The Point

The Point, Feb. 25, 2020: Florida Democrats Worry About Possible Sanders Nomination After Castro Comments

WUFT | By Gabriella Paul

Published February 25, 2020 at 1:04 PM EST

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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: Teacher Who Used Racial Slur In Class Is Disciplined, Will Be Transferred To Another School. "Robert Cecil, who teaches English to ninth and 10th graders, has also received a written reprimand, a day of unpaid suspension and was ordered to undergo “sensitivity training” on racial matters, said Kevin Purvis, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources."

• From our Fresh Take Florida team: "One of the first bills in the 2020 legislative session signed into law will ensure no homeowners association, condominium or community entity can prevent officers from parking patrol cars where they can legally park any other vehicle." (WUFT News)

• WUFT News: Postal Service Seeks Alternative As Midtown Location Prepares to Close. "During a community meeting last week at the Headquarters branch library, the U.S. Postal Service announced that the University location will close Saturday, when the lease ends."

• WUFT News: GNV Airport Works To Mitigate Number Of Wildlife Strike Deaths."There were 26 reports of animals being hit by planes at Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) in 2018, the most recent complete year of data in the Federal Aviation Administration Wildlife Strike Database."

• WUFT News: Judge Gives Both Sides More Time In Civil Case Filed By Former Gainesville City Auditor. "(Former Gainesville city auditor Carlos) Holt is suing the city, saying it violated the state Whistle-blower’s Act, and he claims the city leaked personal information about him and his family."

• Citrus County Chronicle ($): Former Seniors vs. Crime manager seeks sheriff's post."(Lee) Alexander, who resigned recently from the sheriff’s office as head of the Seniors vs. Crime program, filed paperwork Monday to run for sheriff.

• Tampa Bay Times ($): For Sale: Hundreds of acres of Hernando land bought to protect ground water. "The notices listed hundreds of acres of what has been known as the Annutteliga Hammock located largely in the Royal Highlands area in northwest Hernando County. Water management officials bought more than 2,300 acres in that area between 1998 and 2010... But changing conditions prompted the district to change direction."

• WMFE: Anti-Trump protester draws attention in The Villages. "Until recently, Ed McGinty says, he was just a crazy old man with a sign. Now the 71-year-old Democrat is something of a political sensation and a rallying point for opponents of President Donald Trump in The Villages, a largely Republican retirement community in Central Florida." (This story was first reported by the Washington Post)

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Around the state today

• Politico: Florida Democrats in uproar after Sanders’ Cuba comments. "Florida Democrats insist he's the worst-equipped after Sanders’ refusal Sunday night to thoroughly condemn the Cuban Revolution. His comments on '60 Minutes' sent shockwaves through the nation’s biggest battleground state, where Democratic members of Congress, state legislators and party leaders warned that his nomination — and Sanders’ self-described 'Democratic socialism' — will cost Democrats the biggest battleground state of them all."

• Miami Herald ($): ‘I think I was deceived’: In pay scandal, Florida nonprofit’s former chairs claim ignorance."In a rare exercise of its investigative authority, the Florida House brought in for testimony former chairs of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s board of directors, the state-funded organization under fire for paying its former CEO more than $7.5 million over three years."

• WJCT: More Than A Half Million Floridians Have Already Voted In Presidential Primary. "More than 500,000 Floridians, or about a quarter of the 2.07 million who have requested mail-in ballots, have already cast votes in the March 17 presidential primary elections."

• Miami Herald ($): A Miami man who flew to China worried he might have coronavirus. He may owe thousands."After returning to Miami last month from a work trip in China, Osmel Martinez Azcue found himself in a frightening position: he was developing flu-like symptoms, just as coronavirus was ravaging the country he had visited."

• Florida Storms: Soggy Days Ahead in the Sunshine State from Slow-Moving Front."Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are likely across Florida over the next three days, thanks to a slow-moving front that could produce heavy rain in some areas."

• Fort Myers News-Press ($): New ALS research implicates blue-green algae toxin, offers hope that amino acid can help."A study published Friday connects a toxin produced by some blue-green algae to Lou Gehrig’s disease – while also showing that an amino acid may protect against its ravages."

• Florida Times-Union ($): Jacksonville veteran’s battle against homeowners association over flag rights lands in court."A Jacksonville Air Force veteran’s nine-year battle with his homeowners association over the right to plant a flag in a flower pot reached Duval County court on Monday."

• Florida Keys News ($): ‘Such a nightmare.’ Key West bridge repair expected to cause traffic woes starting March 16."There is only one road in and out of Key West and come March 16, that road will become a construction zone for six months."