WUFT News - WUFT News

NOAA releases updated weather outlook; strong El Niño event expected

The Climate Prediction Center’s updated weather outlook indicates a slightly increased confidence of a strong El Niño event by this winter. This could mean more wet weather for the Southeast region of the U.S. The forecast is based on observed and predicted sea surface temperatures. “These condition…
DeSantis appoints more Republicans to governing roles in heavily Democratic county

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed the first of five new board members to oversee the troubled Gainesville Regional Utilities being taken over by the state. DeSantis installed three Republicans in a part of Florida that has been one of the rare remaining political strongholds for Democrats.…
Community rallies as family speaks out on fatal alligator attack

A Largo woman was killed when she was attacked by a 13-foot alligator on Friday. The body of Sabrina Peckham, 41, was discovered in a waterway near McKay Creek in Pinellas County. The alligator was humanely euthanized. …
Gainesville man attacked by police K-9 after fleeing scene pleads guilty to one count

Terrell Bradley, the Gainesville man who was mauled by a police K-9 dog in July 2022 while fleeing a traffic stop, was sentenced to a year in prison Tuesday morning after withdrawing his not guilty plea. Bradley pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and no contest to battery…
Citrus County Animal Services receives multimillion-dollar funding for relocation

Citrus County Animal Services plans to relocate to a new facility in Lecanto that's expected to be completed by spring 2025. The project is budgeted at $12.5 million, with $9 million going toward construction of the new animal shelter that will more than double the size of the current one. …
Volunteers remove invasive species for Gainesville’s 30th National Public Lands Day

For the first time, the 30th National Public Lands Day was open to volunteers from the public. West of the Bass Pro Shop in Celebration Pointe, 13 volunteers participated at Lake Kanapaha Park by pulling invasive coral ardisia, a non-native plant that displaces native trees and shrubs in the forest…
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office find missing K-9

Update, Tuesday, Sept. 26: Deputies found Chaos Tuesday around 11:25 a.m. after a citizen reported sighting him on Southeast Pounds Hammock Road, just south of US Highway 100, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post. “We are glad to have Chaos back home!” the sheriff’s office wrote in the post…
New app helps you prepare for the next hurricane

A new app designed to provide updates on disaster supplies and educational resources in the wake of a natural disaster was released this week. “Local Relief” is a localized social media platform bringing communities together during a weather emergency. Founder and Executive Director Heather Hackett …

Heard It On WUFT FM

Welcoming Week International Festival unites Gainesville’s diverse community

Francis Kapper September 2, 2023 Human Interest

The Welcoming Week International Festival was hosted by the Greater Gainesville International Center to raise awareness of the international communities in Gainesville. The GGIC is led by former Gainesville mayor Lauren Poe.

Hernando County considers canal management feasibility study

Mike Loizzo August 24, 2023 Heard It On WUFT-FM

The canal system in Hernando County would get a closer look under a proposed feasibility study. The Aquatic Services and Waterways Department wants to evaluate areas of concern west of U.S. Highway 19 and develop a dredging plan where appropriate. County Commission Chair John Allocco says a canal restoration project …

The idea of a meat processing facility spoiled for too many Alachua County commissioners

Mike Loizzo August 23, 2023 Heard It On WUFT-FM

The effort to bring a small-scale meat processing facility to Newberry is over. After months of debate over funding the $5.25 million project and how it would operate, the Alachua County Commission voted three-to-two to end further discussion and staff time on the issue. Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said she thinks …

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Fresh Take Florida

Exclusive: Florida temporarily suspends political ideology surveys to nearly 2 million in state colleges, universities

September 13, 2023

Destruction seen from above: New video, photos reveal hurricane damage in Florida’s hardest hit region

September 1, 2023

Photos capture aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Perry and Cedar Key

August 30, 2023

Idalia survivor of storm’s fury near landfall: ‘Don’t ever want to go through that again’

August 30, 2023

Historic Florida fishing village sees record storm surge

August 30, 2023

Florida evacuates 4,000 prisoners from 35 facilities ahead of Hurricane Idalia

August 29, 2023

One night, two lives changed forever: Case against shooter of neighborhood burglar ends in plea deal

July 13, 2023

Florida university graduates share inspiring personal stories

May 9, 2023

Underage drinking in a college town: How strictly should police, prosecutors enforce laws?

