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The top stories near you
• From our Fresh Take Florida team: University Of Florida To Professors: Stop Ordering Sick Students To Be Tested For Coronavirus. "The orders from the University of Florida reflect rising anxieties about the illness on a campus with more than 6,000 international students amid the virus’s rapid global spread – even though there have been no reported cases in Florida. The university would not identify the professors involved, say exactly how many students had been ordered out of classrooms or specify whether the actions targeted international students."
• WUFT News: Voter Registration Deadline Nears, With Many Floridians Not Allowed To Vote In Primary. "The state’s closed primary system means only those registered as either Democrats or Republicans can vote for someone to be their political party’s nominee."
• WUFT News: Alachua County Woman Traces Family History to Slavery. "After 13 years of research, (Tatanya) Peterson, 55, unveiled an exhibit called “Reclaiming Kin: Once Lost, Now Found” on Saturday. It will permanently display the details of her family history at the Allen and Ethel Graham Visitors Center at the Historic Haile Homestead in Gainesville."
• WUFT News: 26 Retired Nicotine Study Squirrel Monkeys Find New Home At Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary. "After four years of Food and Drug Administration nicotine addiction studies, 26 male squirrel monkeys became the first monkeys to ever be retired by the FDA and finally found their home at Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary."
• WUFT News: Gainesville Free Store Offers Clothes And Supplies To Those In Need. "On the third Saturday of February, the Gainesville Free Store opened at the Civic Media Center on South Main Street as it has been doing for about the past two and a half years."
• WUFT News: Peruvian Artist Showcases Work in Micanopy Art Exhibit and Hopes to Contribute More to Community. "Self-taught Peruvian artist Benito Cerna presented a show titled “The Divine Feminine” at a local Micanopy art gallery, but he envisions much more than one exhibit. He hopes to create an artist haven within the town."
• WUFT News: Alachua County Students Receive National Recognition For Academic Achievements. "Across Alachua County, students are exemplifying academic prowess, and school ratings are mirroring the trend. The county’s public school system achieved an A-rating in summer 2019 from the Florida Department of Education after years of earning a B-rating."
• Bay News 9: Citrus Couple Being Removed From Coronavirus-Quarantined Ship in Japan. "Phil and Gay Courter of Crystal River are among those who have been stuck in their cabins since February 5. They say they are taking part in the evacuation."
• Alachua Today: Face Lift in Store for Newberry's Little Red Schoolhouse. "The structure, which was built in 1909, now serves as a museum and administrative offices for the City’s Building, Planning and Code Enforcement offices."
• Gainesville Sun ($): A look at move to unitary school system in Alachua County. "The Alachua County School District was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968 to end its dual school system and transition to an integrated, or “unitary” school system, which in Alachua County was midway through the 1969-70 school year. The district was deemed by the courts to have complied in 1971."
• Alachua Today: Alachua Sets Election for April 14. "In the event no candidate receives a majority of votes, there will be a runoff election held on Tuesday, May 5."
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Around the state today
• Daytona Beach News-Journal ($): Trump pumps Daytona 500 crowd with speech, starting lap. "Donald Trump started the Daytona 500 in his own way Sunday, leading drivers around the 2.5-mile tri-oval in his “Beast,” the presidential limo. He also gave a short, non-political speech, pumped his fist multiple times, and soaked in the warm embrace of a crowd largely in his corner."
• Orlando Sentinel ($): Daytona 500 postponed until Monday due to rain. "A rain delay of more than two hours washed over Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, sending fans scurrying for cover and race teams packing up well before race officials decided to call off the race."
• FLKeysNews ($): ‘Invisible oil’ from Deepwater Horizon spill may have reached the Florida Keys. "Nearly a decade after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history killed 11 people and dumped 200 million gallons of crude into the ocean, researchers found discrepancies in the satellite footprint that was used to establish fisheries closures and data from sampling and field tests. They concluded that the real extent of the BP oil spill may have been 30 percent larger than originally estimated."
• Florida Times-Union ($): Florida attorney general reverses course, grants reparations for wrongfully convicted Jacksonville man. "The Florida attorney general’s office reversed course Saturday, announcing it was wrong to deny reparations to a Jacksonville man wrongfully convicted of murder."
• News4Jax: What is JSO’s criteria for releasing body camera footage? "After the body camera video of a 6-year-old being involuntarily committed at a Duval County school was released Thursday, the father of a 22-year-old man killed in a police-involved shooting wanted to know how the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office decides which videos to keep from the public and which videos to release... According to News4Jax records, JSO has proactively released body camera video only once since December of 2018."
• St. Augustine Record ($): St. Johns County Sheriff, department chiefs decline to use body cameras as other agencies adopt them. "Now about 11 months away from retirement, St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said he wouldn’t implement body cameras. SAPD Chief Barry Fox and SABPD Chief Rob Hardwick have the same position as Shoar, citing privacy issues, cost and accuracy."
• Tampa Bay Times ($): Florida’s top bank regulator was hired nearly 3 months ago. He still hasn’t started. "At this point, it might be official: the Commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation is the most doomed position in Florida state government."
• TCPalm ($): A year after day spa sex-for-pay crackdown, Robert Kraft and others still face charges. "The privacy issues, as they relate to the 4th Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, have attracted national defense attorney organizations and renowned legal experts rallying to support Kraft’s protracted legal battle."
From NPR News
• Science: DARPA Aims To Have Coronavirus Vaccine Shortly After Outbreak's Start
• World: Coronavirus Is Shuttering Chinese Factories — And Affecting Global Manufacturing
• Politics: What To Make Of A Wild Exchange Between President Trump And Attorney General Barr
• Politics: Mike Bloomberg Hits The Campaign Trail, Taking On Trump And His Past
• Health: Teens Are Still Vaping Flavors, Thanks To New Disposable Vape Pens
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.