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The stories near you
• WUFT News: Unyielding resilience: Farmers facing adversity and rebuilding after Hurricane Idalia. "Summer crops have been harvested, and the hurricane season is almost over – but Florida farmers now face off-season decisions about how much more adversity they are willing to tolerate."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville’s finance director resigns after putting city audits on track. "The city of Gainesville’s finance director, Sue Wang, submitted her resignation and will leave her position on Dec. 1 after 16 months with the city."
• WUFT News: A quarter of Alachua County’s middle and high school students use vape products. Here’s what’s being done to combat usage. "The 2023-2024 code of conduct for Alachua County public schools, which went into effect this school year, was the first to include consequences for possessing or selling vaping products."
• WUFT News: East Gainesville residents are divided on proposed Citizens Field parking lot. "About half of the 22-acre multipurpose field is planned to be turned into a parking lot of 1,000 parking spaces. The field is about a mile long. The parking lot will span north of the Citizens Field stadium, home to multiple high schools’ football and other sporting events."
• WUFT News: From lowlights to spotlight: Williston football’s incredible turnaround under Robby Pruitt. "Two years ago, the Williston Red Devils went 1-8. Now, under second-year head coach Robby Pruitt, they have back-to-back undefeated regular seasons under their belts and are looking at a path to the state title."
• News Service of Florida: Judge awards $372K to UF professors’ lawyers in conflict of interest case. "A federal judge has awarded more than $372,000 in legal fees to attorneys who represented professors in a high-profile lawsuit against the University of Florida over being able to serve as expert witnesses in court cases."
• Gainesville Sun ($): UF cancels student trips to Israel due to ongoing deadly conflicts. "One major trip that has been canceled is Birthright Israel, a free 10-day guided trip to Israel for young Jewish adults once they turn 18. All other study-abroad trips to Israel also are being canceled following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s response."
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Around the state
• WMFE-Orlando: Thousands of Florida children appear to not have coverage in Medicaid unwinding. "So far, DCF has disenrolled around 260,000 children from Medicaid across the state. The state plan was to have those qualifying children enter Florida’s kid healthcare plan… Only 25,000 have enrolled."
• WLRN-Miami: In push to remove homeowners from Citizens, the state-run insurer uses unlicensed inspector. "In 2019, Citizens Insurance, the state-created and taxpayer-backed insurance company of last resort, ordered 2,200 home inspections. By the end of 2023, the company estimates that it will have ordered about 300,000 home inspections."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Heat- illness is A concern for outdoor workers. Advocates are turning to the legislature for help. "Over the summer Florida saw a rising number of excessive heat warnings and experts say those high temperatures are likely to continue—in some cases putting people’s health at risk. Now advocates are looking to lawmakers to increase protections for outdoor workers."
• Associated Press: The Great Grift: COVID-19 aid thieves bought fancy cars, a Pokémon card - even a private island. "An AP review of hundreds of pandemic fraud cases presents a picture of thieves and scam artists who spent lavishly on houses, luxury watches and diamond jewelry, Lamborghinis and other expensive cars. The stolen aid also paid for long nights at strip clubs, gambling sprees in Las Vegas and bucket-list vacations."
• WUSF-Tampa: New College of Florida to lower performance goals while seeking $400 million. "New College of Florida, under newly confirmed president Richard Corcoran, received Florida Board of Governors' approval for a new accountability plan that sets lower performance standards."
• News Service of Florida: Florida Senate President Passidomo puts her focus on health care. "Amid population growth and a shortfall of doctors and nurses, the Florida Senate next week will start crafting legislation aimed at expanding access to health care."
• Key Biscayne Independent: “It’s out of control.” Condo reform gaining steam in Tallahassee. "After a workshop on condo fraud and corruption ended on Friday, dozens of residents of high-rises throughout South Florida swarmed the podium. They wanted to tell their tale of woe about their condo board to either State Sen. Jason Pizzo or Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney John Perikles."
• WLRN-Miami: The Everglades is dying. Our new podcast looks at the struggle to save it — and the costs of failure. "In 2000, the U.S. set out on one of the most ambitious environmental projects ever attempted: to wind back the clock and make the Everglades function like it once did — in 1900. The plan could have given Florida a 20-year head start on climate change, but that didn't happen. Listen to WLRN's new podcast series Bright Lit Place."
From NPR News
• World: We were interviewing a Palestinian farmer. Then the drone and soldiers appeared
• Law: The Supreme Court adopts first-ever code of ethics
• National: Native Americans are facing a crisis of abductions and murders
• Health: Lung cancer survival rates rise, but low screening rates leave many people at risk
• Economy: Many say it's a bad time to buy a house. So who's still going for it?
• Environment: A volcano in southwestern Iceland is expected to erupt in the next few days
• Business: The legendary designer of the DeLorean has something to say about Tesla's Cybertruck
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.