Hurricane Ian has left thousands of Florida residents struggling with basic needs, and many organizations are making donation and volunteer opportunities available to the public. Gov. Ron DeSantis encourages the public to make monetary donations to enable relief organizations to do their work. Within the last 24 hours, people have donated more than $2 million to Florida hurricane relief efforts. The Category 4 hurricane shifted its course to the east before making landfall just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, catching residents off guard. Many people who could not evacuate are experiencing flooding and infrastructure failure.
Read More »‘Recovery is possible’: UF Health Florida Recovery Center and other recovery organizations try to increase awareness of substance use disorders
A group of people wearing the same blue T-shirts gathered at Depot Park on Saturday. Some were running, while others were walking around the exhibition highlighting practical ways to recover from addiction. “I was an alcoholic for about 35 years. I lost my house, my wife (and) my job. I …
Read More »Gainesville man accused of threatening city officials
A contractor and director at a real estate firm emailed city commissioners and said he hoped they would be assaulted over a controversial plan to allow construction of multifamily housing in residential neighborhoods, police said. Police on Monday arrested Terry Lyle Martin-Back, 68, of Gainesville at his home outside the …
Read More »The Point, Sept. 7, 2022: Florida leaders want to look at alternative ratings agencies for property insurers
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. Today’s Florida stories • News Service of Florida: Florida leaders consider action as 17 property insurers face a downgrade in ratings. “Such ratings are important, in part, because mortgage-industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require homes to …
Read More »Mental health and severe storms: an advocate’s perspective
Sara Newhouse is the Disaster Recovery Mental Health Coordinator for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The position was created in 2019 by First Lady Casey DeSantis to address the damage from disasters beyond the physical.
Read More »The Point, Aug. 30, 2022: NASA could try again as early as Friday to launch Artemis I
A fuel leak scrubbed Monday's planned launch window.
Read More »Data show almost 1,000 instances of Florida nursing home residents — some with dementia — exiting without supervision
The man was found in the middle of the night with a bloody face, bloody clothes and no pants, in the front yard of a house in Jacksonville that wasn’t his. A 2017 report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that the 72-year-old man, whose name …
Read More »The Point, July 18, 2022: Sentencing trial for Parkland shooter begins this week
Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to all charges in the 2018 school shooting.
Read More »The Point, July 12, 2022: Tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico could bring North Florida heavy rain
The pattern has a low chance of developing into a tropical storm.
Read More »Advocates call for more autism training for crisis hotlines ahead of 988 launch
National suicide prevention hotlines are bracing for an influx of calls when the new, shorter number – 988 – launches. Some advocates are asking whether the hotline will be ready to serve people with autism.
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