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: Chabad UF Jewish Student Center increases security after Friday vandalism. “Berl Goldman, a rabbi at the center, said two signs located outside Chabad UF were written over. One of the …
Read More »Neighbors release new chemical test results from area surrounding old Clay County mining site
The nation’s largest homebuilder has proposed plans to build townhomes on a property bordering an abandoned Clay County mining facility with a history of chemical contamination. The Russell Road Land Trust is the new owner of the 78 acres sandwiched between the mining site, owned by Stoneridge Farms, and Russell …
Read More »A difficult path: How volunteers, waste workers save old books from going to the landfill
It’s been almost a week since Alachua County’s Friends of the Library fall book sale ended, but for volunteers and book lovers alike, the hardest part of the work is just beginning: throwing away books into the dumpster. “Paperback books that can’t be sold are recycled,” said Ellen Smith, a …
Read More »Where the buffalo roam: new Ken Burns documentary explores North America’s largest mammal
Early in the new Ken Burns’ documentary “The American Buffalo,” a map depicting the national mammal’s native range dips down into Florida. While the state never had huge herds like out west, these free-roaming, majestic animals lived in Florida for many thousands of years before the species faced extinction in …
Read More »Gainesville residents reject housing development plan on wetlands
Five months after a housing development plan was approved, homeowners are still trying to find a way to shut it down. The Gainesville 121 development plan was approved by the Gainesville City Commission in April. City commissioners voted 6-1. Mayor Harvey Ward was the only one who voted against the …
Read More »The Point, Sept. 11, 2023: How does this hurricane season compare?
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Florida Storms: Peak Hurricane Season has arrived. How is it looking so far? “Historically, more than 85 percent of all major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 and 5) form after August 20, according …
Read More »Clay County Commissioner Kristen Burke offers her voice to Russell Landing contamination concerns
GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Eighteen years ago, on their way to church on Sunday mornings, Kristen Burke and her husband would go out of their way to drive through a neighborhood called Russell Landing to admire the houses perched on rolling green lawns. Located about 50 miles northeast of Gainesville …
Read More »Levy County prepares to end yearslong debate to block horse manure composting facilities
After years of research and public debate, the Levy County Commission has voted to add new ordinances to the land-use code and block commercial composting facilities that use farm animal waste from operating in the county.
Read More »SRWMD Board recommends state funding for springs protection projects
The Suwannee River Water Management District is recommending $4.6 million in projects designed to improve and protect the water quality of Poe Springs. One project totals $3 million to expand the City of High Springs wastewater treatment facility and complete the creation of wetlands. The second project would provide $1.6 …
Read More »Resilient Cedar Key flooding vulnerability map
A new tool is available to help residents of Cedar Key prepare for flooding events. A grant from the Resilient Florida program funded the online program that allows users to explore flood vulnerability maps on and around Cedar Key. Savanna Barry is a Florida Sea Grant extension agent who specializes …
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