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Today's top stories
• Republican state Rep. Jason Fischer wants all future school tax referendums that raise tax rates for traditional public schools to include a proportional carveout for charter schools. (Florida Politics)
• Two new purple signposts commemorating the Memorial Mile were unveiled yesterday by the Gainesville chapter of Veterans for Peace. “We have used Memorial Mile to point out that politicians easily start wars but lack the courage to end war,” said Scott Camil, who founded the chapter in 1987 and serves as its president. (WUFT News)
• State lawmakers filed legislation that would allow veterans to obtain or renew a medical marijuana card for free. The idea is to offer recovering veterans dealing with pain or PTSD an alternative to opioids. If the legislation passes, it will be the first medical marijuana discount offered in the state. (Bay News 9)
• The state Department of Transportation says it has heard task force members' concerns about the lack of data regarding Florida's proposed toll roads. More data and more meetings to discuss it are now forthcoming. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Each year during the Captain James B. King Veterans Day Concert, a brand new clarinet is presented to one Alachua County middle school band student. This year, 11-year-old Jakari Harris was selected to receive the instrument. (WUFT News)
• Kent Vann has stepped down after 17 years as director of one of Gainesville's homeless shelters. (WCJB)
• Citrus County commissioners discussed last month whether pay the $2,700 to subscribe the library system to the digital version of the New York Times. No decision was made, but there are now reports that the controversy over the subscription is hurting the county's tourism. (WTSP)
• Yesterday was the grand opening of the Home Base Southwest Florida Mental Health Clinic in Fort Myers, where veterans can receive free counseling, psychological and psychiatric services. “The better we’re able to tackle the invisible wounds of war, the better we’ll be serving our veteran population,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. (Florida Politics)
• Orlando city commissioners voted yesterday to sue Purdue Pharma over the opioid crisis, joining other local governments in accusing the pharmaceutical giant of lying to sell more opioids. (WMFE)
• The City of Jacksonville created a program called Fire Watch, a peer-to-peer network of thousands of veterans who’ve pledged to look out for each other, in an attempt to try to safeguard military veterans against suicide. (WJCT)
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