Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.
Today's Florida stories
• News Service of Florida: Florida leaders consider action as 17 property insurers face a downgrade in ratings. "Such ratings are important, in part, because mortgage-industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require homes to be insured by financially sound companies. If insurers lose satisfactory ratings, homeowners could be forced to find other coverage."
• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville commission candidates say they will stop exclusionary zoning plan. Can they? "The issue has sparked mass concern from local homeowners who say it will ruin longstanding single-family neighborhoods they've grown to love and invest their lives in, while advocates say it will help address an affordable housing crisis in dire need of action."
• Florida Storms: Mental health and severe storms: an advocate’s perspective. "Sara Newhouse is the Disaster Recovery Mental Health Coordinator for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The position was created in 2019 by First Lady Casey DeSantis to address the damage from disasters beyond the physical. Newhouse took the role earlier this year. Melissa Feito from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network sat down with Newhouse to discuss her role, the mental health challenges people face after a disaster and how the Division is planning to aid in their recovery."
• NPR News: A Florida woman touted as a 'Mother Teresa' ran a $196 million Ponzi scheme, feds say. "(Johanna M. Garcia) is accused of perpetuating a $196 million fraud through MJ Capital Funding LLC, the company she started in the Fort Lauderdale area. Her business took in that large amount of money from more than 15,400 investors in just over a year, from June 2020 to August 2021, federal investigators say."
• City & State Florida: Florida elected official still serves although she lives in Georgia. "A South Florida elected official’s family situation raises the question: Should a sitting city commissioner still represent an area in which she no longer lives? Earlier this year, Hollywood City Commissioner Linda Sherwood, who first took office in 2008, announced she would step down early from her current term ending in 2024 to care for a daughter in Georgia who suffers from a rare blood disease."
• The Alligator: Acrosstown Repertory Theatre closes its doors. "Located at 619 S. Main St., the ART began holding performances at the Baird Center — an enclave tucked in the space behind Heartwood Soundstage — in 1985, which is where it has remained for decades. After 37 years in its current location, the theater is temporarily shutting down and leaving behind a legacy of talented performances."
• WFTS-Tampa Bay: Idea for artificial beach at nature preserve causing controversy in Hernando Co. "Hernando County is studying a plan to convert part of a former limestone quarry into an artificial beach. The quarry site, off Shoal Line Boulevard in Hernando Beach, was acquired by the Southwest Florida Water Management District in the 90s, and the Weeki Wachee Preserve was created."
Today's sponsored message
We focus our legal attention on these practice areas: • Family Law • Business Law • Estate Planning • Probate • Guardianship
Visit lawyergainesville.com or call 352-373-3334 today to learn more.
From NPR News
• Health: The new COVID booster could be the last you'll need for a year, federal officials say
• Health: Nearly 8 million kids lost a parent or primary caregiver to the pandemic
• Politics: Trump can only serve 4 more years. The reason why has a long and sordid history
• Politics: A New Mexico judge cites insurrection in barring a county commissioner from office
• Business: An economist studied popular finance tips. Some might be leading you astray
• Business: More than half of minor league baseball players have voted to unionize
• Science: A San Diego Zoo penguin struggled with bumblefoot, but his new boots help him thrive
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.