WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline is now over five dollars per gallon in parts of Florida.
Read More »Expect no immediate improvements on Florida insurance market, even after special session changes, Citizens president says
As the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. continues to balloon, officials this week praised steps that lawmakers took during a special legislative session to address the troubled property-insurance market.
Read More »Will high gas prices affect Floridians wanting to evacuate ahead of hurricanes? AAA survey suggests maybe
As the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins, record fuel prices could make many Floridians less willing to evacuate if they are threatened by hurricanes.
Read More »Federal appeals court wades into Ocala prayer vigil fight
TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court Thursday will take up a long-running constitutional dispute about a prayer vigil that was backed by the Ocala police chief amid a spate of shootings in the community. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in an appeal …
Read More »Florida targets treatments for trans youth
The Florida Department of Health guidance said, in part, that people under age 18 “should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy” and that gender “reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.” It also said that “social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.”
Read More »Bradford County Development Authority could be among the special districts dissolved after Florida legislature’s special session
The legislation would dissolve special districts that were created before November 1968 and have not been reapproved in state law. A state Constitution was ratified in November 1968.
Read More »Florida’s Board of Governors is at odds with the state universities’ accreditor over ‘undue influence’
With Gov. Ron DeSantis expected to sign a bill that would lead to periodic changes in accrediting agencies, members of the state university system’s Board of Governors are criticizing the current accreditor of Florida colleges and universities.
Read More »Florida lawmakers pass emergency fund for governor
The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed two linked proposals (SB 96 and SB 98) that would create a $500 million “Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund” that the governor could directly access.
Read More »Bill to require Florida higher education institutions to change accrediting organizations
TALLAHASSEE — A Senate bill approved Tuesday would require colleges and universities to change accrediting organizations at the end of each accreditation cycle, a proposal that drew skepticism from Democrats. The Republican-controlled Senate Education Committee voted 6-3 along party lines to support the bill (SPB 7044), which came after the …
Read More »Florida’s governor downplays the Jan. 6 assault on U.S. Capitol
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday downplayed aspects of the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, adding he didn’t intend to watch “nauseating” media-driven, one-year anniversary remembrances. Appearing at a news conference in West Palm Beach about the coronavirus pandemic, the Republican governor also drew a comparison between the …
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