May 8, 2023

Former death row inmates slam new Florida law making it easier to impose capital punishment

May 3, 2023

Florida’s skating rinks look for insurance relief from Legislature

May 2, 2023

‘Stop being racist:’ Tickets for loud music nearly 3 times more likely for Black drivers under new Florida law

May 2, 2023

Longform

Micanopy divided over pennant flag displays

February 3, 2023

Growing, growing, gone: Marion County residents bemoan development surge

December 28, 2022

Gainesville’s first trans minister makes a mark through social justice initiatives

December 23, 2022

After Hurricane Ian, sowing hope

December 19, 2022

A tale of two cities: How two Florida towns are handling the tiny home movement

December 14, 2022

‘It’s Wakanda’: Inside a Gainesville public charter school defying the achievement gap

August 25, 2022

Watershed: A lake named Alice

August 22, 2022

Watershed: Wellspring

August 22, 2022

Watershed: Loving Florida, losing Florida

August 22, 2022

Watershed: On a fish and a prayer

August 22, 2022

Watershed: Spillover

August 15, 2022

Watershed: Wake Up Now

August 8, 2022

Environment

Law and public safety

Florida Good

Photos: Former members commemorate 101-year anniversary of UF Women’s Club

September 21, 2023

Peace conference in Gainesville: Bridging divides in the Middle East

September 13, 2023

Resilience amidst adversity: How Gainesville’s homeless population weathered Hurricane Idalia

September 2, 2023

World Equestrian Center Ocala opened free stall space for equine owners during Idalia

August 31, 2023

Florida Museum of Natural History staff safeguard butterflies for Hurricane Idalia

August 29, 2023

Outreach Thrift Store sees and sorts it all, serving Gainesville’s local communities for decades

August 14, 2023

988 hotline, one year later: mental health professionals talk positives and pitfalls

August 9, 2023

Community partners band together against homelessness, fundraise for GRACE Marketplace

August 4, 2023

Gainesville business builds homes out of shipping containers

June 15, 2023

Santa Fe College students help build home with Habitat for Humanity

June 8, 2023

Families gather at Rockwood Park for ACT’s ice cream event

June 5, 2023

Fisher House of Gainesville offers respite to caretakers of sick veterans

June 5, 2023

Alachua County student competes in Scripps National Spelling Bee

May 31, 2023

UFxFAMU1963: Reporting From the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

May 22, 2023

Rev. Milford Griner has personal experience with gun violence. It’s driven him toward solutions for 54 years

May 18, 2023

The Brazilian community in Gainesville: bringing culture and investment into the area

April 24, 2023

Arts and Entertainment

North central Florida’s diversity of languages on display at the Matheson History Museum

September 25, 2023

Local artists prepare to celebrate 100 years of Gainesville fine arts at the downtown Artwalk

September 20, 2023

High Springs residents prepare for closure of century old theater

September 19, 2023

Micanopy antique stores navigate the digital age

September 19, 2023

From dance to research, celebrating the wide range of Hispanic culture

September 18, 2023

Florida turkey hunting season in full swing amid national shortages

September 18, 2023

Animals

Invisible Aftermath

A team of WUFT journalists looked into the unseen trauma of weathering a storm like last year’s Category 4 Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle. WUFT spoke with survivors and researched solutions help children and families overcome the mental and emotional aftermath of a hurricane.

Peak Florida

Florida’s population growth has rebounded since the recession — now back to nearly 1,000 people a day like in the ’80s, but with weakened development regulations and accelerating climate change. Our special report examines the state’s latest growth wave, and whether we can welcome newcomers without losing what makes Florida, Florida.

