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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office employees cleared of wrongdoing in voter fraud probe. "An eight-month, Florida criminal voter fraud investigation has cleared all current and former employees at the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office, prosecutors said Thursday."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Corners cut in hiring Ladapo at UF according to Faculty Senate investigation. "University of Florida administrators cut corners in the rush to hire Dr. Joseph Ladapo with tenure in the College of Medicine last fall, an investigative committee of the UF Faculty Senate concluded."

• WUFT News: ‘Better together’: Minority women-owned businesses flourish in Gainesville. "The University of Florida Warrington College of Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center hosted its annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit virtually Friday. Around 150 attendees tuned in to listen to keynote speakers, panelists and female entrepreneurs."

• WUFT News: High Springs is working to finalize a contract with its canoe post operator. "The City of High Springs has taken on a partnership with Andersons Outdoor Adventures to run a canoe outpost that the city acquired in 2021."

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Around the state

• NBC 6 South Florida: LGBTQ Groups Sue Florida Over So-Called ‘Don't Say Gay' Law. "The challenge filed in federal court in Tallahassee on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality alleges that the law violates the constitutionally protected rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families."

• Associated Press: Judge strikes down parts of Florida election law; cites race. "The law tightened rules on mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods — changes that made it more difficult for Black voters who, overall, have more socioeconomic disadvantages than white voters, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in his ruling."

• WINK - Fort Myers: Under new Risk Rating 2.0, Florida flood ins. premiums are about to go up for most. "The bad news: 80 percent of Floridians will see a price increase."

• CBS Miami: State Taking Walgreens To Court For Its Alleged Role In Opioid Crisis. "So far the state has recovered more than $3 billion from other pharmaceutical companies in its opioid litigation, but Walgreens was not one of the companies."

• News4JAX: DeSantis announces another round of $1K bonuses for first responders. "Citing inflation and higher gas prices, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s giving first responders another round of bonuses."

• Florida Politics: Law enforcement recruitment package hits Gov. DeSantis’ desk. "The bill (HB 3), passed 114-3 in the House and unanimously in the Senate, would provide recruits a bundle of perks. Among them is a one-time $5,000 bonus for first-time officers and a $1,000 reimbursement program for out-of-state officers who relocate to Florida. It would also bump the base pay for county sheriffs by $5,000."

• WFTS - Tampa: New Bucs head coach Todd Bowles faces championship expectations in Tampa. "Not surprisingly, Bowles said that he's not coming in and changing what's been working for the Bucs. Instead, Bowles said he and the coaching staff will try to "add on" to the foundation Arians left with the team."

• News4JAX: 1st elected Black female judge in Duval County commemorates 1st year in office with ceremony. "Duval County Judge Rhonda Peoples-Waters commemorated her first year in office with a historic investiture ceremony Thursday."

From NPR News

• Politics: House passes bill to cap insulin prices

• Business: What to know about the U.S. emergency oil stash as Biden gears up to tap the reserves

• Health: COVID-19 infection increases your risk for diabetes, a new study says

• Politics: Jared Kushner provided 'helpful' details to the Jan. 6 committee, a panel member says

• Business: Food prices are going up — and at levels Americans haven't seen in decades

• Business: Labor groups close in on Amazon in 2 tight union elections

About today's curator

I’m Gregorio Ruiz-Perez, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from Naples, Florida, I’ve always enjoyed running to clear my mind. I am a senior journalism major and am part of a team searching for local 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 gruizperez@ufl.edu.