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The top stories near you
• Tyler Tenbrink will spend up to 15 years in prison in connection with a shooting after the 2017 Richard Spencer event at the University of Florida. Tenbrink drove from Texas along with two brothers also charged in the case to hear Spencer speak. He pleaded no contest yesterday in an Alachua County courtroom. (WUFT News)
• The decision last month that ended an inmate labor agreement between Alachua County and the Florida Department of Corrections resulted in new jobs for 35 people. (WUFT News)
• Adjunct professors at Santa Fe College continued their push this week to unionize. (WUFT News)
• WCJB has the story of how the Alachua County Sheriff's Office was able to identify the body of a man found earlier this week in Micanopy.
• Our interview with the two candidates for the Gainesville City Commission's District 4 seat airs this weekend on WUFT-FM, but you can hear it here first. Incumbent Adrian Hayes-Santos and challenger Robert Mounts discussed topics ranging from the Gainesville Regional Utilities' financial situation to future city development and also improving relations with city police. Election day is March 19.
• Gainesville city buses could have free wireless service in the next few years once the city finds at least $300,000 to fund the project. (WUFT News)
• Hawthorne city commissioners are attempting to preempt out-of-control block parties similar to those in Williston. (WUFT News)
• The spending scandal that first came to light at the University of Central Florida may now face much wider legislative scrutiny, including at UF. (News Service of Florida)
• Reminder: You're allowed to speak to a journalist, even if your employer's legally dubious policy says otherwise. (WUFT News)
• The Florida Phoenix looked at 2018 Advanced Placement exam results in districts statewide, and Alachua County appeared near the top.
• UF students took over an actual courtroom yesterday afternoon to put on trial the "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Click through to learn of Dr. Jekyll's conviction. (WUFT News)
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Around the state today
• The Florida Bar is now investigating Congressman Matt Gaetz for his now-deleted tweet about Michael Cohen from earlier this week. (Tampa Bay Times)
• “My mom was always like ‘that’s not a massage place.’" And it wasn't, authorities in Martin and Palm Beach counties also say. In Indian River County, the human trafficking investigation has also ensnared a Catholic deacon. (Miami Herald, Florida Today)
• Mike Ertel, a month after resigning as Florida's Secretary of State over blackface photos, has returned to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office on a temporary contract. (WKMG - Orlando)
• In Key West, historic preservationists want to turn a diesel plant from the 1880s into a museum. (FLKeysNews)
• Big news for Flamingo fans: It may take on the status of Floridian bird. (WLRN)
• A team of serious anglers in Navarre Beach this week caught, tagged and released a great white shark estimated at 700 pounds: "If anybody ever says. ‘Oh, I caught a 10-foot shark,’ don’t believe them. One guy can’t catch a fish of that type." (Northwest Florida Daily News)
• The compensation package for the University of Central Florida's departed president was not discussed yesterday, after all. (Orlando Sentinel)
• The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is now just "The Amp." (St. Augustine Record)
News from NPR
• World: Pakistan Says It's Holding Indian Pilot After Jet Shot Down In Cross-Border Airstrike
• World: Trump And Kim's Second Nuclear Summit Ends With No Deal
• World: What North Korea's Economy Looks Like
• Politics: Michael Cohen Implicates President Trump For Wrongdoing In Wednesday's Testimony
• Politics: House Votes To Heighten Background Checks For Gun Purchases
• Race: 2020 Democrats Talk Reparations
• Education: How To Teach Black History
• Health: How Eating Disorders Can Affect Anyone
• Business: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Lifts Restrictions On Payday Loans
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.