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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Equity concerns blocked a proposal to spend up to $1.76 million on expanding Buchholz High’s athletic facilities. "Though (Alachua County) school board member Gunnar Paulson, the motion’s proponent, argued the renovations could end up saving the district money, the pressing needs of other schools, especially Hawthorne Middle/High, caused other board members to say it was not the right time for the project. Some also questioned whether the state’s competitive bid process was being undermined."

• WUFT News: Alachua County’s EMPOWER program to receive federal technical assistance in transitioning to clean energy. "The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 22 communities to be a part of its Communities Local Energy Action Program, and the Alachua County EMPOWER program was one of those selected."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Could Gainesville change its public drinking rules? Here's what to know. "City Commissioner Reina Saco says she would like to temporarily scale back the city's open-container ordinance to prevent the problems from getting worse until a long-term solution is figured out."

• WCJB: North Central Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack reacted to the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade. "Cammack says states should have an absolute role in deciding their path forward with abortion laws."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Already in prison for murder, prisoner confesses to cold-case homicide after 3 decades. "Camps' murder was classified as a cold case homicide until 2019 when an inmate at the Liberty Correctional Institution in Bristol, Connecticut — where Mack previously served time — told the assistant warden that he had information regarding the incident."

• CBS4: Animal shelter hits capacity in Alachua County; adopt your 'chosen one' for $4. "In order to avoid putting down the animals, the shelter is calling on the community to offer a pet a new day, a new beginning."

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Around the state

• Miami Herald ($): Amid Supreme Court bombshell, providing abortions in Florida is already a challenge. "Representatives of several abortion clinics in South Florida told the Herald on Wednesday that it has been business as usual since the Supreme Court leak on Monday. But they said they were already facing major legal and other challenges in their work."

• News Service of Florida: Florida will expand alligator hunting hours to 24/7 when the season opens in August. "The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a final rule change Tuesday that will extend what had largely been nighttime hunting — between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. — to 24 hours during the season."

• WUSF: Florida’s jobless numbers are low amid staffing shortages, giving workers unprecedented leverage. "The report shows many people are leaving their jobs – confident they’ll find work somewhere else."

• News Service of Florida: Florida utilities seek approval for funds to reduce hurricane damage. "Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. filed the proposals in order to add underground power lines and reduce outage threats from trees and other vegetation."

• Florida Politics: Residents sue Florida over Reedy Creek elimination. "The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asserts the bill is unconstitutional and will significantly 'injure' nearby taxpayers, who may inherit upwards of $1 billion in debt. It also alleges the repeal is punitive and aims to punish Disney’s opposition to the Parental Rights in Education bill."

• WLRN: South Florida’s only historically Black university on track to return to good standing with accreditor. "It’s a critical step for the future of Florida Memorial University, the private school in Miami Gardens, which has struggled with budget cuts brought on by years of declining enrollment."

From NPR News

• National: The Supreme Court marshal leading the leak investigation is a career Army lawyer

• Business: These companies are assuring workers they'll help them access abortions

• World: What Europe's ban of Russian oil could mean for energy markets – and your gas prices

• Politics: Trump's endorsement power was evident in Ohio and Indiana — though there are limits

• Business: TurboTax maker will pay $141M in settlement over misleading ads for free tax-filing

• Health:If you've had omicron before, are you safe from infection by the new variants?

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.