Back-to-School & Household Budgets: Sarasota-Manatee families get help ahead of Aug. 10 with multiple free school-supply drives and events running through Aug. 10, including a Church of the Redeemer bash offering supplies, uniforms, shoes, hygiene kits, groceries and gift cards. Education & State Policy: Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off the 2026-27 school year touting Florida’s top education rankings, universal school choice reach, and record A/B grades. Media & Local Economy: UF’s College of Journalism and Communications and Saga Communications announced a seven-year partnership starting Sept. 1 to market WRUF-AM/WRUF-FM ad inventory and expand student training and internships. Energy M&A Oversight: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger moved to formally intervene in the $67B Dominion-NextEra merger, aiming to scrutinize impacts on bills and jobs—an example of how utility deals face tighter state-level scrutiny. Insurance & Capital Markets: American Coastal Insurance authorized an additional $25M stock repurchase (total $50M). Municipal Credit: Fitch again awarded Jacksonville AA+ ratings on special revenue bonds, citing reserves and fiscal resilience. Securities & Investor Protection: A Florida federal judge paused an order requiring the Trump Revocable Trust to turn over financial records to the BBC. Mortgage Tech: Tavant is integrating its TOUCHLESS AI mortgage automation with Dark Matter’s Empower LOS to speed underwriting and reduce handoffs.