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Today's top stories
• It's not often that a meeting of Florida's supervisors of elections is worthy of national news, and yet here we are. The Russian hacking efforts in Florida during the 2016 election mean this year's gathering is of great importance. At the same time, election security has become one of the governor's top priorities, according to a letter he just sent to the Florida Secretary of State. (NPR News)
• Gainesville's police chief is concerned about recent gun violence in the city. His department is gathering data to begin working on a solution. (WCJB)
• The National Science Foundation is awarding Gainesville and the University of Florida a $2 million grant to see if they can reduce the number of traffic deaths occurring around the city. (Gainesville Sun)
• Underground utility lines are better during a hurricane, yes, but ratepayers will be footing the bill to make them more widespread in Florida. (Florida Phoenix)
• Florida's agriculture commissioner says the nation's current trade war is "devastating Florida timber businesses." (Florida Politics)
• The increasing popularity of vacation rental properties like Airbnb in St. Augustine led politicians there to create a committee that might be able to come up with solutions to the issues they have caused. (St. Augustine Record)
• The damage appears just as bad in parts of Mexico Beach as it did shortly after Hurricane Michael, according to this Tallahassee Democrat photo gallery.
• Just as in 2014 at the Gainesville near the Cabot-Koppers site, the Environmental Protection Agency is now spending $9 million to clean up a toxic Jacksonville woodtreating property. (Florida Times-Union)
• You cannot currently tour Yuengling's Tampa brewery, and that's because the company is considering building a hotel, restaurant, museum and more adjacent to the facility. (Tampa Bay Times)
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From NPR News
• Business: Why Banning Plastic Grocery Bags Could Be A Bad Move
• National: Three Killed As Violent Tornadoes Cause 'Devastation' In Missouri
• National: How The Fight For Religious Freedom Has Fallen Victim To The Culture Wars
• National: South And West Continue Rapid Growth, According To New Population Data
• Race: As Employment Rises, African American Transplants Ride Jobs Wave To The South
• Race: Alabama Historians Say The Last Known Slave Ship To U.S. Has Been Found
• World: John Walker Lindh, The 'American Taliban,' Set To Be Released
• World: The Philippines Is Fighting One Of The World's Worst Measles Outbreaks
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.