WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
They've now topped $12.5 billion.
Read More »The Point, Dec. 20, 2022: After years, Florida adopts new medical marijuana rules
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: After Hurricane Ian, sowing hope. “Hurricane Ian trampled over 5 million acres of agricultural land in Florida. The storm ranks among the top storms in U.S. history. For small, family …
Read More »After Hurricane Ian, sowing hope
Editor’s note: Katie Delk is a 2022-2023 Florida Climate Institute Fellow reporting a series of articles about the impact of climate change on Florida’s farmers—and how they are adapting. Robert McMahon, in his faded denim jeans and straw hat, edged to the roof in a boom lift, three cows shuffling …
Read More »‘The red suit picks you’: Santa Clauses prepare for the renewed holiday crush
Seven-year-old Ranessamae Rinehart could not contain her excitement after sitting on Santa’s lap at the Ocala Town Square gazebo recently. She asked Santa for Legos bricks and sparkly shoes with bows on them. As several other families waited in line for their turn to meet the old man with the …
Read More »Florida lawmakers hope to aid ailing home insurance market
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida lawmakers are scheduled to meet Monday to consider ways to shore up the state’s struggling home insurance market in the year’s second special session devoted to the topic. Lawmakers are considering legislation to help keep private insurers solvent by creating a $1 billion reinsurance fund, …
Read More »The Point, Dec. 12, 2022: $24 million approved for North Central Florida springs
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Mainstreet Daily News: State funds $24M in area springs projects. “Eleven projects in North Central Florida are set to receive a total of $24 million for recovery and protection of Florida’s springs, …
Read More »24/7, 365: The best way to be prepared for hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season ended Nov. 30, but after the year that Florida experienced, residents would be wise to begin preparing for 2023 storms. It’s true even if the official start of the next hurricane season remains six months away. While residents prepared for the worst as two hurricanes appeared …
Read More »The Point, Dec. 8, 2022: Rep. Joe Harding indicted on wire fraud, money laundering charges
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Florida Politics: Joe Harding indicted on wire fraud, money laundering charges. “Harding, an Ocala Republican recently elected to his second term representing District 24, was released Wednesday on a $10,000 bond.” • …
Read More »Florida beekeepers rally community in Hurricane Ian recovery efforts
B. Keith Councell is a beekeeper stripped of his bees – 2,800 of them spread across his farms in Arcadia, Cape Coral, Pine Island and Fort Myers. His honeybees were among the 400,000 Florida bee colonies in Hurricane Ian’s path in September. Ian decimated 100,000 total hives, which were toppled and drowned in 12-foot storm surges as high as eight beehives. The state’s surviving bees were left starving from the storm’s destruction of foliage, the bees' source of energy and protein. Deprived of bees, feed and equipment, beekeepers have found relief among themselves.
Read More »Survivors of Hurricane Ian can now apply for state-led housing assistance and home repairs
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) have announced several new forms of housing assistance for survivors of Hurricane Ian, including the first ever state-led housing assistance program. This comes two weeks after DeSantis launched the Unite Florida Hurricane Recovery Portal, which FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie …
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