SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla.  — Harmful bacteria prompts Florida health officials to issue a "no swim" advisory for multiple beaches.

"The amount of enterococcus bacteria found during water quality testing on Monday, July 25 was outside acceptable limits," the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County said in a news release.

As a precaution, "no swim” advisories were issued for the following beaches:

• Bird Key Park/ Ringling Causeway
• Siesta Key Beach
• Service Club Beach
• Venice Fishing Pier
• Brohard Beach
• Casperson Beach
• Manasota Key

On Friday, officials in Manatee County also announced advisories for the following beaches:

• Bayfront Park North
• Manatee Public Beach North
• Coquina Beach North

An advisory is also in place for Palma Sola South; it was issued on July 25.

While in place, the public is advised that wading, swimming, and water recreation are not recommended.

“When these bacteria are found at high levels in recreational waters, there is a risk that some people may become ill. People, especially those who are very young, elderly or who have a weak immune system that swallow water while swimming, can get stomach or intestinal illnesses. If water contacts a cut or sore, people can get infections or rashes.” said DOH-Sarasota Environmental Administrator Tom Higginbotham.

Officials said it resampled the beaches on Thursday and expected those results late Friday afternoon.

Enterococcus bacteria can come from a variety of natural and human-made sources.

These include pet waste, livestock, birds, land-dwelling and marine wildlife, stormwater runoff, and human sewage from failed septic systems and sewage spills.

No sewage spills have been reported within one mile of the posted beaches in the past two weeks.

To check on the latest status of other "No Swim" advisories, click here.

Veronica Beltran at WFTS first reported this story.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.  — The decision to get behind the wheel while impaired can turn out devastating and advocates hope new safety recommendations could solve the problem.

“That was the last picture. That was hours before she was killed,” said Linda Unfried.

Thirty-eight years ago, Unfried’s sister, Josie, was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

“I miss her so much because I could call her for anything. I could call her; we were as close as twins,” said Unfried, the co-founder of Hillsborough County Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Now, some people think a push for stronger safety measures in cars could be the solution.

“This measure is going to be life-saving for so many, many people,” said Unfried.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling for alcohol impairment detection systems to be included in all new cars, per new recommendations released this week.

The recommended measures include requiring systems that would be capable of preventing or limiting a car from being operated if it detects a driver is impaired by alcohol.

This year across all counties, Florida crash data shows there were more than 3,300 impaired driving crashes involving alcohol only.

“Last year, we did about 675 DUI arrests just in the city,” said Sgt. Michael Schade with the St. Petersburg Police Department traffic section. “We had about 275 crashes related to DUI offenses, so that’s obviously something that’s a significant number, and we’re trending about the same way this year.”

Sgt. Schade said it’s a problem they see every day.

“Don’t underestimate what you’re doing,” said Schade. “It’s a significant issue. It happens fast. You don’t realize it sneaks up on you, and you might think you feel okay, but you’re really not.”

Unfried thinks if this technology had been available 38 years ago, it might’ve made a difference in her sister’s case. Until changes come, she said she’ll keep pushing for action.

“It’s a passion, and I will never stop fighting to save lives,” said Unfried.

Mary O'Connell at WFTS first reported this story.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. — Nearly a month after public records requests were submitted for any and all documented material about Florida’s controversial migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard last month, the Gov. Ron DeSantis' public records office and Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) made dozens of records public.

The records, which still don’t include detailed contracts, spell out guidelines for the governor’s controversial migrant relocation program and include quotes from three companies who, over the summer, made a play for the gig.

According to the state’s requests for quotes, the state sought services from a “transportation management company to implement and manage a program to relocate out of the state of Florida foreign nationals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

But that’s not what happened last month when two flights picked up nearly 50 asylum-seeking Venezuelans in Texas and then brought them to Martha’s Vineyard on Florida’s dime.

Records show the flight made a brief stop in Crestview, FL, on the way to Martha’s Vineyard, but none of the passengers got off the plane.

“We take what’s going at the southern border very seriously,” said DeSantis, shortly after news of the flights swiftly attracted international attention.

