No images? Click here It’s Friday eve, friends! It’s Caitlin, let’s get a look at what’s happening around Tampa Bay. Getting veterans in the classroom 📚Military veterans who meet certain criteria will now be able to receive a five-year temporary teaching certificate while they finish their bachelor’s degrees. Gov. DeSantis signed the bill earlier this year, but the Department of Education made it official yesterday. While some think it's a great way to fill the thousands of vacancies in our schools, others feel it may allow unqualified people to teach our children. The Deeper Dive: How else is DeSantis trying to solve the teacher shortage?On top of the veteran program, the governor announced three new teacher recruitment initiatives: 1. Waiving certification exam fees for retired law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders with bachelor's degrees. 2. Allowing Floridians with associate's degrees to do 2-year mentorships under experienced teachers. 3. Helping current high school teachers pay for master's degrees by allowing them to teach dual enrollment courses. 1. Couple 'lucky to be alive' following serious hit-and-run crash in St. Pete: St. Petersburg Police are still looking to identify the two men who caused the accident and ran. 🙏 2. Prosecutor Andrew Warren sues DeSantis over removal over abortion: Suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren claims the governor violated his First Amendment rights. ⚖️ 3. Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: The longtime ESPN broadcaster was diagnosed with lymphoma for the second time in October 2021 before entering remission in April. 🎤🙌 4. Checking in with Dolly: How one Black woman's business is thriving, expanding: When we spoke with Dolly Monroe last year, she had a five-year plan to expand her beauty academy across Florida. But one year later, it's already happening. 💄💪 5. Beautiful People: Dawn Schulman helps students in Tampa who need clothes: OASIS Opportunities helps kids across the Tampa Bay area feel empowered by providing basic needs, including clothing. 👕👖👗 Every Monday, Brightside's Jabari Thomas will be brewing up community conversations at local coffee shops around the Tampa Bay area. ☕ FROM GRANT GILMORETracking the Tropics: Chances still low for tropical developmentA broad area of low pressure is expected to form with a 20% chance of it becoming tropical depression as it tracks toward south Texas. WATCHTonight on 10 Tampa Bay 8 p.m. Young Sheldon 8:30 p.m. Ghosts 9 p.m. Big Brother 11 p.m. 10 Tampa Bay Nightside |