The Point

The Point, June 16, 2023: DeSantis vetoes Newberry meat facility state funding

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published June 16, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• News Service of Florida: DeSantis vetoes $1.75M in state money for Newberry meat processing facility. "Gov. Ron DeSantis trimmed $510.9 million from a record-high state spending plan signed Thursday, with nearly one-fifth of the cuts coming from a single program designed to keep swaths of rural property from commercial and residential development."

• WUFT News: Scott Angle is UF’s interim provost, President Ben Sasse announces. "University of Florida President Ben Sasse sent the following announcement shortly after 7 a.m. on Thursday."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Cuts to captioning budget would reduce access. "A relatively small monetary cut to the Office of Communications and Marketing budget would restrict online public access to some city advisory board meetings, Director of Communications Jennifer Smart told the City Commission on Wednesday."

• WCJB: Ironwood Golf course under “management watch” by Gainesville city staff. "Thursday’s city commission meeting had an agenda item simply titled “Ironwood Update.” This item caused such a stir that dozens of golfers and supporters of the property came out to support thinking it could be sold or operations could cease. That notion was shut down quickly by Mayor Harvey Ward."

• WUFT News: A new location to honor a life-long legacy in dance. "Dance Alive National Ballet has launched a campaign to raise $5 million to build a 22,000-square-foot cultural center in northwest Gainesville. The new center will include a dance and music academy, outreach programs and a black-box theater for performances and rentals."

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Around the state

• Associated Press: Florida deputy didn’t follow extensive training during Parkland school massacre, supervisor says. "Former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson had undergone training both in a video simulator and with live actors several times before the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward County Lt. Col. Sam Samaroo testified. He said Peterson was taught that even if he was alone, he would need to confront the shooter without waiting for backup."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Trump leads in GOP primary poll amid news of his indictment in Miami. "Results from a recent nationwide Quinnipiac University survey show 53% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters support Trump over nine other GOP candidates, including Gov. Ron DeSantis."

• NPR: A Florida condo tower's collapse may have begun on its pool deck. "In what they're calling their 'leading failure hypothesis,' a team with the National Institute of Standards and Technology says the condo's concrete columns and pool deck were constructed improperly and didn't meet building codes."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Changes are coming to Florida’s Move Over law for drivers. "A broad transportation bill recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis includes a component that directly affects drivers. It expands Florida’s Move Over law to include any disabled vehicle. But, it won’t go into effect right away."

• WLRN-Miami: 'Trying to survive': Families suddenly dropped from Medicaid seek reinstatement. "In some states, about half of those whose Medicaid renewal cases were decided in April or May have lost their coverage, according to data submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and obtained by The Associated Press."

• News Service of Florida: Florida fires back on union restrictions. "With a federal judge poised to hear arguments next week, the state is fighting an attempt to block key parts of a new law that places additional restrictions on public-employee unions."

• The Tributary: Duval jail kept medical provider despite lawsuits and deaths. "Despite hundreds of lawsuits against Armor Correctional Health Services, millions of dollars worth of settlements and dead inmates across the country, Jacksonville leaders signed contracts twice with the company, allowing it to run the Duval County jail’s health care for the last six years."

• WJCT-Jacksonville: Your cellphone or e-cigarette could be a fire risk. "It is called a "thermal runaway," when the rechargeable lithium-ion battery in a cellphone, e-scooter or family car gets too hot, starts releasing poisonous gas, then burns — and burns."