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Today's top stories
• "Alachua County is just filled with some totally interesting folks. I mean they are just little hidden gems." Those gems are just one aspect of the job that retiring Property Appraiser Ed Crapo will miss. He spoke with us at length yesterday about how the job and the county's development have changed over the past 40 years. (WUFT News)
• The Florida Department of Transportation is out with its planned "study area counties" where a new north-south toll road would be built sometime in the next decade. Alachua and Marion counties are not on the list — for now. (Ocala Star-Banner)
• Lightning struck in the Everglades on Sunday and lit a large fire that's just now being extinguished, thanks in part to rain. (Miami Herald)
• The Broward County Sheriff's Office fired two more deputies who had responded to the Parkland shooting in February 2018. "After we take that totality of facts," the sheriff said, "it became clear to me and our command staff that this was neglect of duty." (WLRN)
• The Florida Phoenix dug deep into the state's 3rd-grade reading exam data. Its results are disturbing: "more than 40 percent of Florida’s 3rd graders failed the exam, scoring at the lowest level of achievement – a 1 or 2."
• St. Augustine is not planning to welcome electric scooter sharing companies any time soon. They want to see how it goes in other cities first. (St. Augustine Record)
• The University of South Florida is going to use a state appropriation of $200,000 to study alternative therapies for veterans with PTSD. (Tampa Bay times)
• The parents of a woman killed in a shooting at a Tallahassee yoga studio in November are suing the studio. (Tallahassee Democrat)
• The Clay County Sheriff has more to worry about right now than just his office's daily operation, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement opening an investigation into his conduct. (Florida Times-Union)
• These might be the saddest photos you see this week: A bird on St. Pete Beach gave a cigarette butt to a chick. There was a bill in the legislature this year that would have banned smoking on public beaches, and it didn't get a hearing. (WFLA)
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From NPR News
• National: A Father And Daughter Who Drowned At The Border Put Attention On Immigration
• National: How News Photographs Can Affect Public Opinion
• National: Wayfair Employees Protest Sale Of Furniture To Migrant Detention Center
• Politics: 5 Takeaways From The First Democratic Debate
• Politics: The First Democratic Primary Debate In 100 Words (And 7 Video Clips)
• Politics: Presidential Debate History: Did George Washington Participate In A Debate?
• Business: Supreme Court Hands Total Wine, Other Out-Of-State Liquor Retailers A Big Win
• Business: FAA Finds New Problem With 737 Max Jets, Delaying Their Return To Flight
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.