Hello and welcome to Wednesday.

The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted information that there were 15,322 new Covid-19 infections and 16 deaths reported by the state on Monday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported on its dashboard that 15,169 beds were being used in the state for Covid-19 patients. The CDC also adjusted its daily case counts for the weekend and Friday after the Florida Department of Health said they were incorrect, although the revised (and lower than before) numbers that were posted did not match those reported by DOH on Monday evening. Gov. Ron DeSantis did say on Tuesday that the state may rethink its decision to drop daily reporting.

Ever wider — The money gap between DeSantis and his two Democratic rivals for governor continues to swell.

Ramping up — DeSantis, who has been holding fundraisers across the country, also put in place a small-dollar donor operation this summer that sells T-shirts and other items that mock Dr. Anthony Fauci and health officials over Covid-19. And it is yielding big results. As pointed out by POLITICO’s Matt Dixon, the governor's political committee — Friends of Ron DeSantis — lists 18,201 individual contributions in its July report. This represents 63 percent of all contributions his committee has received since it opened in Jan. 2018.

Head of the GOP opposition? — As Republican lobbyist and longtime DeSantis adviser Nick Iarossi put it: “Governor DeSantis is the tip of the spear in the fight against these Biden administration politics and a warrior for individual freedom. That is resonating with voters and donors all across the country.”

Comparison time — DeSantis still hasn’t opened an official re-election campaign account (which has some tactical advantages, but guess that's a problem for later) but he seems to be well on his way to having more than $100 million in the bank by this time next year. His July report showed that he brought in more than $4.3 million for his committee. By contrast, Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist raised more than $500,000 through his committee and his campaign account in July. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried raised slightly more than $328,000 in her two accounts (although this does not include the $50,000 she recently received from health care executive Mike Fernandez).

On the road ahead — Democrats continue to rail against DeSantis, his handling of Covid-19, and an agenda that seems geared toward 2024 and not his re-election. But this latest round of numbers show the tremendous uphill battle that the main two Democratic contenders — and Democrats overall — are up against in a state that is trending red.

— WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.

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ANOTHER DISTRICT JOINS IN — “DeSantis faces new resistance over mask rules," by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury: Some of Florida’s schools aren’t surrendering to Gov. Ron DeSantis just yet. Schools in Florida’s second largest district will require all students to wear masks when classes begin next week in what is the boldest move a local board has taken yet against DeSantis’ unyielding opposition to face covering policies.

Resistance from South Florida — Broward’s school board voted 8-1 on Tuesday to keep its student mask mandate in place — one day after the state education commissioner threatened to dock the pay of local superintendents and board members who refuse to make face coverings optional.….“I feel very disappointed and actually quite angry that the governor would continue to utilize his dictatorship-style of leadership to override local school boards when they disagree with his viewpoints,” Patricia Goode, a Broward County School Board member, said Tuesday.

— “Just 4% of Orange students opted out of masks as new school year begins in Central Florida,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Leslie Postal

THE RESPONSE FROM D.C. — “Biden: Republican governors’ actions to oppose masks in schools are ‘a little disingenuous,’” by POLITICO’s Maeve Sheehy: President Joe Biden on Tuesday called out Republican governors on their positions against mask mandates in schools, calling some recent actions “a little disingenuous” and out of line with a small government message. The remarks came during a White House news conference when a reporter asked about children in schools who have tested positive for Covid-19. While not singling out anyone by name, Biden said he found it insincere when certain governors said the government should get out of the way as the CDC urges Americans to wear masks in areas of high transmission.

BACKED UP — “Ambulances wait outside hospitals as COVID infections spread," by The Associated Press’ Kelli Kennedy and Adriana Gomez Licon: “COVID-19 cases have filled so many Florida hospital beds that ambulance services and fire departments are straining to respond to emergencies. In St. Petersburg, some patients wait inside ambulances for up to an hour before hospitals can admit them — a process that usually takes about 15 minutes, Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton said. While ambulances sit outside emergency rooms, they are essentially off the grid.”