Generation Gunned Down

Across America, nearly 230,000 children have experienced gun violence on their school grounds. A team of 15 journalists from WUFT News traveled to Littleton, Colorado, Parkland, Florida, Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Canada to learn about these tragedies. Everyone who has attended school from 1999 onward are part of Generation Gunned Down. Here are their stories.

Life After Maria

On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria pounded Puerto Rico, destroying nearly everything in its path and cutting off the island from the rest of the world. A team of 11 journalists from WUFT News and Noticias WUFT traveled to the island for a week to document life after Maria. What captured their attention were the stories of resilience and determination to keep moving forward.

Silenced

In this WUFT News Special Report, we explore the fight Florida felons face after they leave the prison gates with housing, employment and voting.

Grade Expectations

For kids in East Gainesville, failing third grade can be a prison sentence. It’s a cycle of poverty, so the School Board, police and other educators are trying to figure out how to stop it.

Locked Out: Florida Sentences Are For Life

In the news, we often hear about people going to prison. But, we never hear about what happens to inmates once they leave. We wanted to find out. Our team of eight journalists at WUFT News followed the lives of seven people, some just minutes after they were released. Locked Out: Florida explores how the label “felon” has followed six people long after their prison sentences ended.

The Cost of Sunshine

A public records investigation by WUFT News revealed Florida lacks accountability for fees at local and state agencies.

Energy Burden

Energy comes at a much greater cost for Gainesville’s poor, from the portion of income spent on utilities to the days without power after Hurricane Irma. A special report on why the poor pay more, and what we can do.

Florida Voices

From veterans to community leaders to average citizens making a difference, hear the stories of Floridians in their own words. These are oral histories from WUFT News.

Hurricane Irma

On the morning of September, 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall as a Category 4 storm at 9:10 a.m., at Cudjoe Key before continuing its assault up the spine of the Florida peninsula. WUFT covered the storm from before it made landfall through the recovery efforts. These are our stories.

Our Gainesville

This summer, WUFT reporters focused on a community-engagement project that celebrates and highlights the rich diversity of the people who live here. We asked them why they made Gainesville home. All of them came here for different reasons, but one thing kept them here— it's a place where we belong— all of us. The project, Our Gainesville, is comprised of individual stories of people living, working, praying, performing and more. It dives into our past and present. It tells the stories of who we are, where we are and what we are. It shows what makes Gainesville, Gainesville.

Sunshine Lost

Florida’s Public Records Act Lacks Effective Enforcement Mechanism A statewide investigation of compliance with Chapter 119 of the Florida Public Records Act has revealed that the state lacks a uniform system to enforce the public records law. WUFT News investigated compliance with the state public records law in all 20 Florida district state attorney’s offices.

A Tale of Two Gainesvilles

The construction — happening city-wide, but mostly on University Avenue and on 13th Street — comes as part of plans by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and the university to renew Gainesville.

The Low of Highs

Facing jail, a drug-addicted grandmother struggles to stop using and start over. Drifting in a small town in Marion County — a county where people are dying close to every other day from a drug overdose — Becky Clifford is desperate to survive in the face of addiction.

Earth's Storytellers

The Earth is wondrous, complicated, precious, damaged. How can we do its story justice, from the awe to the peril? Graduate students studying Nature & Adventure Journalism in the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications asked some of our most captivating environmental storytellers. WUFT News published their responses in a multi-week series of interviews and stories that celebrate science, environmental communication and the natural marvels that inspire it all.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

In recognition of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, WUFT-TV presents “Pearl Harbor: 75 Years Later,” a short documentary that tells the stories of veterans who survived those two infamous hours that greatly altered the course of American history.

Project: Blue Ether

A reporting and engagement project to explore the stories and science of water in North Central Florida.

This special project is funded by the Online News Association.

Bear Down

The first Florida black bear hunt in 21 years pitted staunch conservationists against hunting enthusiasts. Over one October weekend, hundreds of bears perished.

WUFT followed the story from the protestors to the taxidermy.