Shine Mural Festival + Hispanic Heritage Art Contest Winners + St. Pete Mandate

Happy Sunday, Tampa! Let's get you all caught up on what's happening locally to start today off on an informed note.

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First, today's weather:

Rain in the afternoon and evening. High: 87 Low: 76.

Here are the top stories today in Tampa:

1. City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor's Hispanic Heritage Committee is celebrating the finalists of the annual Hispanic Heritage poster contest by displaying 12 winning posters at Tampa International Airport between P.F. Chang's and Hard Rock Cafe. The winning posters will be on display until October 15th. (Tampa Patch)

2. Florida hotels have lost nearly $5 billion in revenue since 2019. Tampa has lost 61.6% of revenue compared to 2019, while Orlando has suffered an 81.5% drop. The hospitality industry is pushing a Save Hotel Jobs Act to help it recover. (WFLA)

3. St. Petersburg’s Shine Mural Festival is returning from October 15th to October 24th. Visitors can make their way through the city's public art with an audio tour app. Local artists featured include Jared Wright, Jason Harvin, Michael Fatutoa and Reid Jenkins. (Creative Loafing Tampa)

4. St. Petersburg will mandate COVID-19 vaccines for new city employees, however current employees will not be mandated to take the vaccine. Outgoing Mayor Rick Kriseman said mandating current employees to get vaccinated would "create division and impact the city's ability to provide its people services." (WTSP)

5. A 58-year-old nurse with the Polk County school system has died from COVID-19. It is not known whether the nurse was vaccinated. She was one of several people at REAL Academy in Lakeland that contracted COVID-19 since the new school year began. (Fox 13 Tampa)

Today in Tampa:

• Cheers to 10 Years 5K Fun Run. (8:30 AM)
• Free Public Skate at Amalie Arena. (10:00 AM)
• Harvest Holler Corn Maze. (12:00 PM)
• Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays. Tropicana Field. (1:10 PM)
• Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Raymond James Stadium. (4:05 PM)

Tampa Patch Notebook

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: "Congrats to East Bay High School's Mike Gottman for winning Coach of the Week! Winners receive a $2,000 grant from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation to help maintain and upgrade their football program." (Facebook)
• Tampa Bay Rays: "Donate to the Rays Baseball Foundation during this last homestand for your chance to win! Learn more: mlb.com/rays/community/shirts" (Facebook)
• Senator Janet Cruz: "#prideontheriver with my favorite gal! @cruzmissle
  #pride" (Twitter)
• Michael Wax: "The Mount Rushmore of Rays photos #RaysUp" (Twitter)
• @randude: "Sunrise pic from Rocky Point this morning - wild colors in the sky" (Reddit)

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That's it for today! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow with your next update. If you're liking these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors along for the ride. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Tampa Daily? Email me at carlosreportsnews@gmail.com.