Here's a local and state news update from Florida Today and WFIT. I'm Evan Niemczyk.
In this week’s Florida primaries, outstanding ballots have left a handful of contests too close to call.
In the Republican primary for Florida’s new 9th Congressional District, which stretches from Kissimmee to Okeechobee, Dan Green led Ben Butler by less than 600 votes.
But Kari Ewalt with the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections says there probably aren’t enough outstanding ballots to change the outcome in District 9.
“I am not worried about having to do a recount for that race at all.”
In Osceola County, there are 76 mail ballots that could be “cured” to fix errors that election officials found with their ballots.
Another 15 provisional ballots with potential errors were cast there on election day.
But most voters won’t submit corrections by the 5 o’clock deadline yesterday, Ewalt said.
And even if they do, nearly all of those ballots would need to go to Butler to affect the outcome.
Canvassing boards around the state will meet today to review those outstanding ballots… if they haven’t already.
The Bowen Aquarium is facing a lease hurdle ahead of its December groundbreaking. WFIT’s Terri Wright tells us more.
The $140 million Bowen Aquarium will be located on 14 acres along the Banana River Lagoon and is projected to have a $128 million annual impact on the local economy.
The groundbreaking is planned for December, but the required lease must be modified to accommodate the funding, a mix of tourism grants, private donations, and bonds.
To break even, the aquarium would need around 1,000 to 1,300 visitors per day, raising concerns about the project's viability. However, banks and bond issuers have signed off on the aquarium's business plans.
The next Canaveral Port Authority Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 9 a.m.
Seven Florida International University students facing disciplinary action over a silent on-campus protest had their first day in court yesterday – after filing a lawsuit against the school last week.
The students argue FIU’s outright ban on so-called “expressive activities” indoors is a violation of the First Amendment.
Nicolas Warren is an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida representing the students. He spoke outside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami.
"We saw the judge ask insightful questions and, and understand our arguments, and we're feeling very optimistic that before school starts on Monday, the new semester, that the court will block FIU from enforcing this policy."
FIU argued to the court that its policy against so-called “expressive” conduct indoors is not in violation of the First Amendment.
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2026-2027 rankings of the best high schools in the nation.
The rankings evaluate around 27,000 eligible public high schools at the national, state and local levels, with nearly 18,000 ranked. Officials evaluated these public schools based on six key performance indicators, including student achievement on state-required assessments, strong graduation rates and college readiness measures.
Pine View School in Osprey was named the top high school in Florida, ranking 13th nationally.
Florida ranked fourth in the country for the percentage of its high schools placing in the top 25% of the national list.
For these stories and more, visit FloridaToday.com and WFIT.org. I'm Evan Niemczyk
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