A flood watch covers all of Nassau County until 2 a.m. Saturday: another 1 to 3 inches on ground that has taken 4 to 8 this week, with an east wind gusting past 30 on the coast and a rip current statement through late Saturday night. None of it is Isaias itself, which comes ashore tonight or early Saturday between Mississippi and the Panhandle as a dangerous hurricane; what reaches us is its moisture. Saturday is the gamble on both sides of the river: 84 on the island and 87 to 88 inland, storms likely by late afternoon, and the Weather Service says the chance of a strong storm or a brief tornado peaks Saturday, mostly north and west of us. Saturday morning is the better half of the day. Sunday starts with a shower chance and a cold front clears it by afternoon, then Monday is sunny and 84, and the whole week stays dry. One more thing pushing the water up: Saturday is the new moon, so each high tide runs higher than usual through the weekend.

If your Saturday plan just got rained on, here is the one with a roof. Amelia Musical Playhouse puts on "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" tonight and Saturday at 7:30, and again next Friday and Saturday, in the little theater on Island Walkway that Jill and Gregg Dillingham opened in 2013 and still run entirely with volunteers. This is the kind of show where the audience is half the cast, so go with people who will not be embarrassed by you, and go on the night the forecast is worst, because nobody inside will know. The playhouse's listing has the dates and the box office but no price, so call before you drive over. And if you have been before, hit reply and tell us the house rules; we would rather print yours than guess.

📍 Amelia Musical Playhouse, 1955 Island Walkway, Fernandina Beach • Fri Oct. 9 and Sat Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.; also Oct. 16 and 17 • Tickets: 904-277-3455, AmeliaMusicalPlayhouse.Tickets@gmail.com, or 904tix

The vote Wednesday's issue could not report has now been reported, by the Observer's Mike Lednovich on Thursday night: the City Commission advanced Ordinance 2026-16 on first reading Tuesday, 4-1, seven weeks after about 75 percent of city voters approved the citizen initiative it would repeal. City Attorney Teresa Prince told commissioners the new version simply moves the voters' rule into Chapter 78 of the city code, keeps the referendum requirement, spells out how a future vote would work, exempts the long-term lot at the airport, overnight parking at the golf course and special events, and needs four votes to ever amend. Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue was the no: "If you want to codify it, codify it in the charter. Send it back out to a vote." Joyce Tuten, who wants paid parking back, voted yes anyway and said the August margin persuaded her; Tim Poynter said he expects paid parking to return someday because visitors use services residents pay for. Then the public spoke. Paul Lore, who told the commission he wrote the initiative, said "I don't trust y'all with paid parking. I've lost a significant amount of trust," while insisting the petition was never meant to ban it forever, only to give residents the final say; Jack Imber called the rewrite "nothing more than negating the vote"; and Roger Martin disputed the city's $1.2 million fiscal note, arguing the program's net was far smaller once expenses were counted, which the Observer notes was not verified on the night and does not match the city's own August figure of $622,628 net. Nothing here restarts the meters: they still go dark Nov. 18, and the replacement would take effect Nov. 19 only if four commissioners vote for it again at second reading, which is not yet on a posted agenda.

Minutes after Mayor James Antun handed festival organizers a proclamation for the fifth Hispanic Heritage Music and Food Festival, City Attorney Teresa Prince briefed commissioners on Senate Bill 1134, now Chapter 2026-43, a state law effective Jan. 1 that bars cities and counties from funding, promoting or taking official action involving diversity, equity and inclusion as the statute defines it. Asked by Joyce Tuten whether the same proclamation could be issued next October, Prince said the city can still recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, which has an exception as a federally recognized observance, but may not be able to proclaim a specific event like this one; a Pride Month proclamation, she said, is clearly out. The reach is wider than proclamations: existing ordinances and policies that fall under the definition become void on Jan. 1, bias training tied to the six listed characteristics ends, the city cannot award extra procurement points for minority-owned businesses, and every vendor or grantee, at any contract size, must sign a certification before the city can award the contract or grant. Residents can sue from day one, with no cure period, and an official found in violation can face suspension by the governor. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, with Rep. Dean Black, whose district includes Nassau County, carrying the House version. Commissioner Genece Minshew objected at length, calling it a violation of home rule and free speech; festival organizer Waldemar Barrero asked from the podium how far it reaches into other community events. Prince's summary of where the city stands: "We are following the law. This wasn't by choice." Staff are reviewing the ordinances, the employee handbook and the bid language before January.

Amelia Community Theatre stages "The Addams Family Musical" from Oct. 15, and the Observer's preview Thursday is the first place we have seen the full run: evenings Oct. 15 to 17, 22 to 24 and 29 to 30 at 7:30, with 2 p.m. matinees Oct. 18, 24, 25 and 31, which lands the closing on Halloween. The plot, for anyone who missed the cartoons: Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen for a normal young man named Lucas Beineke, asks Gomez to keep it from Morticia, and then invites the Beinekes to dinner. Shea Zaccaro and Heather Starling direct; Joe Zaccaro is Gomez, Haley Vonnoh is Morticia, Karina Jimenez is Wednesday, Geoffrey Moss is Uncle Fester and Bob O'Hara is Lurch, with an ensemble of Addams ancestors behind them. It is at 207 Cedar St.; tickets through the theater or 904-261-6749, and the box office keeps short hours, Wednesday through Friday 11 to 1.

Graveside Chronicles tells a handful of the stories buried at Bosque Bello on Saturday. Who is buried in Nassau County, there or anywhere else, whose story you think more of us should know? A name and a sentence is plenty. Hit reply and let us know. We read every response.

Isaias became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season at 2 a.m. Thursday, our time, on Oct. 8. How late is that, and when was the last time a season waited this long?

Answer: It ties the latest first hurricane on record. According to the National Weather Service, as reported by the Associated Press this week, the previous mark was set in 1905, when the year's first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8, which is 121 years ago. Forecasters credit a strong El Niño for the quiet year. The season does not end until Nov. 30.

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