WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: 2021 Swamp Car Wash murder case defendant changes plea again. “Under the former plea deal, Patrick was facing up to 15 years in prison. Now, if he is found guilty …
Read More »Monorail becomes the latest target in the Disney feud
TALLAHASSEE — Disney’s iconic monorail system would face periodic state inspections, as Republican lawmakers continue to back Gov. Ron DeSantis in his clash with the entertainment giant. Voting along party lines, the Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday amended a transportation bill (SB 1250) to apply Department of Transportation …
Read More »Judge rejects lawsuit against ‘intellectual freedom’ surveys on college campuses
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge has tossed out a challenge to a controversial 2021 Florida law that includes requiring surveys about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on state college and university campuses. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a 22-page decision Monday that said plaintiffs, including the United Faculty …
Read More »‘Radioactive roads’? Environmentalists want brakes on Florida plan to reuse toxic mining waste
MULBERRY, Fla. – With much less notice than the Florida abortion, guns and education culture wars, a battle between environmentalists and a Fortune 500 mining giant is playing out in Tallahassee that critics fear could have devastating long-term health consequences. On one side is Mosaic Inc., a Tampa-based mining and …
Read More »Residential ordinance lawsuit brought by realtors against city of Gainesville to continue
The city's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the city of Gainesville by more than three dozen realtors has been denied.
Read More »Orange Park and Keystone Heights voters adopt amendments and reelect incumbent
Tommie "Doug" Benefield, 37, a Certified Public Accountant, won reelection to Seat 1 on the Orange Park Town Council with 67.20% of the vote compared with his opponent, Kenneth Radwanski, who got 32.80% of votes. As of Tuesday night, the preliminary results showed there was an 8.96% voter turnout.
Read More »Number of women with a concealed weapons license is on the rise
Gun safety experts in Gainesville and neighboring communities say they have noticed an increase in the last four months in the number of women applying for a concealed weapons license. As of the end of February, one-third of the state's 2.5 million concealed weapons license holders are women, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Read More »UF bans TikTok on campus amid broader social media crackdown in Florida’s Capitol
The University of Florida’s decision this week to ban TikTok effective immediately from its campus networks and college-owned devices occurred amid broader bipartisan efforts in Florida’s Legislature to limit or prohibit students in public schools from using social media. UF said it planned to start actively blocking use of TikTok …
Read More »Florida House Bill threatens gender-affirming care for minors, adults alike
House Bill 1421, a companion bill to Senate Bill 254, bans gender-affirming healthcare — including hormone replacement therapies and puberty-blocking medication -- for Florida residents under the age of 18. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine and Rep. Ralph Massullo, both Republicans from Lecanto.
Read More »Six-week abortion ban moves through Florida Senate despite Democratic efforts
Florida Senate Democrats attempted to ease restrictions during session Thursday on a bill proposing a six-week abortion ban, but 18 amendments failed. SB 300, also known as the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” would make it illegal for a medical professional to knowingly terminate a pregnancy six-weeks after a woman’s last period. …
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