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The Point, Dec. 19, 2019: What A New Gainesville Firefighters' Contract Means To Their Families

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The top stories near you

• The Florida Auditor General has raised concerns about Santa Fe College's bookstore contract with Barnes & Noble after an audit found the school did not solicit competitive bids. (WUFT News)

• Firefighters are now among the Gainesville city employees who can take advantage of paid parental leave. One of their spouses shared this with our reporter: "Being married to a firefighter, we spend a third of our nights alone. So having him home when Riley’s up all the time at night – and not having to deal with that alone – has been so important." (WUFT News)

• State Sen. Keith Perry is saying he won't join the growing field of candidates to replace Ted Yoho in the U.S. House. (Gainesville Sun)

• It was the case that rocked the Marion County Sheriff's Office when the video emerged almost four years ago, and now there's been a civil settlement stemming from the violent August 2014 arrest. (Ocala Star-Banner)

• The Gainesville City Commission last night selected Ginger Bigbie as its new city auditor. (WCJB)

• The University of Florida reached a settlement with the faculty union over who gets to keep prize money — $2 million, in one recent case — that students and faculty win. (The Alligator)

"The west side of Alachua County gets everything; the east side is just the forgotten area." And now Hawthorne officials have a chance to help rectify that disparity with a $650,000 federal grant that can be used to improve a city park. (WUFT News)

The weather could get very unpleasant over much of Florida this weekend. (Florida Storms)

• Reminder: We'll return to your inbox on Dec. 30 with a year-in-review edition. Happy holidays to all.


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Around the state today

• The two Tallahassee-area U.S. Representatives helped to symbolize Florida's and the nation's division in the impeachment vote, the city's newspaper reports.

• The family of a former Florida A&M University student has hired attorneys to investigate their son's death. It happened on Sunday in a traffic stop. (WFSU)

• The Florida Senate President says the legislature might have to examine how to limit vaping. His concerns are based partly on advice from his son, a college student. "I feel like we have to take a hard look at it, politically popular or not," Bill Galvano said. (News Service of Florida)

• The state's chief resilience officer pointed out a worrying fact when it comes to sea level rise in Florida: "We have over 2,500 miles of roads that are three feet below the high tide line, making them prone to flooding." (WFSU)

• A former airline mechanic pleaded guilty in Miami to sabotaging a plane's navigation system. (Miami Herald)

• A UF researcher is going to study whether or how algae blooms affect human health. (WUSF)


From NPR News

• Politics: President Trump Impeached By The House In Historic Rebuke

• Politics: 'A Political Hit Job': What 4 House Members Said During The Impeachment Debate

• Politics: House Democrats Weigh A Move To Delay Senate Impeachment Trial

• Politics: Tracing The Roots Of A Partisan Impeachment

• Politics: How Demographics In Iowa, The First-In-The-Nation Caucus State, Are Changing

• Health: Obamacare Takes Another Hit In Federal Appeals Court Ruling

About today's curator

I'm Ethan Magoc, a news editor at WUFT. Originally from Pennsylvania, I've found a home telling Florida stories. I’m part of a team searching each morning for local and state stories that are important to you; please send feedback about today's edition or ideas for stories we may have missed to emagoc@wuft.org.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org