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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: Alachua County School Board Votes 4-1 In Favor Of ‘Optional Innovative Reopening’ Plan. “The plan, which must be sent to the state by Friday, includes three choices for how students would like to continue their education in the fall, offering one online and two in-person options. It also provides six ‘assurances,’ such as monitoring the progress of students throughout the year and requiring brick-and-mortar schools to be open at least five days a week.”

• WUFT News: COVID-19, Legal Constraints Shape City Commission’s Ongoing Discussions On Municipal Broadband. “At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Gigi Simmons emphasized using the potential broadband to combat the digital divide in accessibility across Alachua County. With rising COVID-19 cases, this ability to be electronically connected is more vital than ever, according to Simmons.”

• Associated Press: Lake City Police Officer Shot While Making Well-Being Check, But Is In Stable Condition. “A Florida police officer was shot early Tuesday while making a ‘well being’ check at a home that had been struck by bullets, police said. The Lake City Police Department said in a news release that officers were sent to a neighborhood shortly after 1 a.m. to investigate reports of gunfire.”

• Ocala Star-Banner ($): ARC Marion faces funding crunch. “A local organization that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities may have to reduce services and staff if it doesn’t quickly receive funding to carry out its mission.”

• Bloomberg: No One Is Owning Up to Releasing Cloud of Methane in Florida. “The mysterious plume of methane, estimated to total 300 metric tons, was released north of Gainesville between May 2 and May 3, when it reached Jacksonville, according to Bluefield Technologies Inc., which analyzed data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite.”

• WTSP: Citrus County schools to require masks for in-person learning. “Coverings are not necessary for students in grades K-2, among other exceptions, according to the mask policy posted on the district’s site. Students who refuse to wear a mask could be sent home and enrolled in virtual learning.”

• The Alligator: A forgotten obituary: The legacy of Sgt. Matthew M. Lewey. “Lewey was a Civil War veteran, Florida’s first Black newspaper editor and Black lawyer, a founder of the Independent Party of Florida, a friend to Booker T. Washington and a freedom fighter. He stood with Josiah T. Walls to fortify Alachua County through reconstruction and served as a mayor, teacher and justice of the peace.”

• Spotlight on Levy County Government: Aging WHS Time Capsule May Contain Historical Treasures. “Excitement is building in Williston as word spreads that a much sought after time capsule has been found by a demolition crew at the former Williston High School.”

• Your forecast from the UF Weather Center: “Today: Scattered mainly afternoon storms. High near 91. Tonight: Scattered storms early, otherwise becoming partly cloudy. Low 73. Thursday: Partly cloudy. Scattered mainly afternoon storms. High near 94.”

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Around the state today

• Orlando Weekly: Florida just set another new record for same-day reported COVID-19 deaths. “Florida recorded 186 new coronavirus deaths (on Tuesday), the state’s largest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic.”

• Florida Storms: A Tropical Storm Could Impact Florida By The Weekend, But Uncertainty Is High. “There is still the possibility that Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine will remain out at sea and turn before impacting the continental United States, or even dissipate before approaching Florida.”

• Florida Times-Union ($): Jacksonville TV anchor Vic Micolucci tells of his fight with COVID-19. “WJXT TV-4 reporter and anchor (and WUFT alumnus) Vic Micolucci, who has been covering the story of COVID-19 for months, is now telling of his experiences of getting walloped by the virus — hoping it will get across the message that anyone can become sick, horribly sick. Anyone. Even those younger than his 32 years.”

• Miami Herald ($): Once on New York’s COVID front line, nurses flock to Florida to provide reinforcement. “In the last month as hospitals filled up and cases soared, the Florida Department of Emergency Management signed more than $379 million in purchase orders for ‘staff augmentation’ services to provide reinforcements to hospital staff facing burnout, according to a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times analysis.”

• NPR News: Miami Marlins Games Postponed Until Sunday Due To Coronavirus Cases. “Four additional players tested positive for the virus by Tuesday, NPR has confirmed. The team’s total number of cases has risen to at least 17, including two coaches.”

• Bay News 9: Before Schools Reopen, Florida Records More Kids With COVID-19. “The Florida Department of Health releases weekly data on pediatric cases. The most recent data shows nearly 8,000 more children have gotten the virus since the week prior. That is a 34 percent increase.”

WTSP: Florida colleges report hundreds of coronavirus cases among faculty and students. “At the University of Florida, they have had 54 employees and 163 students test positive for the coronavirus. The University of South Florida has seen more than 175 cases among employees and students at their campuses since June 2.”

• Florida Politics: Gov. Ron DeSantis remains tight-lipped on eviction moratorium extension. “After hosting a nearly 40-minute roundtable discussion with doctors in Orlando, Gov. Ron DeSantis had little to say when asked afterwards if he would extend the state’s eviction moratorium. ‘We might,’ DeSantis said. ‘We’ll have an announcement on that soon.'”

• Orlando Weekly: United Airlines to lay off hundreds of workers at Orlando International Airport. “Due to drastic reductions in air travel, United Airlines announced it is laying off hundreds of workers at Orlando International Airport, beginning in October.”

• St. Augustine Record ($): Woman in famous St. Augustine swimming pool acid photos dies at 73. “A subject in perhaps the most famous series of photos taken during the civil rights protests in St. Augustine died on Sunday. Mimi Jones, who was one of the participants in the swim-in at the Monson Motor Lodge pool in 1964, died at 73 in her home in Roxbury, Massachusetts.”

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From NPR News

• Education: Can Online Learning Be Better This Fall? These Educators Think So

• Science: Why We Grow Numb To Staggering Statistics — And What We Can Do About It

• Politics: Barr Holds His Ground As Democrats Question Him On Controversies

• Business: CEOs Of 4 Tech Giants To Testify Before House Panel Hearing

• Health: Harvested Antibodies Now Being Tested As A Prevention Tool Against COVID-19

• Health: In Texas, 2 Big Problems Collide: Uninsured People And An Uncontrolled Pandemic

• Race: Biden Details Proposal To Advance Racial Equity In America