TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers ended the 2023 legislative session Friday. During the 60-day session, the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed numerous high-profile bills that lined up with priorities of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Here are snapshots of 18 different issues, with links to relevant WUFT coverage over the past several months: …
Read More »The Point, May 4, 2023: Alachua County’s $38M events center is opening later this month
The facility in Celebration Pointe will open May 27.
Read More »Former death row inmates slam new Florida law making it easier to impose capital punishment
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With Florida making it easier for juries to impose the death sentence, two formerly condemned inmates who are still behind bars are warning that the change gives too much power over life and death to elected prosecutors. Their concerns are at odds with some families of murder …
Read More »The Point, May 2, 2023: School board term limits head to DeSantis
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: 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 …
Read More »Hidden violence: Elder abuse was already hard to track – then a pandemic made it more difficult
Amy Thomas wasn’t new to social work. She had been helping vulnerable children and adults for more than 20 years when she started working at Elder Options, a Gainesville-based nonprofit designated by the government to serve elders in 16 north-central Florida counties. What was new to Thomas was the COVID-19 …
Read More »The Point, April 19, 2023: UF removes years of campus crime data
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Fresh Take Florida: University of Florida removes years of campus crime data online. “The University of Florida removed nearly eight years’ worth of crime data online without public notification, leaving only limited …
Read More »FBI, sheriff’s offices in central Florida team up to help prevent elder fraud
Federal data show Florida’s older population is susceptible to internet scams. In 2021, the state ranked second in the nation with 9,645 victims of elder fraud. Combined, those individuals lost $224,205,716. The FBI, along with state and local law enforcement agencies in Central Florida, are joining forces to educate local …
Read More »University of Florida removes years of campus crime data online
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida removed nearly eight years’ worth of crime data online without public notification, leaving only limited details about crimes that occurred on or near campus during the past 60 days. UF reported its highest number of rapes and sexual battery cases last year. There …
Read More »Gainesville Police Department says noise is the No. 1 complaint
Brooke Benson and her husband, Robert Benson, welcomed a new addition to their family four months ago, a baby boy. The 24-year-old preschool teacher expected motherhood to be hectic and unpredictable. But she never imagined that every babble her baby would make would be drowned out by the sound of …
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.
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