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The stories near you

• NPR News: Education Dept. Will Reimburse Florida District That Had Funds Held Over Mask Mandate. "The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it would send roughly $148,000 to one Florida school district, Alachua County Public Schools, reimbursing it for money that has been withheld by the state."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Sees Decline in COVID-19 Cases. "According to the Alachua County COVID-19 Dashboard, cases have been declining for the last six weeks."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville commission tosses out vaccination mandate day after judge blocks it. "The city of Gainesville has rescinded a controversial policy that required employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. But the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday also directed city staff to follow President Joe Biden's executive order that requires large employers to require vaccinations or weekly testing."

• Fresh Take Florida: A Very Good Girl: Florida Man’s Dog Alerted A Neighbor After Her Owner Suffered A Stroke. "The family’s 7-year-old sable German Shepherd, Ellie, bolted for help. Suffering a hereditary condition that can cause joint pain and lameness, the dog opened no fewer than three gate latches by herself before hopping like a kangaroo to a neighbor’s nearby house, barking furiously for attention. The neighbor, Dan Burton, 51, of Gainesville, walked the agitated Ellie back to her owner’s home, realized the unfolding medical crisis and dialed 911."

• Ocala Gazette: Voter turnout soars for city election. "'I was hoping for 20% but when I saw it was almost 26%, I was pleasantly surprised. From a turnout perspective compared to the prior turnout average over the last decade of about 14%, we by far surpassed that,' said Wesley Wilcox, Marion County Supervisor of Elections."

• WUFT News: Meet The Family That Started Marion County’s First Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program. "In 1980, 3-year-old Kathy Gray laid in a coma after being kicked in the head by a horse. Forty-one years later, she now ventures around her mother’s riding center, Stirrups ‘n Strides, caring for the 15 horses there."

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Around the state

• News Service of Florida: Florida Prison Leaders Ask Lawmakers To Help Overworked And Underpaid Employees. "A top corrections official offered a stark picture of Florida’s prison system Wednesday, warning that lawmakers must boost salaries of corrections workers to avert a looming disaster as the system grapples with high turnover rates, dangerously low staffing levels and fatigued employees."

• WUSF: Florida Has Reversed Course And Will Accept Federal Money For Low-Income Children. "Florida's Department of Children and Families said it is applying for a federal program that would provide $820 million to the state's low-income children."

• Florida Politics: With public website live, Florida’s redistricting process kicks into gear. "It appears increasingly likely the website will be the primary way the public engages with the redistricting process. Thanks to a shortened process for drawing maps as a result of Census delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers say there simply won’t be time for the same voter engagement throughout the state as in decades prior."

• News4Jax: Saving space for animals in Florida: State sets aside 20,000 acres for wildlife corridor. "Many wildlife habitats range along the length of Florida’s 450-mile peninsula, which has become segmented by urban development and highway borders. The role of The Florida Wildlife Corridor is to connect these habitats through conservation land and protect the state’s water resources."

From NPR News

• Health: A CDC Panel Backs Booster Shots For Older Adults, A Step Toward Making Them Available

• World: U.S. Special Envoy To Haiti Quits Over Deportations Of Haitian Refugees

• National: Photos: How Families Struggle To Feed Their Kids In The Pandemic

• Politics: Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Former Trump Officials, Including Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon

• Science: NASA's Got A New, Big Telescope. It Could Find Hints Of Life On Far-Flung Planets

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.