‘HERE WE GO AGAIN’ — “Coronavirus anxiety is back for some Floridians as delta variant spreads," by Tampa Bay Times’ Diti Kohli: “Tampa Bay residents are bearing the brunt of a pandemic that seems endless and inescapable. They have expressed anxiety and dread. Pandemic-induced exhaustion, some say. ‘As the numbers kicked back up, it’s like a pit in my stomach,’ said Mike Munger of St. Petersburg. ‘The feeling of, Oh God, here we go again.’ Munger, 35, once thought a sense of relief was near. He went to Rays games and dined indoors with his wife, whom he married a month before the first wave. A nagging fear lingered about the unvaccinated population or the possibility of another shutdown, he said. With rising caseloads, his worries are now being realized.”

THE TOLL — “Hospitals run low on nurses as they get swamped with COVID," by The Associated Press’ Terry Spencer, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Andrew Selsky: “The rapidly escalating surge in COVID-19 infections across the U.S. has caused a shortage of nurses and other front-line staff in virus hot spots that can no longer keep up with the flood of unvaccinated patients and are losing workers to burnout and lucrative out-of-state temporary gigs. Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oregon all have more people hospitalized with COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic, and nursing staffs are badly strained.”

AFTERMATH — “How the pandemic upended Florida’s seafood industry,” by POLITICO’s Hannah Farrow: America’s appetite for seafood soared during the pandemic — and Florida’s fishing industry cashed in. Just how much have prices increased? Parker Destin, owner of the Dewey Destin’s restaurants in Florida, said he’s now paying $26 a pound for lump crab meat — up from $11 per pound before Covid swept through the country.

Rippling through — From Washington to Maine to Florida, the price for crabs, shrimp, lobster and other delicacies has skyrocketed due to enormous demand, changes in eating and shopping habits and disruptions to the supply chain. In Florida, restaurant owners have never served so many customers. “We are beyond blessed and happy to be having those numbers, but we're not sure exactly where it's going to come out in the wash because we're paying exponentially more for labor and for products,” said Destin.

GELBER BLASTS DESANTIS — “Miami Beach’s mayor says Florida Gov. is ‘exploiting’ the health crisis,” by National Public Radio: From the interview with Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber: “Our governor is literally making fun of mask usage when the good advice is to use it. But, of course, the individual liberty thing — it's a full absurd red herring. You know, we have stop signs. We don't allow secondhand smoke. I mean, the notion that we're a society that doesn't tell people to keep themselves and others safe is just silly. Wearing a mask is what literally stopped tens of thousands of people from dying in my state alone.”

— “Central Florida hospitals slammed as state’s COVID-19 admissions set records," by Orlando Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher

— “Amid COVID-19 surge, South Florida counties holding off for now on vaccine mandates,” by Sun Sentinel’s Wells Dusenbury

— “Pinellas hits new high for COVID hospital cases; positivity rate at 16.2%," by Tampa Bay Times’ Tracey McManus

MOTHERLODE — “DeSantis rakes in cash as Florida’s Covid wars rage,” by POLITICO’s Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis has built a national political brand. Need proof? Just look at his political committee’s more than $4 million July haul. DeSantis, who has not yet formally declared his 2022 reelection bid, last month brought in political contributions from every state in the country and several United States territories as well as from members of the military serving overseas, according to campaign finance records. DeSantis’ nearly 400-page July campaign finance report represents a massive expansion of DeSantis’ fundraising footprint, driven by his increased use of email to solicit contributions.

NOT OVER — “Watchdog sues FEC for closing investigation into Rick Scott, allied Super PAC,” by The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom: “A watchdog group on Monday sued the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for dismissing a complaint alleging that Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) unlawfully used a super PAC to support his 2018 Senate run. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Democratic group End Citizens United, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) Action challenged the decision by Republican FEC commissioners to close an investigation into Scott against the recommendation of the agency’s nonpartisan lawyers.”

