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The stories near you

• WUFT News: She gave her life to serve international students. They gave her a new life in return. “Anderson retired this summer after 22 years of working for the University of Florida’s International Center (after successfully demanding the dean turn her retirement party into a staff-wide appreciation instead).”
  
• Gainesville Sun ($): 6 candidates file to run for 3rd Congressional District seat representing Alachua County. “The district, previously held by Ted Yoho, who Cammack worked under as his chief of staff during his time in office, encompasses parts of north central Florida, covering Alachua, Clay, Putnam, Bradford and Union counties, along with much of Marion County.”
  
• The Alligator: Man accused of taking videos of women without consent at UF arrested. “Deontre Mason, a 25-year-old Illinois resident, recorded a woman showering in Murphree Hall in December 2021. Mason also allegedly filmed in Library West. UF trespassed him from all properties from February to December 2024, and Alachua County court issued a warrant against Mason in late March.”

• Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County Public Schools Needs 16-20 Bus Drivers. “To help meet the on-going need for school bus drivers, Marion County Public Schools repeated a recruiting effort by taking buses directly to the areas where drivers are needed.”

• CBS4: Alachua County will use $4M grant to turn motel into affordable housing for homeless. “County officials said housing and homelessness are two of the biggest issues the community is currently facing. They said they plan to use the funds received from the state to address both.”
  
  
• CBS4: Description for next UF president’s political viewpoints changes. “In a recent University of Florida Board of Trustees meeting, UF leaders approved the characteristics they are looking for in the University’s next president.”

• News4Jax: Prosecutors want prison time for former local corrections officer who pleaded guilty in Capitol riot. “A former corrections officer at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol wants to be sentenced to probation. But prosecutors are asking for more than that.”

• First Coast News: Clay County to start enforcing loud music law, will ticket drivers. “Two days after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it’s going to start enforcing a state law making it illegal to play your music too loud, Clay County authorities said Thursday it’ll do the same.”

• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville’s ‘Mango Man’ unites community over Floridian fruit. “For the last 10 years, during the early summer months — when mango season is in full bloom — Washington drives the fruit from Davie, Florida to his childhood city, often indulging in the haul himself.”

• WCJB TV20: Ocala family is renting the Marion Theater to show thanks for their returned dog. “It was a search that lasted two weeks for Sarah Bland and her family, as they looked for their beloved dog Waco. Although, the search was not done alone.”

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Around the state

• New York Times ($): One Button Could Have ‘Saved More Lives’ In Florida Condo Collapse. “Seven minutes elapsed between the initial rumblings and the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside. But a security guard didn’t know how to activate the building’s warning system.”
  
• Sun Sentinel ($): Judge approves $1 billion deal in deadly Florida condo collapse. “The decision by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman came a day before the one-year anniversary of the Champlain Towers South disaster in the Miami suburb of Surfside. The judge praised the dozens of lawyers involved for averting what could have been years of litigation with no sure outcome.”
  
• Orlando Sentinel ($): DeSantis said legislatures could give election to Trump, a month before Eastman. “Two days after the Nov. 3 election, DeSantis told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that legislatures could appoint electors.”
  
• WUSF: Florida sees one of worst outbreaks in history of meningococcal disease. “Data from the Florida Department of Health shows that 46 people have been infected in the past six months. The Orlando area has the largest number of cases, with 13. There have been four cases in Polk County and one in Hillsborough.”
• FOX 35 Orlando: Florida teacher raising money to make banned books available to students. “A Brevard County teacher is fighting to get banned books into the hands of students. He’s doing so by raising money on Go Fund Me. He then buys the books and lets the kids take them home for free.”

• WMFE: Utilities commit to clean energy but are not on track to meet goals, report says. “The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy produced the report based on scientific guidance that emissions must be at net-zero by midcentury to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.”
  
• Orlando Business Journal ($): Orange County moves forward with proposed rent cap ordinance. “The county also directed staff to pursue other measures tied to rising rents.”

• Tampa Bay Times ($): Pasco is one step closer to banning retail sale of rabbits. “For months now, animal advocates have been working on Pasco County leaders to recognize that rabbits bought as pets more often than not are discarded, abandoned and mistreated. But this week, Pasco County commissioners voted to add a layer of assistance that might begin to turn that around.”

• First Coast News: Jacksonville principal who was a refugee is now helping Ukrainian refugees learn English. “Global Outreach Charter Academy, also known as GOCA, is hosting a 6 week class to about 40 Ukrainian refugees who are learning English as their second language.”

• WTSP: USF special library collection houses hidden LGBTQ+ history of Tampa Bay area. “They’re part of a larger collection tucked away on the fourth floor of the library on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus – thousands of papers, pictures, pamphlets, institutional records, and other archival materials documenting LGBTQ+ history, culture, and politics in Tampa and beyond in a way few today have seen or even know exists.”

• ABC7 : Giant beetle discovery is a Florida first. “The species is called Dynastes Hercules, and is one of the largest flying insects on earth. The one found is male, based on its horns.”

From NPR News

• National: Georgia Supreme Court overturns murder conviction in hot-car death of toddler
• Health: The FDA orders Juul to pull all of its vaping products from the U.S. market
• Politics: Senate passes gun control bill and sends it to the House
• Law: Supreme Court strikes down N.Y. law that restricts concealed carrying of guns
• Education: Biden’s Title IX reforms would roll back Trump-era rules, expand victim protections
• Politics: The House extended a school meal lifeline; families are now waiting on the Senate
• World: Sri Lankan prime minister says that the nation’s economy has collapsed
• Sports: A new NCAA report show the stark gap in funding for women’s sports