The Point

The Point, April 8, 2020: Gainesville Rabbi Works To Make Seder Dinners Available For Passover

WUFT | By Jasmine Dahlby

Published April 8, 2020 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: From The Front Lines Podcast. "Director of the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Community Center Rabbi Berl Goldman speaks about what he is doing to ensure hundreds of Seder dinners are available in Gainesville to help Jews celebrate Passover in isolation."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Commissioners Debate Whether to Order Masks Worn in Public. "Alachua County Commission Chairman Robert 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Tuesday said he was preparing to impose a curfew and mandatory mask use in public because of the coronavirus."

• Gainesville Sun ($): School resource officers stay busy despite closures. "'Officers are still making contact with their individual schools to see if they need help in getting in touch with kids,' said Casey Hamilton, district security chief for Alachua County Public Schools. 'These officers are really supporting our students.'"

• Suwannee Democrat: Spike in COVID-19 centers around facility. "Suwannee County experienced a significant rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with 13 new cases announced."

• Citrus County Chronicle: Citrus COVID-19 cases at 49. "All 49 — 23 men and 26 women — are county residents. Two people have died from the disease and 13 have been hospitalized."

Around the state today

• Florida Politics: COVID-19 not in every Florida prison, but cases growing. "Statistics released Tuesday morning suggested that COVID-19 has surfaced among inmates and staff at an ever growing list of prisons in the state. However, a correction. It’s not every prison, even as the DOC’s own webpage suggested otherwise."

• AP: Financial hits pile up for colleges as some fight to survive. "Colleges across the nation are scrambling to close deep budget holes and some have been pushed to the brink of collapse after the coronavirus outbreak triggered financial losses that could total more than $100 million at some institutions."

• Naples Daily News ($): How did coronavirus infect Florida? Travelers visited 46 states, 75 foreign destinations before diagnosis. "New York was by far the top U.S. destination for Florida travelers. Spain was the top foreign destination. Italy didn't even make the top 10."

• Palm Beach Post ($): Why Dorian won't be retired as a hurricane name this year. "The coronavirus is bleeding into hurricane season and even affecting storm naming."

• Sun Sentinel ($): Fort Lauderdale putting the brakes on homeless crackdown amid coronavirus crisis. "Critics say now is not the time to impose restrictions on the homeless, with the region fighting a pandemic. Fort Lauderdale city leaders agree."

• Florida Keys News ($): He rented out an Airbnb during the coronavirus crisis, and police say that’s a crime. "A special Key West police task force made the first bust in what the city promises is a stepped-up effort to stop illegal vacation rentals amid fears of the novel coronavirus spreading across the island."

• Miami Herald ($): A tiger in NY has coronavirus. How Florida zoos and rescues are protecting their animals. "Jungle Island is giving orangutans extra puzzles to fill the void of not having daily interactions with park guests. Zoo Miami employees are wearings masks and gloves while preparing meals for the animals. And Tampa-based Big Cat Rescue keepers are spraying disinfectants after giving medication to tigers and lions."

• WLRN: Undocumented Migrants: If We're 'Essential' Workers During COVID-19, Why Detain Us?. "The federal government has designated farm workers as "essential" to the U.S. food supply chain during the COVID-19 crisis. Ironically, about two-thirds of U.S. farm workers are undocumented immigrants from Latin America. Either way, they do most of our food picking and processing, especially in Florida."

• New York Times: Donald Trump and Florida, a Love Affair. "Of all the governors, Mr. Trump has found his kindred spirit in Mr. DeSantis, who for weeks marched to his own drum on the virus, refusing to close beaches or sound grave alarms, leading the state as if unencumbered by the sort of experts who now surround Mr. Trump."

• St. Augustine Record: St. Johns County doesn’t budge on beaches despite pressure. "People said they wanted to see at least limited beach access for St. Johns County residents to take morning walks on the beach, surf and enjoy the coastline. It would be good for mental health and could be done with social distancing in mind, some said."