WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
A House panel narrowly approved a bill (HB 19) Wednesday that would allow women in Florida to sue physicians for physical or emotional injuries stemming from abortions.
Read More »Speaker Offers Money For Visit Florida — With Conditions
Governor Scott's proposed budget includes cuts to Visit Florida, but House Speaker Richard Corcoran is open to allowing Visit Florida, the Official Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation, to remain “alive” but with reduced funding and a list of conditions.
Read More »Senator Bill Nelson To Try Legislative Route In ‘Water War’
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday he will file legislation aimed at forcing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to divert more freshwater into Northwest Florida's Apalachicola Bay system, in relation to an ongoing dispute between the state and Georgia over the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system.
Read More »College Presidents Oppose State Senate Funding Proposal
Florida college presidents say they are opposed to a new performance-based funding measure that will be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee next week. James Henningsen, president of the College of Central Florida, told the State Board of Education on Thursday that the colleges want to stay with the performance …
Read More »Alleged Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooter Lied About His Record On Job Form
The man accused of killing five people at a Florida airport lied about his criminal record on his application to be a security guard in Alaska, and was fired after only a few months on the job because of the state of his mental health.
Read More »State College System Faces Rebranding
As the Florida Legislature prepares to consider major legislation impacting the state colleges this spring, a new focus has emerged over the college names
Read More »Gun Bills Line Up In Legislature
A measure that would reduce the penalty for people who briefly display a firearm in public and make it a non-criminal offense was been filed in the House on Friday. The proposal would change what is currently a second-degree misdemeanor charge into a $25 noncriminal violation that can be paid to a county clerk of the court.
Read More »Liquor, Self-Defense Bills Moving In Senate
Controversial proposals that would allow liquor to be sold in grocery stores and shift the burden of proof in "stand your ground" self-defense cases were set up Thursday to be among the first items the Senate could approve when the annual legislative session begins next month. The Rules Committee voted 7-4 for a proposal (SB 106) that would end a Depression-era law requiring liquor stores and bars to be separated from groceries and other retail goods, an issue commonly referred to as the "liquor wall."
Read More »State Colleges Defend Four-Year Degrees
The Florida College System chancellor on Thursday defended the ability of state colleges to offer four-year degree programs, saying the approval process for new baccalaureate degrees is “rigorous” and that students receiving the degrees remain a small part of overall enrollment. Chancellor Madeline Pumariega told the House Post-Secondary Education Subcommittee …
Read More »Public Records Fee Fight Re-Emerges
The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee approved a proposal in a 4-3 vote Tuesday that would give judges discretion in deciding whether to award attorney fees in public-records lawsuits.
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