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.
Read More »Fahrenheit 352? What Alachua County educators are saying about book removals
Even as national attention focuses on Florida and other states controlling what books students can read, some Alachua County teachers haven’t faced any issues with certain books being removed from public schools. Jay Winter Collins, a part-time teacher at W.A. Metcalfe Elementary School and children’s book illustrator, said if her …
Read More »The Point, March 9, 2023: Man alleges abuse in Alachua County Jail
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: Earleton man alleges abuse at the Alachua County Jail. “More than a year after his arrest on Dec. 2, 2021, Juan Sterk said his experiences at the Alachua County Jail …
Read More »Only in Florida? Family’s pool shaped like six-shooter gun
ODESSA, Fla. – The swimming pool in the backyard of Louis Minardi’s home near Tampa may be distinctive to Florida: The custom-built pool is shaped like a six-shooter revolver, in a state made famous – sometimes infamous – by guns, gun politics and gun culture. “Neighbors that have bought houses …
Read More »The Point, Jan. 25, 2023: WUFT Special Report: How illegal online betting works
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News Special Report: Behind the bet: how illegal online books work. “When it comes to legal online books, placing bets and receiving payouts is done on the same platform. There are …
Read More »Large-scale alligator farming affects Florida tanneries and small businesses
Alligator farming has become a critical source of skins for the leather industry. The skins are more pristine and can be raised in the most optimal conditions and many more of them can be supplied. Alligator farming has also played a role in conservation efforts for the species. But a consequence of the advent of farming has been an oversupply of skins that has made their value plummet. This oversupply has mainly come from large-scale industrial farms that can slaughter thousands of animals every week and have chomped smaller operations out of business.
Read More »Montbrook Fossil Site volunteers unearth pieces of life millions of years old
Five to 6 million years ago, the area of the Montbrook fossil dig site in eastern Levy County was likely a river. Now, eight years after the discovery of bones in the area, it is one of the most productive fossil sites in the Southeastern United States. Over 70,000 specimens have been collected by the Florida Museum of Natural History and crews of volunteers.
Read More »The Point, Dec. 5, 2022: Cedar Key cemetery makes historical discovery
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Fresh Take Florida: UF backup quarterback played season while secretly under investigation in child pornography case. “The University of Florida’s backup quarterback played his whole season in the shadows of struggling starter …
Read More »Gainesville to host Florida Artist Blacksmith Association Conference, become new region
David Sandlin did not set out to be a blacksmith, and he certainly didn’t set out to be the president of the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association (FABA). Even so, he will be busy Nov. 4-6 overseeing the FABA Conference in Gainesville. “I held my hand too close to the fire …
Read More »A Florida law takes effect that requires the state to hit certain cleanup levels of toxic ‘forever chemicals’
PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals most commonly found in drinking water, groundwater and soil. These toxic substances are known as forever chemicals due to their carbon-forming bonds that make them indestructible.
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