— “Clay Yarborough scores endorsements from Cord Byrd, Jason Fischer, ending SD 4 drama,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski

— “Gambling initiatives committee raise little, spend big in July,” by Florida Politics’ Drew Wilson

NEVER IN DOUBT — “Rubio, Rick Scott vote ‘no’ as Senate passes $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill," by Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty: “Florida’s two U.S. senators voted against a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday, rejecting a carefully negotiated agreement crafted during marathon meetings on Capitol Hill between Democrats and Republicans. Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio voted 'no' on the package, which passed the U.S. Senate on a 69-30 vote. The bill now heads to the U.S. House, which is out of session until late September, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged not to bring the bipartisan legislation for a vote until passing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that Republicans uniformly oppose. ‘I think it’s going to be very difficult, because the Democrats want to spend all the money, but they don’t want to take responsibility for the debt,’ Scott said of efforts to pass two massive bills by the end of the year.”

COMING SOON? — “Tropical Storm Fred forms, and Puerto Rico gets rain, gusts. Florida still in cone," by Miami Herald’s Alex Harris and Carli Teproff: “The disturbance making its way through the eastern Caribbean finally strengthened into Tropical Storm Fred on Tuesday evening as it passed just south of Puerto Rico. It’s expected to strengthen before it reaches the eastern Dominican Republic Wednesday morning. It could weaken after hitting Hispaniola on Wednesday.”

OUT OF SIGHT — “Attorneys for school shooter want pretrial hearings closed,” by The Associated Press’ Terry Spencer: "Attorneys for the suspect in a 2018 Florida high school massacre told a judge Tuesday that the news media and public should be barred from all pretrial hearings, saying Nikolas Cruz’s right to an impartial jury will be irrevocably harmed if certain evidence is revealed before jurors are seated. Chief assistant public defender David Wheeler told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Schrerer that discussing during open pretrial hearings evidence that might be excluded or barred would ‘let the cat out of the bag’ and create news coverage that would prejudice the potential juror pool.”

STATION TO STATION — “Brightline’s high-speed trains to roll again in November," by Sun Sentinel’s David Lyons: “Brightline, idled since COVID-19 forced its high-speed trains to the sidings, expects to revive its daily rail service between West Palm Beach and downtown Miami in November. Company CEO Patrick Goddard announced Tuesday that the trains will roll again 'in the first half of November.' He did not give a specific date. During an online briefing with reporters, the head of the Miami-based company said Brightline has used its extended hiatus to make its system safer and more accessible to riders.”

GETTING UNDER WAY— “Haiti judge with controversial past put in charge of slain president’s murder probe,” by Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles: “An investigative judge, who raised eyebrows last year when he was accused of refusing to investigate a corruption complaint against Haiti’s first lady and several government officials after a controversial no-bid purchase of new identification system has been tapped to oversee the investigation into the murder of President Jovenel Moïse.”

‘I AM STUNNED HE DID THAT’ — “From Britney Spears to political rivals, Joel Greenberg searched scores of names on confidential database,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Martin E. Comas and Jason Garcia: “During his time as Seminole County’s tax collector, Joel Greenberg used a confidential database to look up the personal information of fellow elected officials, political rivals, county employees, family members and even celebrities — including Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake — newly released records show.”

— “Red Tide is further offshore. Thank the wind and sea currents,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Gabe Stern

— “Graves were found under Tropicana Field parking lots. Now what?” by Tampa Bay Times’ Paul Guzzo

— “Driver in Pinellas road rage used Nazi salute and threatened mass shooting, deputies say,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Matt Cohen: “A man was arrested Sunday in Largo after he used a Nazi salute toward a Black person during a road rage incident, shouted a racial slur and attacked the person before threatening a mass shooting of at least 70 people, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies say.”

— “Former Gulf Breeze mayor pleads no contest to recording teens in shower, may avoid prison,” by Pensacola News Journal’s Colin Warren-Hicks: “Former Gulf Breeze Mayor Ed Gray will be sentenced later this month on charges related to secretly recording teenage boys undressing at his home and tracking their movements in some cases. Gray pleaded no contest July 6 to 11 charges in the case, including eight counts of video voyeurism, one count of illegal interception of communications, one count of illegally installing a tracking device and one count of stalking.”

BIRTHDAYS: CBS Miami’s Jim DeFede

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