from the rolls for...WW…

This article is part of , ProPublica’s collaborative reporting project covering problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2020 elections. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article is co-published with the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald, which share a state capital bureau in Tallahassee.Nearly two years after Florida voters approved a landmark constitutional amendment allowing felons to vote, state officials don’t know how many have registered. They also don’t know how many felons on the voter rolls owe court fees, fines or...…This article is part of , ProPublica’s collaborative reporting project covering problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2020 elections. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article is co-published with the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald, which share a state capital bureau in Tallahassee.Nearly two years after Florida voters approved a landmark constitutional amendment allowing felons to vote, state officials don’t know how many have registered. They also don’t know how many felons on the voter rolls owe court fees, fines or...WW…