The Point, July 5, 2022: Another above-normal hurricane season is likely ahead for Florida

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• Florida Storms: Florida could be in for its seventh consecutive above-normal hurricane season. “The NOAA Climate Prediction Center is forecasting the seventh above-normal Atlantic hurricane season in a row. … NOAA will be issuing another Outlook in early August. Historically, 90% of Atlantic activity falls after August 1.”

• News4Jax: Largest teachers union: Florida is 9,000 teachers short for the upcoming school year. “A Florida Education Association report showed more than 9,500 teaching and support staff positions across the state of Florida are vacant. It says the shortage is so wide-ranging, that more than 450,000 Florida students may have started last school year without full-time, certified teachers in their classrooms.”

• WFTS-Tampa Bay: “Ready for Ron” PAC seeks to draft DeSantis to run for president in 2024. “The PAC is not directly affiliated with the campaign, but if DeSantis does choose to run it could provide valuable help to his efforts down the road when it comes to emails and cell phone numbers associated with supporters and a list of likely campaign donors.”

• Associated Press: ‘Join us in California’: Newsom targets GOP in Florida ad. “Gov. Gavin Newsom is running for reelection in California, but his latest television ad is airing in Florida. The 30-second spot scheduled to air on Fox News starting Monday takes shots at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his policies, while drawing a contrast with California.”

• USA Today Network ($): DeSantis promises more ‘pro-life protections.’ What will he do next on abortion? “With 75,000 abortions performed in Florida in 2020, how DeSantis handles the issue could impact tens of thousands of Floridians and his own political future.”

• Politico: W.H. takes aim at DeSantis — even as Florida slips away from Dems. “There has been a creeping sense among state-level Democrats that national groups, including the White House and Democratic Governors Association, are writing off a state where Republicans have scored big wins and recently overtook Democrat’s voter registration advantage for the first time in modern Florida political history.”

• WUSF-Tampa: Environmental groups plan to sue the Army Corps for approving construction of offshore fish farms. “The organizations say the federal agency failed to consider the impacts deep sea aquaculture would have on threatened and endangered species.”

• Florida Politics: Florida May revenue lands $742M above estimates. “In total, the state received $4.27 billion in May, which reflects economic activity in April, well above the $3.5 billion estimate. It’s the fourth straight month revenues have come in at least $475 million over the estimate.”

• St. Augustine Record ($): St. Augustine proposes adding mobility zoning with taller, denser projects, commuter rail. “New development laws being considered in St. Augustine could come alongside a commuter rail connection with Jacksonville and open the door for one of the tallest developments in the city.”

• News Service of Florida: West Palm Beach nursing home owner to pay $1.75 million in vaccine probe. “The owner of a West Palm Beach nursing home will pay $1.75 million to settle claims that it improperly diverted doses of COVID-19 vaccine to members of its board of directors and donors. The settlement stemmed from a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program, known as the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, that was designed to vaccinate nursing-home residents and staff members as vaccines first became available in late 2020.”

• WLRN-Miami: Once the alternative, homeschooling could become mainstream. “According to a WLRN analysis of school district data, nearly 8,000 more students are being homeschooled in South Florida now than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift, which is also reflected nationally, means more flexibility for some families but fewer students and resources for traditional public schools.”

• National: Highland Park police take a man into custody over the July 4th parade shooting

• National: The Supreme Court marshal asks state officials to act on protests at justices’ homes

• Business: It’s been a rough summer so far for air travelers

• Politics: Biden urges unity in July 4th speech, while acknowledging the country’s sour mood

• Health: ‘My body, my choice’: How vaccine foes co-opted the abortion rallying cry

• Law: The Akron police shooting renews questions about officer training

• Race: Black Marines were ‘dogged’ on this base in the 1940s. Now they’re honored there

• National: Examining commuters’ sluggish return to mass transit

• National: In some places, swarms of drones have replaced Fourth of July fireworks