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The stories near you
• The Alligator: UF, embattled former Honors Program director at odds over nature of termination. "Two weeks have passed since Mark Law announced his termination as UF Honors Program director. Although the provost has taken responsibility for the firing, students and faculty still have questions as to why."
• WCJB: Governor DeSantis awarded over $68 million to 13 counties, including Alachua and Marion, for electric buses. "Alachua and Marion counties are receiving state funding to trade in existing diesel transit buses for electric ones."
• News4Jax: Bradford Middle School classes canceled Tuesday, Wednesday due to storm damage. "Classes at Bradford Middle School will be canceled Tuesday and Wednesday due to water that entered the main building during a storm Sunday night, the school district said Monday."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Westgate Publix set to open on Thursday. "Despite recent torrential downpours that left a portion of its parking lot inundated with rainwater, Gainesville’s newest grocery store will open as planned this week."
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Around the state
• Associated Press: Fuel leaks force NASA to scrub launch of new moon rocket. "The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket was set to lift off Monday morning with three test dummies aboard its first flight, a mission to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon."
• Florida Storms: A tropical depression in the Atlantic is becoming more likely. "Of highest interest is a broad area of low pressure over the central tropical Atlantic. Although conditions are only marginally favorable, there is an 80% chance for this system to organize into a tropical depression by mid-late week. According to the NHC, this disturbance will keep tracking slowly westward toward the northern Leeward Islands through Friday."
• Politico: DeSantis election investigation chief told local officials they face 'no fault' for felons voting. "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office last week tried to blame local election supervisors for mistakes that could have allowed 20 people convicted of felonies to illegally vote. But the state’s election investigations chief previously absolved those local officials of any wrongdoing, according to state documents."
• Associated Press: Judge awards Surfside condo collapse lawyers over $70 million in fees. "The total was less than the approximately $100 million attorneys with the 17 law firms had requested, but there were no guarantees initially they would ever be paid in the days after the Champlain Towers South building fell June 24, 2021, killing 98 people."
• Florida Politics: Florida residents set to pay for insurance failures throughout 2023. "All insurance policies in the state, except for auto insurance, will have a 0.7% assessment tacked onto them starting in 2023 as a result of a series of liquidations among insurance companies this year."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Abortion, crime and fraud are central issues in the race for Florida's attorney general. "The race for Florida Attorney General is heating up following Tuesday’s primary election. Democratic nominee Aramis Ayala will face off against incumbent Ashley Moody."
• WMFE-Orlando: Central Florida ghost candidate will testify in court Monday. "Jestine Iannotti is expected to testify in court that Seminole County GOP Chairman Ben Paris asked her to run as an independent in the District 9 Senate race back in 2020. Paris’ goal was to help former boss Republican Senator Jason Brodeur win his election by using Iannotti to siphon off votes from competitor Democrat Patricia Segman."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: FAMU responds after the football team voices its plan to protest following an eligibility debacle. "Florida A&M University’s football season got underway in North Carolina this past weekend in a game that almost didn’t happen due to last-minute problems with eligibility that resulted in 20 players, some starters, having to sit out. Now, the team is promising to protest until changes are made in the athletics department and the university's president is vowing to make that happen."
• WFLA-Tampa: Florida pool contractor who stole millions, left massive holes in homeowners’ backyards gets 30 years. "Brian Washburn, the owner of Amore Pools Inc. defrauded Florida homeowners by taking upfront payments and deposits, (Attorney General Ashley) Moody said. He would also leave dangerous debris piles and gaping holes in victims’ backyards."
From NPR News
• Health: The government will no longer be sending free COVID-19 tests to Americans
• World: Ukraine begins counteroffensive to take back southern part of the country from Russia
• World: What it's like for Ukrainians working at a nuclear plant under Russian occupation
• National: 988 mental health hotline doesn't fix the lack of in-person resources in rural areas
• National: Long overlooked, Oregon's Swastika Mountain may have a new name soon
• Politics: Biden's goal to end hunger by 2030 and his new food conference, explained
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.