The Point

The Point, Oct. 23, 2023: Gainesville celebrates pride festival downtown

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published October 23, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: “Can’t Drag us Down”: Gainesville celebrates pride. "Surrounding patrons with vibrant color and rich sound, the festival had undertones of making positive change for the community."

• WUFT News: Media specialist turned techie codes system to ensure school library books follow state law. "As the Alachua County Public Schools media specialist, Duval, 61, said her work in education today is very different than what it was 16 years ago."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville commission approves $15K cut to manager’s salary. "Curry brought the amendment forward to the City Commission during the budget season, and while it was scheduled on the consent agenda, Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker asked to pull the item for discussion."

• WUFT News: Lubee Bat Conservancy holds 19th annual Bat Festival. "The Lubee Bat Conservancy is working hard to breed rare, exotic bats to support the wild populations of bats across the globe. They promoted this effort with the 19th annual Bat Festival."

• WUFT News: Local bookstore owner makes way for new Barnes & Noble location opening in town. "Heather Halak has been working at Third House Books on 400 NW 10th Ave. for six years. While Halak hasn’t been worried about chain bookstores bringing competition to the Gainesville area, the upcoming opening of a new Barnes & Noble location in Butler Plaza has caught her attention."

• WUFT News: Man arrested after posting Instagram video threatening to shoot up empty middle school. "A 31-year-old man was in jail Friday, accused of posting a threatening video on Instagram in which he said he wanted to fire an assault rifle into an empty middle school in hopes that police would respond to the scene and kill him."

• WUFT News: ‘Demolition by neglect’: Community members raise concerns for Boltin Center restoration. "Concerns raised by members of the community have led to conversations about the scope of the restoration, and a motion was approved Sept. 21 by the Gainesville City Commission to sign a contract with architect Wannemacher Jensen until at least Nov. 2."

• WCJB: Some Gainesville residents file a lawsuit against the GRU board. "They say the bill establishing the governor-appointed GRU authority is unconstitutional in part because it goes against residents’ right to vote for city leaders."

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Around the state

• WLRN-Miami: Trump to hold rally in Hialeah — same night as GOP presidential debate in Miami. "So far, only three candidates appear to have qualified to take the stage in Miami, which is far fewer than those who took part in the previous debates."

• Inside Climate News: In Florida, Gen Z activists step into the fight against sugarcane burning. "Every year, farmers in South Florida set fire to more than 400,000 acres of sugarcane fields pre-harvest, creating a “black snow” of ash and soot that falls on the low-income communities nearby."

• WLRN-Miami: Delivery drivers who work with Walmart complain of scam, 'rogue' drivers. "What Vera experienced is not an isolated incident, according to Justice for App Workers. They claim she and hundreds of other delivery drivers in Florida are victims of a 'predatory scam ring' that has hacked into Walmart's app to steer deliveries to a group of 'rogue' drivers."

• WUSF-Tampa: Richard Corcoran's New College contract puts him among the highest paid state university presidents. "The five-year compensation package puts him on par with the state's highest-paid college president, at the University of Florida. UF has over 55,000 students. Less than 700 attend New College."

• WMFE-Orlando: Indian River Lagoon saw 'fairly extensive' fish kills this year. "The Indian River Lagoon’s algae bloom this year extended farther south into the lagoon than normal, coinciding with fairly extensive fish kills, according to the state’s Harmful Algal Blooms Task Force."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Former state Supreme Court justice: Despite outrage over Hamas attack, honor the First Amendment. "Pariente was the first Jewish woman to sit on the Florida Supreme Court. She says her heart is with the victims of the attack. Yet, the Constitution still governs."

• WUWF-Pensacola: A Boston-based activist is sending banned books to Florida. "Paul English, the co-founder of the travel site Kayak, recently launched Banned Books USA, an initiative that provides books that have been banned, removed, or challenged in Florida to any residents of the state. All they have to do is pay the shipping."