Counties across Tampa Bay start opening shelters as Ian remains a threat to Gulf Coast

Inside Ms. Valdez’s 2nd grade classroom at Pizzo K-8 school in Hillsborough County, the desks and chairs have been moved to the side of the room, and a whiteboard typically covered in student instruction is replaced with a simple but comforting message that starts with “Welcome guests” and ends with “Please be safe and love one another.” “I left the note because we’re all here and we feel a little anxious and to keep that in mind,” Ms. Valdez said. Her classroom and school are among 49 schools in Hillsborough County that are now officially under local government control as hurricane shelters.