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: DeSantis, candidates slam Trump in second Republican debate. “The debate went full circle as it started and ended in the same way: candidates telling the audience they planned to defeat …
Read More »Florida proposes bill to permit bear killing in self-defense
A bill proposed today in the Florida Legislature would allow the killing of bears in self-defense. House Bill 87, proposed by Representative Jason Shoaf, faces an uphill battle as it passes through the legislature. Under the bill, people can kill bears without authorization or permits if the person feels threatened. …
Read More »Redistricting fight teed up in federal court
TALLAHASSEE — As the state appeals a Leon County circuit judge’s ruling that a congressional redistricting plan violated the Florida Constitution, another battle about the plan is poised to play out in federal court. A three-judge panel of federal judges is scheduled next week to start hearing arguments in a …
Read More »The Point, Sept. 18, 2023: East Gainesville gets a half million-dollar HUD grant
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: HUD grant money to go toward improvements in East Gainesville. “Gainesville is one of the 14 cities nationwide that will receive a Housing and Urban Development neighborhood planning grant.” • …
Read More »Beware bears: Florida wildlife officials renew warnings about encounters
This is the time of year when experts say bears are especially active as they start to pack on fat to hibernate even through Florida's mild winter. Bears will remain active through November.
Read More »After helping prevent extinctions for 50 years, the Endangered Species Act itself may be in peril
SHARON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Biologist Ashley Wilson carefully disentangled a bat from netting above a tree-lined river and examined the wriggling, furry mammal in her headlamp’s glow. “Another big brown,” she said with a sigh. It was a common type, one of many Wilson and colleagues had snagged on …
Read More »The Point, May 3, 2023: Investigation reveals trend around Florida’s new loud music law
The data show Black drivers are nearly three times more likely to receive a ticket.
Read More »Six former Florida Gators selected during NFL Draft
It was a great weekend for Florida Gator football, as six former players were selected in the NFL Draft, including Gainesville local Anthony Richardson getting picked fourth overall. For his former Eastside High School head coach Cedrick Daniels, it means a lot. “It’s a very good feeling,” said Daniels. “It’s …
Read More »Photographer and conservationist Gabby Salazar shares her love of nature with a global classroom
Gabby Salazar, an adjunct professor at the University of Florida with the Tropical Conservation and Development Program at the Center for Latin American Studies, has collaborated with the Centre for Wildlife Studies in India to develop Wild Shaale, a conservation education program for 10-to-13-year-old children. The program, which started in 2018, has reached more than 20,000 children in rural India.
Read More »Uh-oh. A new tropical mosquito has come to Florida. The buzz it’s creating isn’t good
MIAMI — There’s not a lot of love for mosquitoes in Florida. The pesky insects are unrelenting. Now there’s a new species that’s shown up and become established in Florida … and its arrival is concerning to scientists. The mosquito — known by its scientific name of Culex lactator — is typically …
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