🌱 The Orpheum Leaving Ybor City + 928 Hillsborough Teachers Out Sick + TECO Drops Hike

Happy Thursday, people of Tampa! Here's everything you need to know going on locally today.

I also wanted to give a special shoutout to some of our Patch Supporters, Janice Jones and Tina Wolter. Thanks for helping make local news happen in Tampa! If you want to support local news in Tampa, Click here to learn more about becoming a Patch Supporter.

First, today's weather:

Rather cloudy. High: 72 Low: 62.

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Here are the top five stories in Tampa today:

1. Experts says widely-used antibody treatments for COVID-19, pushed by Governor DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, are useless for the Omicron variant. The nation's top doctors and Florida legislators are also furious after Florida's surgeon general told the public not to be tested unless they have obvious symptoms. (Tallahassee Patch)

2. End of an era: The Orpheum is ending its 20-year run in the Ybor City historic district and will not renew its lease. The local music venue's owner says they plan to reopen somewhere else in the spring. (Fox 13 Tampa)

3. Tampa Electric Co. (TECO) has withdrawn a proposal filed last November that would have increased customers’ bills because of higher-than-expected natural gas prices. The utility company did not explain the reversal. (Creative Loafing Tampa)

4. Tampa Bay area doctors are expressing concern about children’s health, families and schools as pediatric cases of COVID-19 soar. Cases of COVID-19 have spiked significantly in the last few weeks at All Children’s Hospital, mirroring a nationwide trend. Dr. Juan Dumois said most of the children who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 are unvaccinated. (WTSP)

5. Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) says 928 educational staff called out sick to work on Tuesday, but the overall number of employees out of work is smaller than anticipated. Some parents are concerned about students going back to school as cases surge without a mask mandate in place. (WFLA)

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Today in Tampa:

• Make Some BOO-YA On Three Kings Day at Bulla Gastrobar. (11:00 AM)
• Baby Story Time at John F. Germany Public Library (2:00 PM)
• Rock The Park at Downtown Tampa. (6:30 PM)
• Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Calgary Flames at Amalie Arena. (7:00 PM)
• Palomino Blond w/ Mold!, Hovercar at Hooch & Hive. (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• A Brightline train killed a 5th person in a month in South Florida. (Miami Patch)
• The president of the University of Florida is resigning amid controversies over academic freedom. (NBC Miami)
• There are 7,305 people in Florida hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Florida Hospital Association. It represents a 387.7% increase over 14 days and a 114.2% increase over 7 days. (Twitter)
• Hillsborough County Public Schools' graduation rate increased to 89.2% —the highest graduation rate in district history. (Facebook)
• City of Tampa says due to high demand, the COVID-19 testing sites at Al Lopez and Al Barnes Parks may need to close the lines early on some days to ensure everyone receives service prior to closing at 7 p.m. (Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today. I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with another update!

— 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.