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The Point, Feb. 5, 2021: Yes, Girl Scouts Are Still Selling Cookies During The Pandemic

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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: 'Everything Started Going Crazy': North Florida Girl Scouts Selling Cookies Amid A Pandemic. "Like almost every industry or organization with storied traditions nationally, the Girls Scouts is adapting to the pandemic by offering new ways for its girls to sell cookies. The sales account for each troop’s efforts to provide the programs essential to their existence."

• Villages-News: COVID-19 death toll rises sharply across tri-county area. "Forty-five new fatalities were reported by the Florida Department of Health – 35 in Marion County and 10 in Lake County. It’s unclear how many of those deaths Thursday, as the COVID-19 statistics reported by the Florida Department of Health tend to lag for several days at times."

• Main Street Daily News: Alachua County to vaccinate 1,000 at stadium event Friday. "The free shots, given from the health department’s allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine, are by appointment only. The health department is in the process of notifying residents who signed up earlier at Alachua County’s website that they can schedule to receive their shots, according to a press release from UF Health."

• WUFT News: Florida Lawmakers Propose Body Camera Pilot Program For Lowell Correctional Officers. "State Rep. Yvonne Hinson, D-Gainesville, has sponsored a bill concerning a body camera pilot program in Lowell Correctional Institution in response to sexual assault complaints from inmates."

• News Service of Florida: State Disputes Report On Prison Sexual Abuse. "Florida prison officials are pushing back against a U.S. Department of Justice report that found reasonable cause to believe 'varied and disturbing reports' of sexual abuse — including rape — of female inmates by staff members at the state’s largest women’s correctional facility. The  investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and federal prosecutors in Florida also said state officials had documented and been aware of sexual abuse by sergeants, correctional officers and other staff at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala since at least 2006."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Looks At Solutions To Overpopulation Of Stray Animals. "The widespread offering of low-cost veterinary services will potentially allow for pet owners to afford to spay and neuter their animals. The Alachua County Commission will continue to work with Alachua County Animal Services to explore the proposed solutions."

• Gilchrist County Journal: Commission adopts “NO BUILD” Option on any portion of the Suncoast Connector Toll Highway that might be built in Gilchrist. "Commissioner Kenrick Thomas made a motion to approve Resolution 2021-02 to oppose the Suncoast Connector toll highway from coming through Gilchrist County. Commissioner Marion Poitevint gave a second to the motion before the Commission voted unanimous to oppose this proposed toll highway."

• WUSF: Bills Filed To Kill Three Proposed Toll Roads. "Bills have been filed in the state House and Senate to kill the plan to build 330 miles of new toll roads through mostly rural areas of the state."


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Around the state today

• Orlando Sentinel ($): Cautious optimism as Central Florida’s COVID hospital numbers plummet. "Leaders for Central Florida’s major hospitals expressed cautious optimism Thursday as they reported that the number of coronavirus patients has plummeted since a January peak tied to holiday gatherings."

• WJHG-Panama City: Winn-Dixie to start offering COVID-19 vaccines. "The company is working with the Florida Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Centers for Disease Control to offer 8,100 free Moderna COVID-19 vaccines throughout the state."

• WFTV-Orlando: Florida teachers request to be next group to receive full access to COVID-19 vaccines. "Some teachers in the state over the age of 65 have been vaccinated, but the superintendent of Orange County Public Schools said it’s a vital tool that should be available to all staff."

• Tampa Bay Times ($): How Florida Republicans voted on Marjorie Taylor Greene. "Three South Florida Republicans broke from the ranks and sided with Democrats."

• Sun Sentinel ($): Memorial service for slain FBI agents to be held Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. "The service will memorialize Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, and Special Agent Daniel Alfin, 36, two agents killed on Tuesday while serving a warrant related to crimes against children."

• NBC Miami: Ex-Colleagues Of Man Who Killed FBI Agents in Sunrise Say They Feared Revenge. "David Lee Huber was fired from a Broward County computer firm after exploding in rage at a colleague while discussing healthcare issues in the 2016 election, former co-workers tell the NBC 6 Investigators. They feared he would return with a gun."

• News Service of Florida: Senate Committee Moves Forward On Retirement Plan Revamp For State Workers. "After years of discussions about the tricky issue of overhauling Florida’s retirement system for government employees, a Senate committee Thursday approved a proposal that would shut future workers out of a traditional pension plan."

• NPR News: Florida Lawmakers Debate To Repeal Infamous Stand Your Ground Law. "In Florida, lawmakers in the state legislature will debate a bill that repeals the Stand Your Ground law. When Trayvon Martin was killed in 2012, the man who shot him used that law in his defense."

• WTSP: Archeologists find 15 graves at destroyed Black cemetery site in Clearwater. "Earlier this week archeologists started what they called 'ground-truthing' at what used to be the North Greenwood Cemetery to determine if graves still exist at the location. Decades ago, the cemetery was destroyed when the city wanted to build a segregated pool and school, the old Curtis Fundamental School."

• Panama City News Herald ($): Panama City awarded $5 million for program to buy Hurricane Michael-damaged homes. "The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has selected Panama City to receive $5 million in federal money to buy homes damaged by Hurricane Michael and replace them with green space or stormwater drainage."

• Associated Press: Voting company sues Fox, Giuliani over election fraud claims. "The 285-page complaint filed Thursday in New York state court by Florida-based Smartmatic USA is one of the largest libel suits ever undertaken. On Jan. 25, a rival election-technology company — Dominion Voting Systems, which was also ensnared in Trump’s baseless effort to overturn the election — sued Guiliani and Powell for $1.3 billion."

• Space Coast Daily: City of Palm Bay Partners in Florida’s Largest Simultaneous Greenhouse Gas Inventory Initiative. "The City of Palm Bay, in collaboration with over 30 partners from local government, public and private agencies, and entities within Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties will undertake Florida’s largest simultaneous Greenhouse Gas inventory initiative as part of the East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative."

• Today Show: Video shows unmasked employees and customers in Florida supermarket. "New video from a popular supermarket in (Naples,) Florida shows customers and employees of all ages openly flouting the rules for mask wearing, spurring outrage as the country continues to battle the coronavirus."


From NPR News

• Health: Johnson & Johnson Applies For Emergency Use Authorization For COVID-19 Vaccine

• Health: 'Just Cruel': Digital Race For COVID-19 Vaccines Leaves Many Seniors Behind

• Politics: Biden Administration Resurrects Office To Help Women 'At The Breaking Point'

• Politics: House Removes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene From Her Committee Assignments

• Politics: Trump Will Not Testify In Senate Impeachment Trial, Adviser Says

• Business: Seed Companies Struggle To Keep Up With The Demand

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.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org