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• WUFT News: Mundane beauty: The other side of a haircut. "Throughout his youth, Tolbert considered his hair one of his only feminine features. He, however, did not pine for this pinnacle of femininity. Every expedition to a hair salon made it evident that the gender he was perceived as did not mirror how he felt."

• WUFT News: ‘Never again is now’: Irene Zisblatt shares holocaust experience at UF Chabad. “Zisblatt, 94, shared her trials through tears as she described her reality of being the sole survivor of her Hungarian family sent to the camp in 1944. She was just 14 years old at the time when her parents, four younger brothers and one younger sister were convinced by German Schutzstaffel soldiers to board a train they thought was bound for a nearby vineyard.”

• WCJB: Former High Springs mayor and city commissioner dies. "He served on the commission from 2009 to 2012, he was mayor from 2011 to 2012."

• The Alligator: Florida shut down state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion. These UF programs could be affected. "In January 2023, a state-ordered audit showed UF dedicated over $5 million — or about 0.14% of its operating budget — to “programs and initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory” for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Over $3 million came from the state."

• WCJB: ‘Speech is protected, violence is not’: UF President Ben Sasse honored at UF Hillel. "Sasse addressed the crowd while being honored at UF Hillel’s leadership dinner. He was given a ‘golden bagel’ for his continued support of Jewish students since the war in Gaza broke out more than 100 days ago."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Newberry receives award for power restoration and mutual aid. "The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) recognized Newberry and 15 other Florida public power utilities with the Restoring Communities Award."

• WUFT News: Free youth roller hockey fosters a new generation of hockey lovers in north central Florida. "Desika Narayanan was about 13 when he started playing roller hockey in Gainesville in the mid-1990s. A few decades later his youngest son Nikhil is following in his footsteps."

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Around the state

• WLRN-Miami: Without better conservation, Florida could lose nearly a fifth of its rural lands in 50 years. "If Florida continues growing at its current pace, more than 2 million acres of the state’s ranches, timberland and farms could be paved over to make way for another 12 million new residents by 2070, according to a new report from the University of Florida and 1000 Friends of Florida."

• News Service of Florida: Florida lawmakers look to ban people from sleeping on public property. "The Senate proposal would allow local governments to designate certain public property for sleeping or camping if they meet standards set by the Florida Department of Children and Families."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Should Marsy's Law victim privacy extend to Florida law enforcement? One Florida lawmaker says yes. "The Florida Supreme Court ultimately decided that an officer, who is doing their job at the time, is NOT a crime victim. But state Rep. Charles Brannan, R-Macclenney, wants to change that."

• Associated Press: Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands. "An Associated Press investigation found goods linked to prisoners in the supply chains of everything from Frosted Flakes and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour and Coca-Cola. Prisoners in states like Florida are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work, and are sometimes paid pennies an hour or nothing at all."

• News Service of Florida: A Florida A&M University discrimination lawsuit has been tossed out. "A federal judge has rejected a potential class-action lawsuit that alleged the state has discriminated against historically Black Florida A&M University in issues such as funding and programs."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: DeSantis wants Florida to ratify four federal amendments he says would hold Congress accountable. "DeSantis, who recently dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, says he’s concerned about rising federal debt and a Congress he says needs to be held accountable."

• WLRN-Miami: Broward inmate deaths sound alarms for reform and resources in county jails. "Calls for reform, increased staffing and resources for Broward’s four jail facilities are rising following reports of 21 inmate deaths in less than three years."

• NPR: A Florida park just saw a record number of manatees gather together in its waters. "Blue Spring State Park is home to one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees in Florida, and recently, the park reached a new record when the number of manatees spotted in one group was nearly 1,000."

From NPR News

• Climate: Winter storms in the west have lacked enough snow for communities that depend on it

• Economy: IRS commissioner says he wants taxpayers to have options for this filing season

• Race: An Alabama engineer says a major defense contractor fired him for speaking Hindi

• Health: What a Jim Crow-era asylum can teach us about mental health today

• Health: The ketamine economy: New mental health clinics are a 'Wild West' with few rules

• National: Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane possibly spotted in the Pacific by exploration team

• Sports: The Olympics will begin awarding medals to runner-ups after the Kamila Valieva ban

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.