The Point

The Point, Sept. 11, 2023: How does this hurricane season compare?

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published September 11, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• Florida Storms: Peak Hurricane Season has arrived. How is it looking so far? "Historically, more than 85 percent of all major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 and 5) form after August 20, according to the National Hurricane Center."

• WUFT News: Horseshoe Beach community rebuilding after Hurricane Idalia’s destruction. "This tight-knit community is now doing what it can to restore a sense of normalcy to the city known as 'Florida’s Last Frontier.'"

• WUFT News: Dixie County comes together amidst hurricane recovery. "But in the frustrating struggle for scarce resources, the people of Dixie County are not strictly abiding by the timeline of government bureaucracies. The community is coming together and organizing their own recovery efforts. Neighbors are helping neighbors."

• Mainstreet Daily News: County asks GNV to reconsider Thelma Boltin Center. "The city decided on a partial restoration path last year, but opponents say the plan will destroy the historical integrity and potentially cost the same as a complete restoration."

• The Alligator: Activists clash with FDEP over springs regulations. "For nearly a decade, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been locked in legal battles with springs activists about Florida spring preservation."

• Ocala Gazette: Never forget. "First responders and others recall the events of Sept. 11, 2001, during memorial ceremony and display of the 9/11 Traveling Wall in Ocala."

• WUFT News: UF Honeybee Research Lab responds to Hurricane Idalia’s effects. "While things are calm now, the researchers are no strangers to taking extra precautions before large storms, and this was the case with Hurricane Idalia."

• WUFT News: Photos: Gators dominate McNeese State in first home game. "Fans cheered during the Gators’ game against McNeese State in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday night, Sept. 9, 2023. The Gators beat McNeese State 49-7."

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Around the state

• WUSF-Tampa: A group says it's closer to getting an abortion rights amendment on the 2024 ballot. "The 600,000 signatures garnered so far means the proposal can go before the Florida Supreme Court for review."

• News Service of Florida: Florida State Guard gets first deployment in 75 years. "The state guard was initially set up during World War II to replace Florida National Guard members who were deployed abroad. It became inactive in 1947."

• WLRN-Miami: Florida group presses supermarket chains, others to protect farmworkers from heat. "The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is pushing its Fair Food Program, which encourages retailers to use their clout with farmers and growers to ensure better working conditions and wages for farmworkers."

• WUSF-Tampa: Cases of RSV are increasing in Florida and the Southeast U.S. "Florida is seeing an increase of RSV positivity rates. For most, the virus is mild — but experts say the virus can be more severe for infants, young children and older adults."

• NPR: What to know about Florida's 'classic' alternative to the SAT. "Students applying to Florida's state universities will now be able to submit exam scores from a conservative and Christian-backed alternative to the SAT and ACT, known as the Classic Learning Test."

• WMFE-Orlando: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline rolls out services in ASL. Here's how Central Floridians can use them. "In a few weeks, folks will also be able to dial 988 directly and have a video call with a counselor who uses ASL."

• WUSF-Tampa: Fewer manatee deaths this year attributed to seagrass bed recovery in the Indian River Lagoon. "442 manatee deaths were recorded this year between January and the start of September. That’s down a couple hundred from the 5-year average for the same time period."