DeSantis wasted no time taking credit for the flights and even revealed his plan to pay for more as a way to open America’s eyes to the border crisis.

“I got $12 million for us to use, and we’re going to use it, and you’re going to see more and more. I’m going to make sure that we exhaust all those funds,” said DeSantis, who continues to double down on the use of $12 million in state funds from interest earned on pandemic relief dollars for the state’s new migrant relocation program.

Ray Ewing/AP

DeSantis said the program is his way of combating what he’s described as Biden’s border crisis.

State records also now confirm Vertol Systems Inc, an aviation company based in Destin, provided the chartered flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

About a week before the flights, Vertol’s CEO, James Montgomerie, sent a memo to FDOT detailing his offer for “the ongoing delivery of these services… on an ongoing month-to-month basis.”

In the memo, Montgomerie added, this “first project shall involve the facilitation of the relocation of up to fifty individuals to the state of Massachusetts or other proximate northeastern state designated by FDOT.”

Vertol’s price for project one— $615,000. Two days later, Florida paid Vertol that exact amount. The company has received another $950,000, though it’s unclear for what since additional records have yet to be made public.

“If you draft your own law and can’t follow it within a few months, that’s a problem,” said Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo of Miami in response to the records.

Last month, Pizzo filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, asking a Judge to ban the administration from using state money to relocate migrants who aren’t even in Florida.

When asked if these recently released state documents prove the administration went outside the scope of its own rules, Pizzo responded, “I think it's pretty clear that someone went back and read what the actual law was, after all of the attention, and will have a difficult time trying to explain their way out of it,” he said.

As for Vertol Systems Inc, its website was taken down after the flights made national headlines. Its CEO, James Montgomerie, has not answered our calls or responded to our multiple messages.

For now, Montgomerie’s only public comments on the flights stem from state records, which primarily discuss money and logistics but end like this, “We welcome the opportunity to support your mission.”

On Monday, the Florida Center for Accountability filed a lawsuit in Leon County alleging the governor’s office did not comply with requests to release all records pertaining to these flights. The governor’s office has said this is the first production of records.

This article was written by Katie LaGrone for WFTS.

SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. (WFTS) — Wednesday marked a significant sign of progress three weeks after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida and carved a path of destruction many still struggle to comprehend.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the Sanibel Causeway would reopen on Wednesday, 10 days ahead of schedule.

The causeway had been restricted to power crews and first responders in recent days but is now reopened to all people living on Sanibel.

Anne-Marie Bouche, an art history professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, opened the door to her home for the first time since Hurricane Ian to discover what, if anything, was spared.

“I lay in bed, and I was dreading getting into the house because I knew it was going to be a shock. I woke up, and I was shivering thinking about it. But it is what it is, and there are people who are worse off, and I keep trying to remember that. There are people who are worse off," Bouche said.

Bouche said she would retire at the end of the year, but even before seeing the damage, she knew that after Ian, she would now need to keep working. She said she's grateful that's even an option.

"I can keep working, which is a blessing," Bouche said.

Off the coast of Ft. Myers Beach, one of the hardest hit areas, Captain Geoff Crouse said seeing the level of devastation is still surreal.

“The human mind is an interesting thing. It’ll block out really bad, so you can deal with it," Crouse said. "That’s kind of the way I feel right now, is it’s blocking out the bad. Just to be able to deal with it and help people out."

Crouse has been making trips daily to Sanibel Island for people to get eyes on their properties and assess not only the physical damage — but take in the emotional toll of what was lost and what survived Hurricane Ian.

Coming up on Sanibel Island, the lighthouse still stands tall, spared from the erosion that swallowed all that once stood before it. More than a landmark, it provided a beacon of hope for Bouche.

Stepping onto the island and off the boat, Bouche entered a world much different than the one she evacuated.

Some roads were flooded. Power lines were torn down. Homes were gutted onto the curb, with pictures, Christmas decorations and toys, lining quiet roads. The quiet was broken only by the low hum of a generator, birds chirping, or the occasional sound of more debris being tossed into a heap of junk that once helped make the house a home.

