Paving crews start work along New Tampa Boulevard
Crews are out on nearly two miles of New Tampa Boulevard, and three city meetings land today.
A major paving project is underway along New Tampa Boulevard, where a highlighted section of roadway near I-75 has been mapped for resurfacing. Crews have begun repaving nearly two miles of the corridor, and New Tampa Boulevard is the first stretch of an ongoing citywide repaving job to get attention (WTSP). The segment marked for work runs along New Tampa Boulevard close to the interstate, so the approach to I-75 is the part of the drive most likely to feel it. The work falls inside the city's broader paving program, which is tracked on a Tampa paving map covering 2019 through 2026 and shows both where resurfacing has already been completed and where it is still planned across the city. That map and a second map highlighting the New Tampa Boulevard section are posted with the city's announcement, so residents can see exactly which portion of the road is in the current scope. Drivers who use the boulevard to reach I-75 should expect active construction along the marked stretch while crews are out. (City of Tampa)
This week's rain leaves Tampa Bay's drought in place
A day of rain across Tampa Bay is not enough to pull the region out of drought, according to Tampa water officials. The rain the region needs has to fall in the Upper Alafia and Upper Hillsborough River basins, the two areas water officials identify as feeding the local supply. Rain that lands elsewhere across the metro does not do the same work for the system, which is why a wet afternoon in one part of the area can leave the supply picture unchanged. Both basins sit upstream of the rivers the region draws from, and it is rainfall in those upper stretches, not totals recorded closer to the coast, that water officials are watching. Until those two basins see meaningful rainfall, drought conditions across the area stay where they are. (WTSP)
Tampa startup launches a faith-and-fitness supplement app
Flight Foods, a Tampa company founded by a former Auburn University pilot student, has launched a new supplement app that blends faith and fitness. The company credits Tampa Bay's wellness scene and its church scene with fueling rapid growth, pointing to those two local networks rather than a single market as the base it built on. The app carries the same faith-and-fitness pairing the company already sells its supplements under, and the founder's route into the business ran through flight training rather than the fitness industry. (WTSP)
Old Time Sailors join this year's 813 Day plans
813 Day, Tampa's unofficial holiday, marks the second-oldest area code in Florida, and anyone carrying the newer 656 area code is invited along too. This year's plans include a concert from Old Time Sailors, a large sea shanty ensemble, plus parties spread across Hillsborough County rather than gathered at one central spot. The 813 code covers Tampa and the surrounding county, which is what the celebrations are built around. (Creative Loafing Tampa Bay)
Tampa Convention Center lands a Visionary Awards nomination
The Tampa Convention Center and Greater Tampa Bay have been nominated for the Prevue Meetings & Incentives 2026 Visionary Awards. The initial ballot was carefully selected by industry experts in the meetings and incentives field. The nomination covers the convention center and the surrounding Greater Tampa Bay destination together, putting the venue and the wider region on the same ballot line rather than competing separately, and voting on the nominations follows. (City of Tampa)
City Council takes up its regular agenda this morning
Tampa City Council meets on its regular agenda Thursday, August 6 at 9:00 a.m. at Old City Hall, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd. This is a noticed public meeting of the full council. Residents who cannot attend in person can watch, listen or view it on cable, at Spectrum Channel 640 or Frontier Channel 15, and the agenda for the session is posted at tampa.gov/agendas. (City of Tampa)
SLBE Review Committee meets on the Sheltered Market Program
The SLBE Review Committee meets Thursday, August 6 at 2:30 p.m. to take up the Sheltered Market Program. The meeting is open to the public and is set for the Trophy Case Conference Room on the second floor of the Hanna Avenue City Center, 2555 E. Hanna Ave., Tampa, FL 33610. The city lists the meeting as scheduled. (City of Tampa)
Goal Setting Committee reviews subcontract participation
The Goal Setting Committee meets Thursday, August 6 at 3:00 p.m. to review projects eligible for the application of subcontract participation. The public meeting takes place in the second-floor Trophy Case Conference Room at the Hanna Avenue City Center, 2555 E. Hanna Ave., the same room used for the 2:30 p.m. committee meeting half an hour earlier. Anyone attending both can stay put between them. (City of Tampa)