The Point

The Point, Dec. 13, 2023: Ginnie Springs water pumping permit renewed

WUFT | By WUFT News,

WUFT News

Published December 13, 2023 at 1:00 PM EST

Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.

The stories near you

• News Service of Florida: Permit to pump 1 million gallons from Ginnie Springs renewed by board. "The board’s decision came after years of legal battles and a recommended order issued in October by Administrative Law Judge Francine Ffolkes. Under administrative law, Ffolkes’ recommended order went to the governing board for a final decision."

• WUFT News: Driving success in The Villages: Michael Thomas, the Cartfixer, takes the wheel in repairing a community’s golf carts. "Michael Thomas hears the “Indiana Jones” theme song around 60 times a day. He hasn’t changed it as his ringtone since he first got into the golf cart repair business in 1988."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua sheriff notes issues with new jail phone system. "The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office returned to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) after two months of trying a new phone call system within the jail. Currently, neither the sheriff’s office nor the county commissioners are pleased with the results."

• WCJB: Prosecutors recommend sentence for former Williston hospital head. "Federal prosecutors are asking a judge in Jacksonville to sentence Perez to a minimum of 27 years for defrauding insurers out of more than $1 billion."

• Ocala Gazette: Improvements to I-75 coming in 2025. "A range of projects slated between State Road 44 and County Road 326 includes auxiliary lanes, bridge and interchange improvements."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua County votes to create medical examiner’s office apart from UF. "The decision came on Tuesday without an opportunity for the county to look at the exact department structure and budget, and Commissioner Ken Cornell, who made the motion, called it a leap of faith for both the BOCC and the current medical examiner Dr. Thomas Coyne."

Today's sponsored message

Around the state

• Associated Press: DeSantis' campaign interactions with super PACs raised internal legal concerns, AP sources say. "Ron DeSantis’ expansive political machine is facing a churn of leadership, stagnant polling numbers and new concerns about potential legal conflicts."

• WLRN-Miami: LGBTQ group denounces DeSantis as Broward high school is punished over transgender athlete. "Florida's state athletic board fined Monarch High School on Tuesday, placing the Coconut Creek school on probation after a transgender student played on the girls volleyball team, a violation of a controversial law enacted by DeSantis and the Republican-majority Legislature."

• WUSF-Tampa: Sarasota school board votes 4-1 for Bridget Ziegler to resign. She refuses. "The vote was non-binding. Only the governor can unseat an elected school board member for things like malfeasance, incompetence or committing a felony."

• WMFE-Orlando: Florida homeowners continue to deal with troubled property insurance market. "The federal government is worried that if another major hurricane hits Florida, they could be asked to bail out Citizens Property Insurance, which is the state-backed insurer of last resort."

• Associated Press: South Florida dentist gets life in prison in death of prominent FSU professor. "A judge sentenced a South Florida dentist to life in prison on Tuesday in the shooting death of his former brother-in-law, a prominent professor at Florida State University, following a bitter custody battle."

• News Service of Florida: Florida lawmakers start weighing DeSantis' 2024-25 budget plan. "Describing Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposed 2024-2025 budget as 'very responsible,' the House and Senate Republican budget chief on Tuesday brushed aside concerns about the $114.4 billion spending plan."

• WMFE-Orlando: Evictions in 2023 on track to meet or exceed 10-year record high. "Eviction cases for 2023 were on track to either match or beat last year’s numbers — which broke a 10-year record-high in Orange County — according to Clerk of Courts public records."

• Associated Press: 13 cold, stunned sea turtles from New England are given holiday names as they rehab in Florida. "Seven Ridley’s sea turtles are among 13 given holiday-themed names as they are treated at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. They were among 52 flown to Tampa last week from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts."