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The Point, Feb. 21, 2019: Florida Officially Bans Chumming For Shore-Based Shark Fishing

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The top stories near you

• Reported gunshots near the High Springs Community School last month — along with the subsequent evacuation of the school — made parents worried about the school's security plan and the situations when students have to take refuge in strangers' homes. (WUFT News)

The state is in the process of firing two correction officers at the women's prison in Ocala after accusations of inmate abuse came to light. (Ocala Star-Banner)

• A portion of the Hogtown Creek bank near Alfred A. Ring Park in Gainesville has continued to erode since Hurricane Irma. Alachua County is paying more than $600,000 to stabilize the area near Northwest 16th Avenue. (WUFT News)

• In the 1950s and '60s, the notorious Johns Committee led to the exit of more than a dozen University of Florida faculty members. A state lawmaker now wants to see a formal apology made.

• A Gainesville bus operator has her job back after the First District Court of Appeal upheld a ruling in her favor. (Gainesville Sun)

Rapper 21 Savage's performance is back on track at UF following his release from immigration detention, but it's been rescheduled for April. (The Alligator)

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission banned the use of chumming for shore-based shark fishing yesterday during its meeting in Gainesville. Here's our story about the ban from earlier this week. (News Service of Florida, WUFT News)

• Weird one today out of Melrose: A statue depicting John Belushi in "The Blues Brothers" has gone missing. A local painter suspects theft: "Since Melrose is a sleepy little town, I think that sometimes invites people to steal things." (WUFT News)


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Around the state today

• Democrats are showing "part ambitious optimism... part public-relations strategy," our Fresh Take Florida reporters write, with their recent package of bills related to gun control. Few have any chance of passing in a Republican-controlled state legislature. (WUFT News)

• The University of Central Florida president is hoping his tendered resignation gets the legislature to back off of the school, whose Board of Trustees is meeting today to discuss the situation. (Orlando Sentinel)

• For eight straight years, more visitors have come to Florida than ever before, and 2018 was no exception. (Florida Politics)

• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is again taking up the fight against oil drilling in the Everglades. (Sun Sentinel)

• State Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who this past week accused the University of Florida of targeting Republicans after a UF student reporter reached out to his donors about his blackface scandal, was until four years ago a registered Democrat, according to state voter registration records. (Florida Politics)

• Patients in Florida should be allowed to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Tampa Bay Times)

Someone spraypainted "#MeToo" on the Sarasota statue depicting the famous 1945 kiss between a sailor and a dental assistant after World War II ended. George Mendosa, the sailor, died this week. (Bradenton Herald)


News from NPR

• National: Arrested Coast Guard Officer Allegedly Planned Attack 'On A Scale Rarely Seen'

• Politics: What's Changed Between U.S. And North Korea Since First Summit

• Health: A Parent-To-Parent Campaign To Get Vaccine Rates Up

• Race: U.S. Hate Groups Rose 30 Percent In Recent Years, Watchdog Group Reports

• Race: When Nazis Took Manhattan

• World: As Pope Holds Sex Abuse Summit, U.S. Catholics Not Hopeful For 'Bold Moves'

• National: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Cancels Appearance At Civil Rights Forum

• National: New York City Admits Defrauding FEMA Out Of Millions After Superstorm Sandy

• Business: Why Americans Can't Quit Tipping


Correction appended: A previous version of this newsletter stated that the FWC banned shore-based shark fishing. It only banned the use of chumming, but shore-based shark fishing remains legal across the state.

About today's curator

I'm Ethan Magoc, a news editor at WUFT. Originally from Pennsylvania, I've found a home telling Florida stories. I’m part of a team searching each morning for local and state stories that are important to you; please send feedback about today's edition or ideas for stories we may have missed to emagoc@wuft.org.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org