🌱 Citizens Property Insurance Hike + Hillsborough County Teacher Shortage Plan

Up and at 'em, Tampa! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. These are the most important things going on around Tampa today.

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy and humid. High: 84 Low: 69.

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Here are the top stories today in Tampa:

1. Hillsborough County schools are recruiting college students as interns and then hiring them to combat ongoing teacher shortages. There are currently 435 teacher openings in Hillsborough County. (WFLA)

2. Former Bucs player Vincent Jackson was diagnosed with stage 2 CTE following a posthumous study of his brain. Jackson suffered from memory loss, paranoia, erratic behavior, and was relying on alcohol before his death at a Brandon hotel, according to his wife. The family said they wanted to publicly release the findings of his brain study to help raise awareness for CTE and risks. (Patch Tampa)

3. Piney Point well-drilling could start next week after no objections were filed against a now-approved permit. It will take several years to close and cap the eyesore formed from phosphate mining and processing followed by decades of monitoring the area. (WFLA)

4. Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer’s board on Wednesday approved seeking 11% across-the-board rate increases next year. Citizens has seen massive growth during the past two years as financially struggling private insurers have dropped policies and sought large rate increases from regulators. Citizens officials expect to have more than 1 million policies by the end of 2022. (Creative Loafing)

5. The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay will open a second sexual assault services facility in August 2022 at 201 14th Avenue S.E. in Ruskin. Staff at the South Hillsborough facility will be trained to collect rape evidence kits and provide emotional support and counseling. (Fox 13 Tampa)

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Today in Tampa:

• Annual Christmas Toy Drive Presented By JParker Capital at Sweet Soul SoHo. (7:00 AM)
• Café Con Tampa: From Saloons to Steakhouses — A Thirsty History of Tampa at Oxford Exchange. (8:00 AM)
• Fall Art And Design Graduate Exhibition at The University of Tampa College of Arts and Letters. (6:00 PM)
• Trivia Night: Winter Wonderland at Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. (6:30 PM)
• The Heads-Up Comedy Showdown at Spitfire Comedy House. (10:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Eurowings Discover launched its first nonstop flight to Tampa International Airport from Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday. The flight will operate four times weekly on an A330. (Facebook)
• "Selling Tampa" is officially on Netflix and features Downtown Tampa and other landmarks around town. The new show features Allure Realty, which is owned by Sharelle Rosado. (Facebook)
• Ben & Jerry's Midtown Tampa Grand Opening is set for January 14th, 2022 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Martin Luther King Weekend. There will be complimentary ice cream samples, cake samples, prizes, music, and more. (Facebook)
• Tampa Convention Center & Tourism Director Una Garvey is marking her 40th year on the City of Tampa team. The team held a celebration this week. (Facebook)
• Governor DeSantis’s office has responded to a Democratic push to reign in rent hikes. (Twitter)

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll see you around.

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.