Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.

The stories near you

• Gainesville Sun ($): One of the county's largest planned developments calls for densities like Haile Plantation. "A proposed mixed-use development on a 4,000-acre sprawling site calls for home densities similar to Haile Plantation and include a bustling town center with offices, stores and recreational opportunities, the latest development application shows. The self-contained community is planned along Parker Road and could have a new University of Florida golf course, solar farm, its own sheriff's and fire substations, and a population dense enough to justify mass transit service, according to records submitted to Alachua County by CHW Professional Consultants."

• Citrus County Chronicle ($): Lawmakers, FDEP tour King's Bay, Homosassa River restoration projects. "Citrus County’s Florida lawmakers got a first-hand look of how separate but similar environmental endeavors they’ve supported have been breathing new life into local waterways."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Suspect arrested in GRACE Marketplace murder. "According to a GPD press release, officers arrested James Fitzgerald Lawrence, 55, on Wednesday and are trying to locate San Tonio 'Tony' Smith, 42. Investigators say both Lawrence and Smith were involved in beating a man to death outside GRACE Marketplace (3055 NE 28th Dr.) at 6:30 a.m. on Friday."

Today's sponsored message

Around the state

• WUSF-Tampa: Florida housing costs squeeze older adults on a fixed income. "The agencies serving Florida's two largest metropolitan areas report that more seniors are seeking housing assistance, citing circumstances like rent increases at an address they've lived at for years."

• Politico: Florida bans Medicaid from covering gender-affirming treatments. "The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration on Thursday added new language to the rules governing the state’s $36.2 billion Medicaid program. The new rules declare that the program does not cover services for treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures as a treatment for gender dysphoria, which refers to the feelings of discomfort or distress some transgender people experience when their bodies don’t align with their gender."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: A Marsy’s Law case involving Tallahassee police goes before the Florida Supreme Court in October. "The case involves whether Marsy’s Law, which included a series of protections for crime victims, can shield the identities of police officers."

• Spectrum News: Florida's child welfare agency struggles with high turnover, heavy caseloads. "Child protective investigators, or CPIs, investigate reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. If they determine a child isn’t safe with their designated caregivers, investigators might remove that child from the home. It’s a tough job, one that becomes increasingly more difficult for investigators as they take on more cases. Out of approximately 500 CPIs who responded to an agency survey last year, a majority said stress, emotional exhaustion and heavy caseloads have a high impact on turnover rates, according to DCF’s annual report."

• Panama City News Herald ($): FBI: Company led by former Florida House speaker bilked 'millions of dollars' for hurricane cleanup. "The company’s top executives, including (former House Speaker Allan) Bense and its late CEO Derwin White, commanded its crews to visit work sites with equipment but not perform any work, and then billed Bay County, the school district and other government municipalities, federal investigators allege in an affidavit filed with a search warrant carried out last year at the company’s headquarters."

• Associated Press: Florida man pleads guilty to pushing police in Capitol riot. "Matthew Council, 50, of Riverview, Florida, pleaded guilty in District of Columbia federal court to one felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement officers, one felony count of interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder and four misdemeanor offenses, according to court records."

• Daytona Beach News-Journal ($): Florida Democrats hope fiery Val Demings can ignite their ballot chances in 2022 election. "The 65-year-old, three-term congresswoman and former Orlando police chief will be the likely winner of the Aug. 23 Democratic primary for Senate, which also features attorney and former Florida House member Brian Rush of Tampa, Miami immigration attorney William Sanchez and Ricardo De La Fuente, a former U.S. House candidate from Miami. After that, she will face incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a formidable hurdle."

• Palm Beach Post ($): Palm Beach Post asking court to unseal 'entire' search warrant for Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago. "In the motion filed late Thursday, the Post joined other news organizations that claim the release of all documents connected to the warrant is needed to rein in wild speculation about why the nation’s top law enforcement agency took the unprecedented step of asking to search the home of a former president."

• Florida Storms: How the risk for flash flooding increases after a drought. "A good rainstorm can be welcome in dry or drought conditions. But when the ground is parched, rain water can fail to saturate the ground, resulting in the risk for a flash flood."

From NPR News

• Health: Social media posts warn people not to call 988. Here's what you need to know

• Health: With new guidance, CDC ends test-to-stay for schools and relaxes COVID rules

• Business: Gas prices drop below $4 a gallon. These factors will determine what happens next

• Business: What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices

• Politics: Trump says he will not oppose the release of documents tied to the Mar-a-Lago search

• World: Magnet fishing got people hooked, but China and green tech are threatening its future

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.