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The top stories near you
• It's difficult to come up with a reason why school employees like a bus driver or a lunchroom manager would have access to public school students' Social Security numbers, yet across Florida, that's what state auditors have found over the past two years. Our Fresh Take Florida state government reporting team analyzed the auditors' findings and noted that thousands of employees in school districts, state colleges and state universities had access to student Social Security numbers and did not need that access to do their jobs. (WUFT News)
• Hurricane Dorian dodged us earlier this month, but it nevertheless kept Angela Shore busier than normal. She's the woman behind Gainesville Pet Finder, a tool for reuniting lost pets with their owners, and she also has a guide for how those owners can better prepare for the next storm. (WUFT News)
• San Felasco Tech City in Alachua is set to host an open house next week. (Gainesville Sun)
• It appears Santa Fe College will have its next president selected in about a month. (The Alligator)
• Alachua County commissioners yesterday moved against the idea of Camp McConnell being turned into something called Camp Florida. (Gainesville Sun)
• Programming note: The Point will return to your inbox on Monday morning.
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Around the state today
• On the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Naples Daily News reports on some of the first responders who have since moved from the New York City area to Florida. Other interesting 9/11 anniversary stories from around the state include one from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on the nice couple that has come to rent the house once occupied by two of the hijackers and a Florida Times-Union profile of some of the North Florida babies born that day who today become old enough to vote.
• Banning assault weapons in Florida would cost the state as much as $30 million in lost revenue, according to a new analysis, or "less than one-tenth of 1% of the total state budget." (WFSU)
• Large amounts of money are already pouring into the statewide push to legalize recreational marijuana. (Florida Politics)
• Sarasota's new "Community Care Court" is trying to help the homeless by navigating them away from the more punitive side of the criminal justice system. (WUSF)
• A St. Augustine landmark on San Marco Avenue will likely soon disappear. The well-known carousel has been there since 1992, but its owner recently died. (News4Jax)
From NPR News
• Politics: At Camp David, Trump Sought The Mantle Of History. But Afghanistan Is Different
• Politics: Trump Fires John Bolton In Final Break After Months Of Internal Policy Division
• Politics: Wilbur Ross At The Center Of Another Political Storm, This Time About The Weather
• National: U.S. Census Bureau Reports Poverty Rate Down, But Millions Still Poor
• National: This Rising Star Chef Is Black, Vegan — And Only 11 Years Old
• Health: Fewer Children Had Health Insurance In 2018 Than Year Before, Census Data Shows
• Health: EPA Chief Pledges To Severely Cut Back On Animal Testing Of Chemicals
• Art & Design: Influential Documentary Photographer Robert Frank Dies At 94
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.