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The stories near you

• WUFT News: A Gainesville city department is trying to help fight for affordable housing in historic Pleasant Street. "Pleasant Street neighborhood had until recently offered an affordable and intergenerational area of Gainesville for renters and homeowners alike. Those who live there are now facing expensive housing and demolition."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville Police Department looks to fill vacancies with new recruitment incentives. "As a part of GPD's recruitment incentive, new hires can receive between $8,000 to $11,000, depending on certification status and experience, in bonuses with a three-year commitment. Individuals planning on relocating can also receive an additional $2,000."

• Gainesville Sun ($): UF's Black Thursday remembered at Matheson. "On April 15, 1971, which became known as "Black Thursday," about 70 students marched into President Stephen C. O’Connell’s office at Tigert Hall with a list of demands, including having the university address the shortage of Black faculty and students at UF."

• Ocala Star-Banner ($): Life in prison for man and woman found guilty of killing informant with meth and fentanyl. "Senior U.S. District Judge John Antoon II imposed the sentences at the Ocala federal courthouse. Holding his cane, a shackled David Chappell Fey, 57, of Belleview, was sitting beside his lawyer, Joseph R. Johnson, a private attorney from Ocoee, when the judge announced his decision."

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Around the state

• News Service of Florida: Florida targets treatments for trans youth. "A news release from the Department of Health said the guidance addresses treatment of gender dysphoria, which the federal government defines as clinically 'significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity.'"

• USA Today Network ($): Senate votes to strip Disney of power to self govern its Florida empire. "The 23 to 16 vote on SB 4 came one day after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted the Legislature to repeal the governing structure for Disney's Florida properties."

• Associated Press: Decades of fruitful relations between Disney, Florida at risk. "Before Reedy Creek became Disney's government, it was a drainage district created to help manage the 27,000 acres that the company secretly acquired parcel by parcel in the mid-1960s."

• New York Times ($): Florida Senate Passes Congressional Map Giving G.O.P. a Big Edge.  "Florida Republicans are poised to adopt one of the nation’s most aggressive congressional maps, pressing forward with a proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis that would most likely add four congressional districts for the party while eliminating three held by Democrats."

• Florida Politics: Nikki Fried sues Joe Biden administration over marijuana, gun rights. "In Miami Wednesday, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried discussed her Department’s lawsuit against the federal government over what she sees as infringement on the rights of medical cannabis patients via “conflicts” between state and federal laws."

• WMFE: On 4/20, it’s high time to talk about Florida seniors and medical marijuana. "For some seniors, it’s like a miracle drug that reduces pain or anxiety or helps them sleep. But medical experts are concerned that the stuff they buy at dispensaries has not been studied and approved like other medicines."

• The Palm Beach Post ($):Florida schools grapple with questions after state rejects historic number of math books. "School districts — including some that already adopted books for the fall semester — scrambled to adjust their plans. Meanwhile, one lawmaker questioned who evaluated the books, and the statewide teacher's union called for more transparency."

• WLRN: Different voices around the state sound off on Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law. "Ambiguity, lawsuits and the case that may have sparked it all. These stories highlight the joys and difficulties of claiming an identity — especially in a time where a state culture war threatens the community."

From NPR News

• National: The DOJ will appeal the recent mask ruling by a federal judge

• World: The number of people fleeing Ukraine has surpassed 5 million

• National: A Connecticut trooper who shot a Black driver to death is charged with manslaughter

• National: Amid high gas prices, N.J. weighs lifting its self-service gas ban

• National: Alex Jones' trial to determine payments to Sandy Hook families is delayed

• Culture: Hollywood has found a favorite new subject — the failed CEOs of tech companies

About today's curator

I'm Melissa Feito, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from Miami, I got my start in public radio covering religion stories like the spiritual roots of Afro-Brazilian music and modern communities of pagans. I'm a graduate student getting my master's degree in mass communication 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 mfeito2@ufl.edu.