The Point

The Point, Sept. 25, 2023: Gainesville, state argue cases in GRU lawsuit hearing

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published September 25, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: Forest Park reopens after $3.6 million renovation paid for by Wild Places and Public Spaces money. "The park, which has been closed since February, has been transformed, and every element has either been upgraded or replaced."

• Mainstreet Daily News: GNV, state hold GRU lawsuit hearing. "Attorneys for the city of Gainesville and Florida officials argued their cases before Leon County Judge Angela Dempsey on Friday morning, and a decision could come within the next week."

• WUFT News: Prosecutors formally charge former UF resident assistant in sex attack. "The incident occurred the afternoon of July 8 – during the summer semester – in the university’s Mallory Hall dormitory, according to police records."

• The Alligator: Florida surgeon general disagrees with UF over efficacy, safety of new COVID-19 boosters. "Florida’s controversial surgeon general Joseph Ladapo — who is also a tenured professor of medicine at UF — is at odds with the university over whether the public should receive new COVID-19 boosters."

• WUFT News: How a former Gator football star grooms the next generation of players. "Newberry football head coach Ed Johnson led his team to a last second field goal victory against Calvary Christian on Sept. 15. A week later, with the school celebrating its homecoming, Johnson’s squad was up against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville couple arrested in toddler’s death. "A Gainesville couple were arrested in Georgia after leaving twin toddlers alone for eight hours, resulting in one of the 3-year-old’s death."

• WUFT News: Photos: Florida Gators beat Charlotte for third straight win, the first 3-game winning streak for Napier. "University of Florida fans shone their phone lights and sang along to “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty during the Gators game against Charlotte at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium."

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Around the state

• News Service of Florida: Florida's minimum wage will rise to $12 an hour next week. "Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $12 an hour on Sept. 30, as the state continues carrying out a constitutional amendment that eventually will lead to a $15 minimum wage."

• WUSF-Tampa: School voucher delays for students with special needs are frustrating families, private schools. "According to private school operators, the month-and-a-half delay is affecting families of special needs students who qualified for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities, and its putting their schools in dire straits as they wait for funds needed to pay for crucial therapies and staff training."

• Associated Press: 3rd Republican presidential debate is set for Nov. 8 in Miami, with the strictest qualifications yet. "Participating candidates must secure 4% of the vote in multiple polls and 70,000 unique donors to earn a spot on the stage, the Republican National Committee said Friday. Party officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about who would moderate the debate."

• NPR: Protestors in Florida read from banned books, defying the state's education policies. "Academics, activists and Black history advocates were in Jacksonville, Fla. last week where they showed defiance of educational policies that ban books and discourage knowledge about Black history."

• WUSF-Tampa: As a government shutdown looms, what's at stake for Florida? "As of now, Congress has failed to pass any of the appropriation bills needed to keep the government running. Federal workers in Florida and Hurricane Idalia recovery efforts could be impacted if a shutdown occurs."

• WMFE-Orlando: Central Florida UAW workers go on strike, call for fair wages and better benefits. "Dozens of Stellantis workers walked out of the factory near Orlando’s executive airport on Friday to join the strike."

• Inside Climate News: In Miami, it’s no coincidence marginalized neighborhoods are hotter. "New research suggests the problem traces to a historical federal program that was turned against those who needed it most, through a practice known as redlining."

• NPR: Florida authorities killed an alligator that was seen with human remains in its mouth. "The 13-foot-8.5-inch male alligator was 'humanely killed' and removed from the water, with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release."