The walk to Bouche's home was more than two miles. A familiar trip home, calling out directions of where to drag two wagons next, to rescue what she could from inside, was muddied with an uneasiness about what the journey would reveal at every turn.

On the walk home, Bouche met a man who motioned with his hands and said the water "only got about here, but I mean, if you're on the ground level..."

"I am on the ground level," Bouche said.

"Sorry," the man said, as she walked off and said, "It's bad."

Coming up to the entrance of her neighborhood, Gumbo Limbo, she noticed new leaves coming in on the tree her neighborhood is named after.

“Everything was wiped out by the hurricane, and it’s two weeks later, and it’s already starting to grow again," Bouche said, pointing to the leaves.

That hope carried her in the final steps up to her home.

Walking up her driveway, covered in tree limbs, climbing over a tree, knocked down in front of her door; she put in the key and turned the lock to the front door.

"Oh my God, it’s not that bad. It’s not that bad! I can’t believe it! It’s not that bad. It didn’t get that high," Bouche said, the smell of mold, immediate. “Gosh, it only went up like three feet."

Bouche said she was expecting worse.

"Oh, it could have been so much worse. It could have been so much worse. I feel like I have to thank God because this is really amazing," Bouche said, standing in mud in her kitchen, with the ceiling hanging down. “I mean, yes, there’s a lot of mess, a lot to clean up, but this is fixable.” 

The family heirlooms, her family's history — safe.

“Oh, they’re clean! The back is clean," Bouche said, checking the back of two portraits hanging on the wall for mold.

“This is my father’s great-grandfather," she said, pointing to one of the paintings. “These paintings date from, you know, middle of the 19th century.”

“This one is my father’s grandmother," she said, pointing to another.

Ahead of the visit, Bouche had talked about her father's safe and the hope to get it open before it rusted shut. Pulling out an antique key, she held her breath.

It opened.

“It’s been on my mind because this was my father’s favorite possession. And he loved this safe. It was his father’s office safe," she said. “From the late 18th, early 19th century.”

The trip home, Bouche said, left her feeling optimistic.

“I know this community is very resilient. I know it’s going to come back," Bouche said.

Pulling away from land, away from the Sanibel Lighthouse, Bouche smiled.

This story was originally reported by Kylie McGivern on abcactionnews.com.

TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Officers with the Tampa Bay Police Department have been trying to get former Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown to come out of his house after an arrest warrant was issued.

Police used a megaphone to call out to Brown, asking him to surrender. Police told Brown they'd already spoken with his attorney. Officers were also seen knocking on Brown's door, and could be heard saying, "We're not going anywhere."

The arrest warrant comes after Tampa Police were denied a temporary ex parte risk protection order for Brown. In the protection order request, Tampa Police alleged Brown "poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to him or herself or others in the near future and beyond by having a firearm or any ammunition in their custody or control or by purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or any ammunition."

Tampa Police said in the protection order request that Brown had access to two guns, including one handgun he carries.

According to the affidavit attached to the protection order request, police said Brown "was involved in a recent act or threat of violence against themselves or other others; was engaged in an act or threat of violence, including but not limited to acts or threats of violence against themselves, within the past 12 months; may be seriously mentally ill or may have recurring mental health issues; has used or threatened to use, against themselves or others, any weapons; and has been arrested for, convicted or, had adjudication withheld, or pled nolo contendere to a crime involving violence or a threat of violence in Florida or in any other state."

The protection order request and arrest warrant came after an incident between Brown and the mother of several of his children on Wednesday.

During the incident, Tampa police said Brown began throwing the woman's belongings out of the house. At some point, before police arrived, Brown allegedly came out of the home and "threw a shoe at the victim striking her in the ponytail."

By the time police arrived, Brown had allegedly locked all of the doors and windows to the home and refused to come out.

Police said Brown offered to let the children go inside the home, "but the kids did not want to go inside because they were afraid of their dad when he gets in these destructive moods."

