The Point

The Point, April 11, 2023: Bill filed that would give state control of GRU

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published April 11, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Clemons files GRU control bill in Florida House. "HB 1645 allows the governor, rather than the Gainesville City Commission, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the utility company."

• The Alligator: Downtown Gainesville shut down after 2 late-night shootings. "The Gainesville Police Department deployed caution tape, swept crime scenes and ordered confused onlookers exiting the Main Street clubs to leave downtown in the aftermath of two shootings that occurred within minutes of each other early Monday morning."

• WUFT News: Alachua County strives to improve youth literacy rates. "There is a significant reading gap between white and Black students in Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS)."

• Florida Times-Union ($): UF and UNF in running for Jacksonville campus work. What's the latest in Legislature? "A possible University of Florida graduate campus in Jacksonville picked up support for $50 million from the state House of Representatives, but it's a different story in the Senate where the campus got $5 million in the budget version approved by that chamber."

• WUFT News: MusicGNV and Little Wing Rehearsal Studios come to the rescue of the Gainesville music scene. "On Feb. 16, the bands at MiniMaxi found eviction notices taped to their doors, ordering them to move out by March 18. To their surprise, all the other tenants who were not in bands were allowed to stay."

• WUFT News: A Gainesville muralist brings together community through her artwork. "Horner is a Gainesville local and has worked on more than 30 murals across the city. You might have seen these large pieces of work at popular locations like 4th Ave Food Park, Cilantro Tacos in Tioga Town Center, Luke’s New York Bagel Shop and First Magnitude Brewing Company."

• WUFT News: High Springs art fair draws artists from out of town. "With one artist making the trip to High Springs from Atlanta, Georgia, another from Jacksonville and another from Fort White, each artist came with the same intention of sharing their art with a new community and meeting other artists."

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Around the state

• WUFT News: Florida passes permitless carry law. "Some call it permitless carry. Others call it constitutional carry. But Moms Demand Action calls it 'a very dangerous law.'"

• News Service of Florida: State can face Medicaid class-action suit over supplies for adults with disabilities. "The claimants say the state stops providing incontinence supplies to Medicaid beneficiaries older than 21."

• WUSF-Tampa: A Florida bill to increase penalties over releasing or selling venomous reptiles now exempts natives. "Daniel Parker, the director of media for the United States Association of Reptile Keepers Florida, said the original wording of the legislation would have made the releasing of live, native venomous snakes for conservation, humane relocation, or research a third-degree felony."

• News Service of Florida: House backs disaster bill to aid communities after hurricanes. "In part, the bill would allow people to remain on their property as they rebuild after storms, require quicker approval of building permits and set more-exact time frames on removing destroyed boats from state waters."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: Is seafood safe to eat during red tide outbreaks? We asked an expert. "The sight of hundreds of dead fish washing ashore on local beaches over the last five months is more than enough to make even an iron stomach turn. But is the same thing that’s killing marine life a cause for concern at your favorite seafood spot?"

• WLRN-Miami: Latinos, Hispanics are more likely to get certain leukemias, but why? "Cancer is the leading cause of death for Latinos and Hispanics in the U.S. One rare form of the disease strikes those groups at a greater rate and at a much younger age than the rest of the population."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: The crucial role gopher tortoises play in our ecosystems & the threats they face from humans. "There have been efforts in recent years to have them federally protected, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently denied a petition to protect them under the Endangered Species Act."