The Point

The Point, Jan. 31, 2023: Stranded orca buried in Gainesville

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published January 31, 2023 at 1:00 PM EST

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Stranded killer whale to be buried in Gainesville. "However, the skeleton of the killer whale found at Palm Coast will not remain in Gainesville. Instead, after the tissue decomposes, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History will add the skeleton to their collection in Washington D.C."

• The Alligator: ChatGPT: UF community navigates a new frontier. "The student, interviewed under the condition of anonymity, uses ChatGPT so she can focus on subjects she feels are a better use of her time."

• WCJB: Gov. DeSantis announces plan to spend $479M on road work between Ocala and Wildwood. "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday pitched a $7 billion proposal to speed completion of 20 highway projects as a deadline nears for him to roll out a budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year. One of those projects would add auxiliary lanes on Interstate 75 in Ocala."

• WUFT News: Gainesville partners with nonprofit to boost bee populations. "The city of Gainesville announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with a nonprofit to participate in a nationwide initiative to protect local bee populations. Let’s find out what all the buzz is about."

• WUFT News: Newberry High School celebrates high graduation rate. "On May 27, 2022, soon-to-be Newberry High School graduates lined the Exactech Arena as they waited for their names to be called during their commencement ceremony. Little did they know, their class of 135 graduates would be the most successful 2022 graduating class."

• WUFT News: Anti-abortion demonstrators gather at annual Roe v. Wade memorial service in Inverness. "On Jan. 22, demonstrators marched nationwide to campaign for abortion rights. But the following day in Inverness, demonstrators gathered in protest of abortion rights at the annual Roe v. Wade Memorial Service."

• WUFT News: A cancer survivor, Jo Carver rededicates his life to cleaning the Santa Fe River. "'The river saved him,' said Terri Carver. 'Now, he’s going to save it back.'"

• The Alligator: Free library boxes spring up in Gainesville. "Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that works with local community members from over 100 countries to provide free and easy access to literature using sharing boxes."

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Around the state

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Florida could soon allow concealed carry without a permit. "HB 543 would allow anyone who may purchase a gun in the state, including people who live outside the state, to carry their weapon without a permit. It's likely to pass in the GOP-controlled legislature."

• WLRN-Miami: State commission wants to roll back a key part of post-Surfside condo safety law. Lawmakers are not so sure. "At the core of the new bill was the creation of a two-tiered schedule of structural inspections for buildings across the state — with a stricter cadence for those located near the coast."

• Florida Politics: New College board trustee wants to find new President, fire all faculty. "Eddie Speir, one of six new trustees appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the New College board this month, wrote a blog post about his intentions for his first trustee meeting."

• News Service of Florida: A judge has dismissed the migrant records case against Florida. "A Leon County circuit judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor did not fully comply with public-records requests about controversial state-funded flights of migrants to Massachusetts."

• WUSF-Tampa: USFWS will finalize critical habitat for endangered bonneted bats in Florida within the next year. "The public had until Jan. 23 to comment on a proposal for endangered bonneted bat habitat in Florida. On that final day, more than 20 environmental organizations asked the federal government for additional protections."