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• WUFT News: City-owned Ironwood Golf Course seeks to limit financial deficit during difficult budget year for Gainesville. "City officials had projected Ironwood’s deficit for the year to end up around $250,000. The fact they’re on pace for only a $160,000 annual loss had at least one commissioner encouraged."
• WUFT News: Gainesville Plan Board proposes increasing requirements for developers of single-room occupancy residences. "Developers of single-room occupancy residences that don’t have in-unit bathrooms may now be required to add more than one private bathroom per floor."
• WUFT News: Gainesville city commission discusses moving evicted 'houseless' people. "City manager Cynthia Curry said she has been working on finding a place for them to go and that the city has secured funding for 10 more beds and appropriate staffing at Grace Marketplace."
• Gainesville Sun ($): HCA North Florida Hospital says it has 'procured new instruments,' expanded staff. "HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, which had suspended surgeries on Jan. 17 over concerns about its processes to sterilize surgical instruments, is now scheduling 75% of all elective surgical cases."
• WCJB: 500K gallons of water spilled from Newberry wastewater plant sinkhole. "City Manager Mike New says it will cost between $100,000-$200,000 for the repairs but is hoping to get reimbursed from insurance."
• WUFT News: Tourism on the rise in north central Florida. "As international tourism continues to rebound, north central Florida remains a top choice for travelers, offering a warm welcome and abundant opportunities for exploration and enjoyment."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua County, Gainesville work to reduce Newnans Lake impairment. "From Florida’s perspective, the lake has too many nutrients. The state has tasked Alachua County, the city of Gainesville and other agencies to reduce 799 pounds of phosphorus and 8,347 pounds of nitrogen from entering the lake each year."
• WUFT News: Local business credits Gainesville culture for its success. "Local Gainesville business owner, Melanie Floyd, believes she found the key to success by creating an innovative business plan for her restaurant Gainzville Hub, now entering its second year and thriving."
• WUFT News: Brews and glacial views: UF scientists speak on life and research in the Arctic. "Organized by the Florida Museum, members from the University of Florida Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI) and the UF Water Institute met at Cypress & Grove Brewing Co. to cap off their journey to Greenland and share stories from their Arctic adventures with a few dozen attendees."
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Around the state
• Fresh Take Florida: Legislature OKs blanket social media ban for kids under 16; DeSantis wants parental control. "Within hours, Gov. Ron DeSantis resurfaced his own objections over banning high school students who are 14 or 15 and whose parents might want to give their children access."
• News Service of Florida: The Florida Legislature has passed a bill to protect parents who share child custody. "A bill that would allow courts to require parents who share custody of children to make timesharing exchanges at 'neutral safe exchange' locations is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis."
• Associated Press: DeSantis calls takeover of Disney government a 'success' despite worker exodus and litigation. "DeSantis made a victory lap of sorts during a news conference at Disney World, touting a first-round victory in litigation with Disney over who controls the district, which had been led by Disney supporters for more than five decades until the takeover last year."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: Forecaster says 2024 hurricane season could be a ‘blockbuster’; Others say — it’s too early to tell. "A rare early-season warning from Accuweather meteorologists forecasts an ominous 2024 hurricane season due to, among other reasons, February sea temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean resembling summertime."
• WLRN-Miami: Endangered sawfish have been found dead in Lower Keys. Other fish also dying. "More than a dozen endangered sawfish have turned up dead in the Lower Keys in recent weeks amid an unusual fish kill that has also included goliath grouper, tarpon, stingrays and dozens of other species found dead or behaving erratically."
• News Service of Florida: The Florida Senate has approved the shooting of bears in self-defense. "The House passed the bill last week. But the Senate made a change to make clear the self-defense protections wouldn’t be available to people who lure bears with food or in other ways for purposes such as training dogs to hunt bears. The change means the bill will have to be considered again by the House."
• Associated Press: A girl dies after a sand hole on a Florida beach collapses. "The collapse of a sand hole that killed a 7-year-old Indiana girl who was digging with her brother on a Florida beach is a danger that kills and injures several children a year around the country."
• WUSF-Tampa: Florida Orchestra's music director extends contract and shares his vision for the future. "It's a move TFO's Board of Directors unanimously approved and will make Francis the second-longest serving music director in the organization's history."
From NPR News
• Business: AT&T says cell service is back after a widespread outage and some disrupted 911 calls
• National: University of Georgia says it cancels classes after a woman is found dead on campus
• Politics: Some USDA programs have been mired in inequity. A panel's final report offers changes
• National: Study's findings demonstrate the sweeping effects of America's drug overdose crisis
• World: Leaked document trove shows a Chinese hacking scheme focused on harassing dissidents
• Health: Wendy Williams is diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia
• Health: They came to clinics in Mexico for cosmetic surgery and got a deadly fungal meningitis
• Space: Delta's special total solar eclipse flight sold out in 24 hours
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.