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: Gainesville’s Evergreen Cemetery hosts Memorial Day service to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. “Gainesville’s Evergreen Cemetery Memorial Day service held on Monday offered a chance for community connection …
Read More »DeSantis signs bills targeting drag shows, transgender kids and the use of bathrooms and pronouns
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms. DeSantis has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his agenda as he prepares to seek the …
Read More »Underage drinking in a college town: How strictly should police, prosecutors enforce laws?
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On the last day of college classes after her freshman fall semester, Maggie Paxton began drinking with friends in the dorms at the University of Florida – students call it “pre-gaming” – before hitting Gainesville’s popular Midtown bars across a busy street from campus. She was 18. …
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 »Florida lawmakers ban political ‘loyalty’ tests at state colleges and universities
Senate sponsor Keith Perry. R-Gainesville, and other bill supporters have cited an example of the University of Florida College of Medicine using what they characterize as political loyalty tests.
Read More »Hurricane Preparedness Week underway with goal to prepare Floridians before season starts
The Atlantic hurricane season is just a few short weeks away and National Hurricane Preparedness Week seeks to get people prepared before June 1. Residents in areas prone to tropical systems have likely heard the advice many times before: “The time to prepare for a storm is long before the …
Read More »Gainesville’s largest TNR program Operation Catnip makes waves for community cat welfare
Kitten season, when unaltered female cats begin giving birth to litters of kittens, is here. Programs like Operation Catnip, the largest university-based trap-neuter-return program in the world, is especially vital during the spring and summer months when a huge influx of kittens are born and brought into shelters.
Read More »Here’s what to know about the new mosquito species that was found in Florida
A new mosquito species has established itself in Florida, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology by faculty at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach. Since the study was published on March 22, …
Read More »Florida House Bill threatens gender-affirming care for minors, adults alike
House Bill 1421, a companion bill to Senate Bill 254, bans gender-affirming healthcare — including hormone replacement therapies and puberty-blocking medication -- for Florida residents under the age of 18. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine and Rep. Ralph Massullo, both Republicans from Lecanto.
Read More »The Point, March 28, 2023: Special report: Florida’s barrier islands in an era of change
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News Special Report: Living on the Edge: Hurricane Ian barreled into the barrier islands of Southwest Florida six months ago, on Sept. 28th 2022. Beginning today, we’re publishing “Living on the …
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