Police said they made multiple attempts to get Brown to open the home but were never successful. According to police, Brown had placed an informal eviction notice on the door and repeatedly said the woman had no right to be at or enter the home.

The woman eventually left with her children and was told by Tampa police to "spend the night at a hotel or friends (sic) house and just let suspect cool down and not try to have any contact with him for a few weeks as not to instigate the situation any further while law enforcement action is taken."

This story was originally reported by Tim Kephart and Jillian Ramos on abcactionnews.com.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Most researchers would go above and beyond for their work. Still, one University of South Florida associate professor is simultaneously taking his studies below the surface and trying to break a world record.

Joseph Dituri, known as Dr. Deep Sea, lives 30 feet beneath the surface in a 100-square-foot space at Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.

"I have a coffee pot because that's absolutely necessary to live," said Dituri.

USF

Dituri is trying to break a world record by living underwater for 100 days, or just over three months. The current world record for living underwater is 73 days, set in 2014.

Still, Dituri will tell you that it's not about the record but instead about the research.

USF

"I said everything we need is on this planet," said Dituri. "Everything we need is here. We have the ying. We have the yang. We have the disease. We have the cure. We just need to look where we've never looked before."

Dituri is studying how the human body responds to long-term exposure to extreme pressure, all while teaching his biomedical engineering class online.

A team is keeping tabs on his health. Before, during and after the project, the US Navy veteran will complete a series of psychosocial, psychological, and medical tests, including blood panels, ultrasounds, electrocardiograms and stem cell tests.

USF

"We're going to track me while I'm going through. The mental health part of this is important because you're in an isolated, confined, extreme environment," said Dituri.

The lengthy mission includes other projects, while the researcher also plans to use this as a platform for STEM outreach to inspire the next generation of big thinkers.

"Yesterday, I high-fived a little kid. A little girl that was swimming right by the window," Dituri said. "She swam up. I gave her a high-five. I was like, okay, mission complete. I don't care what else we do from here."

This article was written by Mary O'Connell for Scripps News Tampa.

It's a call that no one wants to get — news that your loved one has died from COVID-19. A family in Spring Hill, Florida, received that call but their loved one was still alive.

Like millions of Americans, Izzy Zena and his parents contracted COVID-19.

Izzy and his mom were able to pull through, but the virus forced his 70-year-old dad to be admitted to Oak Hill Hospital.

"He was talking to us, you know. He was good. He was my dad, you know," Izzy said.

Izzy Zena

The family FaceTimed while he was in the hospital, a sign that he may be coming home soon.

"Aug. 16 at 10:28 p.m. my mom received a phone call from a doctor saying that my dad has passed away," Izzy said.

As the family began funeral preparations, they say they got another phone call the next day from a different doctor. Izzy says that doctor told him his dad was still alive.

"I was telling him that we were trying to get the death certificate and that we weren't able to get it and he was like um, what do you know about the situation so far? And I told him that I knew that my dad was deceased and he said I don't know where you got that information from but your dad is currently alive in the ICU," Izzy said.

He said he could hear the exasperation in the staff's voice.

"They seemed very overworked but that is information that you really need to verify and make sure it's correct," Izzy said.

While his dad was in the ICU, he was placed on a ventilator that did 100% of the work for him, according to Izzy.

Sadly, the family received another phone call days later. They were told a second time their loved one lost their battle with COVID-19 and that time, it was true.

Izzy says he has yet to receive any explanation from the hospital.

"Not angry, but just upset that it happened because again that is not something that you mess up," Izzy said.

As a result, he has contacted the local government and is taking his concerns to Gov. Ron Desantis.

"I think that not only the patients deserve proper care but the staff definitely need some type of relief if they're making mistakes this big," Izzy said.

He said he would like relief in the form of more funding and/or staffing brought to Spring Hill hospitals

He said the initial anger of the news turned to grief and now he's simply trying to stay strong for his mom.

WFTS contacted Oak Hill Hospital for comment and explanation as to what happened, however, they have yet to respond.

This story was originally published by Vanessa Araiza at WFTS.