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The Point, Sept. 9, 2021: Florida School Districts Can Require Masks While Appeals Process Proceeds

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The stories near you

• News Service of Florida: Judge Again Blocks DeSantis Mask Order. "Judge John Cooper issued a written ruling last week that said DeSantis’ had overstepped his constitutional authority in the executive order. The DeSantis administration quickly appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal, triggering an automatic stay of the ruling while the case moves forward. But Cooper on Wednesday vacated the automatic stay, meaning that his ruling last week is in effect and school districts can continue with student mask requirements as they try to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

• WUFT News: Gainesville’s City Attorney And City Clerk Resigned On Wednesday. "(Omichele) Gainey's and (Nicolle) Shalley’s resignations follow those of City Commissioner Gail Johnson weeks ago and former Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion Teneeshia Marshall in April."

• Tampa Bay Times ($): Florida universities shy from stronger COVID rules. They won’t say why. "Repeatedly in recent days, university leaders have pushed aside calls for safety measures like mask mandates, stronger action to encourage vaccinations, or the ability to temporarily teach online. Faculty groups, meanwhile, have been voicing fears about multiplying coronavirus cases with a deepening sense of outrage. University officials say the state has legally tied their hands from taking stronger action. But they have declined to explain exactly what rules or laws prevent them from challenging the state like many school districts have."

• News4Jax: Union County correctional officer dies after battle with COVID-19. "Union County Sheriff’s Correctional Officer Stacy Crawford died Tuesday at a hospital after a long battle with COVID-19, the Sheriff’s Office said. ... Crawford had been a member of the Sheriff’s Office since 2016. He retired from the Department of Corrections in 2015 after working 27 years."

• Mainstreet Daily News: FBI assisting Buchholz bomb threats investigation. "The recent hoaxes started on Aug. 19, but this past week has seen three more threats—last Wednesday and Thursday, then Tuesday of this week. Each time the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASCO) has searched and cleared the campus, but the incidents are a drain on law enforcement and the school resources, causing instruction disruptions and emotional anguish."

• Citrus County Chronicle: Judge hears motions to dismiss in case of Dunnellon couple charged in US Capitol attack. "Kelly and Connie Meggs, who’ve lived in Dunnellon, Marion County, for over 12 years without a criminal history, were among those arrested for their alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot to stop Congress and former Vice President Mike Pence from certifying Joe Biden’s presidency."


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Around the state

• WUSF: Florida Adds More Than 13,774 New Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations Drop. "There were 13,452 with the coronavirus being treated in the state's hospitals. That is a decrease of 176 people from Tuesday's report."

• WFLA-Tampa: 'It's going to happen:' Tampa pediatric nurse fears worst as more & more kids in ICU with COVID. “According to the American Academy of pediatrics about 252,000 tested positive for covid this past week, the largest number of child cases in a week, since the pandemic began.”

• Miami Herald ($): Identities of Surfside condo collapse victims stolen. Suspects have been arrested. “The development comes more than two months after Champlain Towers South suddenly collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in one of the worst building failures in U.S. history.”

• WUSF: Your Flood Insurance Premium Will Probably Rise. Climate Change And Coastal Development Are To Blame. “Under the current system, flood zones are used to calculate a property’s flood insurance premium. Under Risk Rating 2.0, premiums will be tied to “the specific features of an individual property.”

• News Service of Florida: Affordable Housing Ballot Initiative Halted By Florida Realtors. "The proposed constitutional amendment came after years of frustration in the real-estate industry and among other groups about decisions by lawmakers to use money from a state affordable-housing trust fund, known as the Sadowski trust fund, for other purposes."

• Palm Beach Post ($): September 11: Before terrorist attacks, Palm Beach County was home to hijackers. "In the summer leading up to the deadly terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, 12 of the 19 hijackers spent much of the last three months of their lives in Palm Beach County."

• CBS Miami: Remembering 9/11: A Look At How September 11th Attacks Are Taught In Schools 20 Year Later. "...most students of this generation, from kindergartners all the way up to college students, were not even born yet. It can present teachers with the challenge of making students feel a connection to that defining day in our nation’s history."


From NPR News

• Health: Babies, The Delta Variant And COVID: What Parents Need To Know
• Health: A Nurse Is Bringing Light To A Dark Time With A Chandelier Made Up Of Vaccine Vials • National: Virginia's Massive Robert E. Lee Statue Has Been Removed • National:  20 Years Later, 2 More 9/11 Victims Have Been Identified Using New Technology • Politics: Biden Pledged To End The Forever Wars, But He Might Just Be Shrinking Them

• Politics: Election Workers Are Under Attack. A Group Of Lawyers Plans To Defend Them

• World: Afghan Women Will Be Banned From Playing Sports, A Taliban Official Says

About today's curator

I'm Mikayla Carroll, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from West Palm Beach, I'm eager to share the top stories in my home state. I am a senior journalism major and am part of a team searching for local and state news each week that's important to you. Please send feedback about today's edition of The Point or ideas for stories we may have missed to mikaylacarroll@ufl.edu.

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