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The stories near you

• News Service of Florida: Bradford, Dixie County And Other Rural Areas Worry About Prison Closures. "The Department of Corrections on Friday issued a news release announcing temporary closures of Baker Correctional Institution near Sanderson and New River Correctional Institution in Bradford County. A third prison in Dixie County, evacuated in early August after it flooded, also remains closed."

• Ocala Gazette: DeSantis school board pick not fan of mask mandates. "Don Browning, who was appointed to the board by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, said the issue has become hopelessly political when it should be a personal responsibility question. Browning, 80, bristles as the notion that wearing a mask should be universal."

• The Alligator: UF expands wastewater COVID-19 testing locations for Fall 2021. "GatorWATCH initially tested 28 locations, including residence halls, campus apartment complexes and Greek houses. Now, with the emergence of the Delta variant and students’ return to campus, four additional residences were added — resulting in 32 wastewater testing locations on campus."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville activist, bicyclist, poet James Thompson remembered for radical kindness. "Aeriel Lane, who organized Gainesville's 2020 March for Freedom following the death of George Floyd, wrote on social media that Thompson was the first person to reach out to her to offer help with the march. The event drew more than 1,000 people and was the first of several racial justice events."

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Around the state

• Spectrum News: Florida will fine businesses $5,000 for requiring vaccine passports. "The business, government entity or educational institution will get a notice of violation and the right to have a hearing before the agency takes final action. The fine does not affect businesses that mandate vaccines among employees. The rule takes effect Sept. 16."

• WUSF: Florida COVID-19 Hospitalizations Drop By More Than 500. "According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 15,177 people remain hospitalized — a level not seen since Aug. 9. In addition, 3,353 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care, which was just under half — 49.89% — of the state's staffed ICU beds."

• Fort Myers News-Press ($): DeSantis acknowledges need for county COVID-19 data, vows to challenge school mask mandates. "When asked if he would release that data so communities would have an idea of the death toll, DeSantis said: 'I will talk about it. I know they do the weekly report with everything. I’ll drill down, see kind of what it is at the county level. But obviously I think that would be something that would be appropriate. Clearly, if you look at the county-level hospitalization data, the hospitalization spike, you unfortunately will usually see mortality as a result of that. When hospitalizations are declining, fortunately you’ll start to see the mortality decline as well.'"

• WJCT: Fla. Education Commissioner Threatens to Withhold $22k A Month From Duval Schools. "The Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Board could lose board funding as soon as Thursday, according to a letter sent to Duval County Schools officials by Florida’s education commissioner."

• WUSF: Hillsborough, Orange, Sarasota Districts Under Investigation Over School Mask Mandates. "Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran says the districts are noncompliant with a state health department rule triggered by a governor's ban on local mandates, which a judge has ruled is unconstitutional."

• Miami Herald ($): Florida AG inserts herself in mask mandate legal fight as state defies court ruling. "Her legal opinion comes days after a Leon County judge ruled that DeSantis and his administration 'acted without legal authority' when issuing and enforcing a blanket ban on mask mandates. The ruling was delivered orally and is not effective until written and filed. As of Wednesday evening, no ruling has been filed, which has given an opening to DeSantis and his administration to act."

• News Service of Florida: Seminole Tribe Seeks To Thwart Lawsuit Over Florida Gambling Deal. "Owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida filed the lawsuit July 2 in Tallahassee, contending that a sports-betting plan that lawmakers passed in May violates federal laws. Lawmakers backed the plan as part of a gambling 'compact' negotiated this spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis and tribal leaders."

• NPR News: Plans Are Underway To Rebuild At Site Of Surfside Condo Collapse. "Families of the victims are asking the town to consider a land swap, one that would exchange the now-vacant collapsed site with the town's community center. A new community center with a memorial would be built on the side of the condo collapse."

• New York Times ($): The Surfside Condo Was Flawed and Failing. Here’s a Look Inside. "A Times investigation shows how faulty design and construction could have contributed to the collapse of the building in South Florida."

• Politico: Man charged with $25M extortion scheme promising pardon for Rep. Matt Gaetz. "A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz in exchange for a presidential pardon that would shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking investigation into the Republican congressman."

From NPR News

• Health: Children's Hospitals Are Pleading For Federal Help As They Run Out Of Beds

• Education: Several California Public School Students Are Still Trapped In Afghanistan

• Politics: What The Texas Abortion Ban Does — And What It Means For Other States

• Health: A Maskless Church Camp And Conference Are Linked To 180 COVID-19 Cases

• Health: Millions Of People Are Missing From CDC COVID Data As States Fail To Report Cases

• Politics: 2 Years Since Call With Trump, Ukrainian President Met With Biden At The White House

• Business: Hurricane Ida Hit An Important Oil And Gas Hub, Which Will Likely Drive Up Gas Prices

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.