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The top stories near you

• WUFT News: Gainesville City Commissioners, Consultants Work To Add Racial Equity In Comprehensive Plan Update. "The Gainesville City Commission is seeking to cement racial equity considerations into city planning rules in a way it has never done before. These rules will be revised through Imagine GNV, which the city describes as “an update to the…Comprehensive Plan that centers racial equity and the experiences and priorities of Black Gainesvillians and other historically-marginalized communities.” The city has hired New York-based consultants HR&A Advisors, Inc. to help complete the update."

• WUFT News: Vigil Held To Honor UF International Graduate Student’s Life, Demand Accountability For His Death. "UF’s Graduate Assistants United on Thursday evening held a vigil to honor 30-year-old Chen’s life and demand accountability for his death. It’s been more than a year and a half since Chen died and left behind notes accusing his advisor of mistreatment and academic misconduct. ... A university investigation into his death has dragged on since July 2019, with scant information released thus far about its findings. The university  last month placed on leave Chen’s advisor, engineering professor Tao Li."

• WUFT News: Faith Leaders On Navigating Their Community Through A Pandemic. "The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing stay-at-home orders forced places of worship to quickly determine the best course of action and adapt."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Deadline for Paycheck Protection Program loans extended through May. "With President Joe Biden’s approval,  the deadline for businesses to apply for COVID-19 relief through the Paycheck Protection Program loan program has officially been extended to May 31. SBA data show more than 2,700 Gainesville businesses received loans of up to $150,000 as of Aug. 8, the latest date for which data is available. "

• WCJB: Lake City’s quitclaim request denied by Columbia County Commission, Olustee Confederate monument will stay put. "After a lengthy and tense debate, Columbia County Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to deny Lake City’s request for a quitclaim deed to Olustee Park. That means the county controls the fate of the confederate monument."

• The Alligator: Santa Fe College celebrates LGBTQ resource center grand opening. "The 21-year-old sociology Santa Fe College second year began a petition to open an LGBTQ resource center last February. Eder noticed the need for an accepting circle of people bonded through their similarities. The Santa Fe College LGBTQ+ Student Resource Center officially opened Monday afternoon to solve these problems."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Area homeowners likely to see property value increases. "For now, the scenarios that Alachua County Assistant Manager Tommy Crosby and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) discussed on Tuesday are anecdotal, but homeowners in Alachua County should be prepared for a possible increase in property taxes. Cornell, who has worked in local real estate for 20 years, said had had 'a big fear on what COVID would do to commercial property,' but he saw record growth in residential property sales, which is driving up home values and bringing in multiple bids on houses as soon as they hit the market."

• Florida Politics: House stands up for seatless elliptical bikes. "Pedaling the bill is Rep. Brett Hage. During the committee process, Hage said people in The Villages and other parts of Florida ride the standing bicycles. Hage said Villages’ residents have received tickets for riding the elliptical bikes."

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Around the state today

• Associated Press: Supreme Court gives Georgia win in water war with Florida. "The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Florida’s water lawsuit against Georgia on Thursday, ending the long-running legal fight between the two states. The court rejected Florida’s claim that Georgia uses too much of the water that flows from the Atlanta suburbs to the Gulf of Mexico. Florida said that its neighbor’s overconsumption is to blame for the decimation of Florida’s oyster industry."

• WMFE: DeSantis Says He Still Expects Florida To Receive More Than 300,000 Johnson & Johnson Vaccines Next Week Even With Factory Delays. "DeSantis says any shortage of Johnson & Johnson vaccines in the state will be made up for by a surplus in Pfizer and Moderna vaccines."

• WFSU: Fried Becomes First Florida Cabinet Member To Get Vaccinated. "Fried received her first of two Moderna shots. It took less than five minutes, and Fried was eligible because of the decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis to open up vaccines to adults age 40 and over."

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune ($): Florida special vaccine access: Yachts, clubhouses and political pull. "When Florida threw open the door for seniors to get COVID-19 vaccines, hundreds camped out overnight, some bundled up in lawn chairs in the January cold to score a shot. Thousands more waited in digital lines for their number to come up in county-run vaccine pools. But for some lucky Floridians, getting a vaccine was as easy as hopping in their golf carts and rolling down to the clubhouse."

• New York Times ($): Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women. "One of the women who had sex with both men also agreed to have sex with an unidentified associate of theirs in Florida Republican politics, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Mr. Greenberg had initially contacted her online and introduced her to Mr. Gaetz, the person said. Mr. Gaetz denied ever paying a woman for sex."

• Sun Sentinel ($): Ex-Boca mayor Susan Haynie pleads guilty to misusing office. "Former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie pleaded guilty Thursday to charges arising out of a public corruption case that halted her political career. The plea deal is for 12 months of probation for two first-degree misdemeanors: misuse of public office, and failure to disclose a voting conflict. Prosecutors dropped three felony official misconduct counts and two other misdemeanors she had been facing."

• TCPalm ($): Unified Sports track meet pairs high school students with Special Olympics athletes. "Unified track meet gives Special Olympic athletes a chance to compete with their classmates Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at the Citrus Bowl in Vero Beach."

• CBS Miami: Florida Highway Patrol Troopers Help Deliver Baby During Traffic Stop. "A routine traffic stop was anything but for a pair of Florida Highway Patrol troopers earlier this week. On Tuesday, a little after 2 a.m., Troopers Michael Allen and Pete Christie saw an SUV speeding on a highway in Seminole County and pulled it over. The driver immediately starting waving his hands out of the front window, asking them to approach. The driver told them his wife was having a baby."

• ABC Action News: Artist and educator creates coloring book to promote, protect Florida wildlife. "A Tampa Bay area woman with a talent for drawing, a love of nature and a passion for education decided to combine all three. What she came up with was her own children’s coloring book, 'Color Your Way Through Wild Florida.' From gators to snakes to birds, if it’s found in Florida, there’s a good chance it’s also found in Kelly Quinn’s book."

From NPR News

• National: Chauvin's Former Supervisor Testifies Restraint Should Have Ended Much Sooner

• Health: FDA Authorizes 2 Rapid, At-Home Coronavirus Tests

• Politics: Biden Administration Considers Overhaul Of Asylum System At Southern Border

• Politics: By The Numbers: Biden's $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan

• Business: Cargo Overboard, Intense Rolling: The Risks Of Fully Loaded Mega-Container Ships

• World: Thailand Does Not Intend To Take In More Refugees From Myanmar

• World: OPEC+ To Gradually Boost Oil Production Ahead Of Expected Summer Rebound In Demand

About today's curator

I'm Elise Elder, and I am a digital content producer and reporter at WUFT News. My passion for environmentalism has inspired me to report on 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 eliseelder@ufl.edu.