Election Day

By Ann Kelly

November 05, 2024 at 6:15 am EST

It’s Election Day and polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm. If you still have mail-in ballot, those should be dropped off at the Supervisor of Elections office. If you don’t know where your voting location is, please check here and make sure you bring some form of ID along.

Free stuff with I Voted sticker FILE PHOTO: Companies are rewarding voters for heading to the polls. (24K-Production - stock.adobe.com)

The National Hurricane Center is closely watching the track of the latest system, Raphael. It’s expected to become a hurricane sometime in the next 24 hours and head for the west-central Gulf coast, and avoid Florida. But we will see some rain and wind, so check the Dove Tampa Bay Forecast from 10 Tampa Bay Weather and the Dove Hurricane Guide for updates.

Initial damage estimates from the two hurricanes in St Petersburg stand at $75 million dollars, with $50 million of that along at Tropicana Field. There is no official word on whether the Trop is viable for next season yet. St Pete City Council has approved $6.5 million to clean up the Trop for now.

Tropicana Field An aerial view of Tropicana Field's shredded roof in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., in the wake of Hurricane Milton early Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP) (MAX CHESNES/AP)

Both Pinellas and Hillsborough County have published the list of make-up days due to the hurricanes. This affects school staff, parents and students so please take a look and save to share. Hillsborough County is also moving some money around to help with debris removal. The County Commission will take $60 million from its Disaster Recovery Fund which they do expect to be reimbursed from by FEMA. So far around 10% of debris has been picked up.

Florida’s Attorney General is warning us about hackers taking advantage of public Wi-Fi spots that can be a goldmine for hackers. The AG warns against automatically linking in spots like coffee spots and airports. With the heaviest travel times of the year coming up, see what you need to know.