The Point

The Point, Aug. 10, 2023: GRU rates increase, Florida ticket wins jackpot, a man rides a train

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published August 10, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Clay County Commissioner Kristen Burke offers her voice to Russell Landing contamination concerns. "Residents worried that Solite’s operations left behind carcinogenic chemicals and heavy metals that made their way into the community’s water and soil — and ultimately, its people."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Commission passes GRU budget, rate increases. "The Gainesville City Commission voted 6-1 on Wednesday in support of Gainesville Regional Utilities’ (GRU) 2023-24 budget and scheduled rate increases, part of a seven-year rate increase plan approved in 2021."

• Ocala Gazette: The price of Buc-ee’s. "Joy Baldwin Papy of Baldwin Angus Ranch said the family quickly realized the proposed location of the project would lop a large portion of their ranchland off from the rest, rendering it inaccessible after decades of the family raising prized Angus beef cattle on their northwest Marion County property."

• Mainstreet Daily News: GNV Boltin Center added to preservation watchlist. "Gainesville’s Thelma Boltin Center joined 10 other threatened historic places on the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual '11 to Save' list."

• WUFT News: Newberry archery championship hosted generations of archers. "Hundreds of arrows released from taut, finger-drawn bowstrings pierce the air and find their targets on a recent weekend – as they do on many days."

• WCJB: New Westwood Middle School ‘topped out.' "Officials with Scorpio Corporation and Alachua County Public Schools held a ‘topping out’ ceremony for the facilities Wednesday. ‘Topping out’ occurs when the highest beam of a structure is put into place."

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Around the state

• News Service of Florida: DeSantis suspends Orlando-area prosecutor. "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell, accusing the prosecutor of 'neglecting her duty' and being lax on criminal enforcement."

• Associated Press: A Mega Millions ticket sold in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, the third-largest in US history. "A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers drawn Tuesday night were: 13, 19, 20, 32, 33 and the yellow ball 14."

• WMFE-Orlando: Florida schools roll out consent forms for student nicknames. "Parents in Florida will have to sign a consent form before their school-aged child can be called by a name other than the one on their birth certificate. That includes if a child wants to be called a nickname, or if a transgender child wants to use a name that aligns with their gender identity."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Tallahassee police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a FAMU administrator. "When Andre' Green didn’t show up for work last week, police say friends went to his home at the Rolling Hills Apartments on John Knox Road. They found his door slightly open, then they found Green dead."

• WLRN-Miami: Report: Nearly half households in Broward living paycheck-to-paycheck. Blame COVID-19. "About 8.5 million households in Florida, 3.9 million — or 45% — had income below the 'ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival' or federal poverty line in 2021."

• WMFE-Orlando: ER, urgent care visits for heat stroke surge in Central Florida. "AdventHealth emergency departments have seen a 20% increase in patients seeking care for heat-related illnesses this summer, and urgent cares in the network have seen an increase of 115%."

• WUSF-Tampa: Environmental groups sue to get gopher tortoises on the endangered species list. "The lawsuit comes a dozen years after federal environmental regulators said the tortoises needed added protection to survive."