The Point

The Point, May 15, 2023: A Gator baseball player could become a top MLB draft pick this year

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published May 15, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Ahead of MLB Draft, Wyatt Langford is living out his dreams as a Gator. "Major League Baseball’s annual player draft is set for July 9 to 11, and prospect rankings will start to be released more frequently. Langford, now 21, is ranked as the third overall prospect in the entire class according to MLB’s most recent prospect rankings. If taken third, this would tie him with Mike Zunino as the highest Gator picked in the MLB draft. Zunino was also taken third overall in 2012."

• Mainstreet Daily News: DeSantis signs Rex and Brody Act into law. "The bill prevents access to autopsy photos and reports of minors killed through domestic violence, access previously allowed under Florida’s public records law. Unless a surviving parent not involved in the deaths gives permission, the records can be kept sealed under the new law. The bill remembers Rex and Brody Reinhart, Alachua County residents known well in the baseball community."

• WUFT News: Live Oak to residents: sheds aren’t houses. "The City of Live Oak wants to stop people from using backyard sheds for housing. Council Member Lynda Owens says she’s received several complaints from residents."

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Around the state

• NPR News: Florida businesses could be required to verify employees have legal work permits. "Parts of the new law require all businesses in Florida with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify. That's the federal online system where employers can confirm whether someone is eligible to work in the U.S. Supporters of the law say it will help curb illegal immigration to Florida, but opponents say it will hurt the economy."

• Florida Politics: Gov. DeSantis signs measure to shift hundreds of millions in taxes to charter schools. "Charter schools are going to tap into the pot of money that has so far been dedicated to capital costs at traditional public schools, according to legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis signed. The bill (HB 1259) was one of a slew of bills the governor signed Thursday and represents something of a sea change in school funding."

• Politico: 5 things that went well for DeSantis in Iowa on Saturday. "Though Trump is trouncing DeSantis in national polls, the gap isn’t quite as massive in Iowa. If the Florida governor can convince Iowans he’s the better bet to beat President Joe Biden — and parlay that momentum into strong performances in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — the current national polls may not matter much."

• USA Today Network ($): DeSantis gets millions in taxpayer money to fight lawsuits over hard-right policies. "Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate tucked an unprecedented almost $16 million into the state’s $117 billion budget for litigation costs to defend policies DeSantis just advanced or to cover battles already underway, like his yearlong clash with the Walt Disney Company."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Florida lawmakers have included a $107 million expansion plan for the Florida State Guard. "This year, lawmakers approved funding to help the State Guard triple in size and gave some members the right to carry firearms and make arrests. Additionally, members would deploy alongside the National Guard and serve as substitutes for state agencies including law enforcement, environmental protection, or highway safety."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: How wildfires begin in Florida and their benefits to the forests. "In Florida, more than eight of ten wildfires are caused by people. Some are on lit purpose, but most are due to a lack of maintenance on equipment, such as an out-of-tune lawn mower or a vehicle's catalytic converter."

• WLRN-Miami: Miami's hearty urban coral could help ailing reef. "Urban coral that have thrived near bustling Port Miami — despite ship traffic churning up pollution and bay bottom — are more resilient than their cousins along Florida’s reef, a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found. Scientists say the findings, which established a baseline for conditions, could help them heal ailing reefs battling impacts from climate change."

• Associated Press: He likes to be, under the sea: Florida man sets record for living underwater. "A university professor broke a record for the longest time living underwater without depressurization this weekend at a Florida Keys lodge for scuba divers."