WUFT-TV/FM | WJUF-FM
1200 Weimer Hall | P.O. Box 118405
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-5551

A service of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

© 2024 WUFT / Division of Media Properties
News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Point, March 6, 2024: New state laws may affect voter turnout this year

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


The stories near you

• WUFT News: Northwest Gainesville development project leaves residents alarmed, though it follows Alachua County's code. "The ongoing development project, Hammocks Reserve, on Northwest 98th Street raised questions about possible flood issues and whether too many trees were removed."

• WUFT News: Confronting hate through history: Boxcar provides Holocaust education at UF's Hillel. "A railroad boxcar sat on the lawn of the University of Florida Hillel building on Monday. It was a replica of the cattle cars that delivered Jewish people and other targeted groups to Nazi death camps and stood as a harrowing testament to the perils of unbridled hate."

• WCJB: ‘I was shocked’: Newberry High School football coach removed from position. "Newberry High School football coach Ed Johnson has been fired from his position as head coach following a complaint made on January 31st."

• Mainstreet Daily News: GRU to start $50 million wastewater construction in April. "Gainesville Regional Utilities’ (GRU) Main Street Water Reclamation Facility will start construction on a $50 million Phase 1 project in April that will prepare for a potential $110 million Phase 2 project in the future."

• WUFT News: Alachua County Public Schools opens four new wellness rooms. "The low-stimulation rooms are designed with dim lights, resting spaces and soothing music. The initiative aims to aid students who may be struggling with frustration or anxiety. Students can take haven in the room for five to ten minute sessions before returning to class."

• Mainstreet Daily News: UF Health names new president. "According to a press release, Motew joins UF Health from the Inova Health System in Falls Church, Virginia, where he has served as the chief of clinical enterprise and executive vice president."

• WUFT News: UF students working to give children without beds a place to sleep. "Two University of Florida students have created a local chapter of a national organization, to live out its mission of 'no kids sleep on the floor in our town.'"

• WUFT News: Veterans find healing through nature at Soldiers Freedom Outdoors. "Jason Bucy lives in Inverness and served in the US Army from 1997 to 2004. As with many veterans returning to the United States, he has wounds from war. By connecting with other veterans at Camp Freedom in Melrose, he’s been able to let his guard down while fishing, horseback riding, hunting and blacksmithing."

• The Point Podcast: Resurrecting Roe in Florida. Wednesday’s host, Ben Crosbie, speaks with Kevin James, a member of the Gainesville radical reproductive rights network, about the yes on 4 campaign encouraging voters to protect abortion rights in Florida.


Today's sponsored message


Around the state

• Fresh Take Florida: New Florida laws may affect voter turnout in November elections. "State lawmakers across the U.S. concerned about the integrity of elections ahead of the 2024 presidential vote are proposing and enacting an unprecedented number of laws to restrict — and, in some cases, expand — voting rights and ballot access."

• News Service of Florida: Florida lawmakers are set to pass a $117.46B state budget. "Lawmakers on Tuesday released a $117.46 billion budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and prepared to pass it Friday as they end the annual legislative session."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: Coalition of Immokalee Workers to celebrate 30 years of fighting for human rights. "For decades, migrant workers have been among the least-protected and lowest-paid workers in the country. They are often forced to work under inhumane conditions: Intense heat, long hours and in some documented cases, held at gunpoint while in the fields and behind barbed wire at night to keep from escaping."

• WLRN-Miami: Everything you need to know about spring break restrictions in South Florida. "Miami Beach has not been shy about its intention to curb spring break crowds, introducing heavy measures in the last few weeks to help them — as its recent campaign says — 'break up' with the holiday."

• WUSF-Tampa: The pilot in a Clearwater plane crash says he couldn't see the runway lights. "The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot was destined for Clearwater Air Park but couldn't see the airport during the nighttime flight. He crashed into a home about four miles away."

• Fresh Take Florida: “Low risk, high reward”: Gangs target repairmen to rob ATMs. "The thieves hide and wait until the repairman arrives and opens the ATM for repairs. They then ambush the technician and remove the cash from the unlocked machine – all in minutes."

• Associated Press: First baby right whale of the season dies from injuries caused by a ship collision. "North Atlantic right whales number less than 360 and they are vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Federal authorities were notified of a dead right whale stranded off Georgia on Sunday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Court hearings are set for a pair of lawsuits between Florida State University and the ACC. "The ACC, which operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, will have its first court hearing in Leon County in April. The conference is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit FSU filed over its media rights deal."

• WMFE-Orlando: City of Apopka opens measles vaccination sites, here's where to go. "The Florida Department of Health has documented 10 cases in Broward and Polk counties. Apopka officials are looking to protect its vulnerable populations who have not been vaccinated yet."

From NPR News

• Elections: Nikki Haley to suspend presidential campaign

• Law: How states giving rights to fetuses could set up a national case on abortion

• Elections: 4 takeaways from Super Tuesday

• World: With a million cases of dengue so far this year, Brazil is in a state of emergency

• Health: First over-the-counter birth control pill heads to stores

• Education: In a first, U.S. students will take the SAT entirely online (no pencils required)

• Climate: A new satellite will track climate-warming pollution. Here's why that's a big deal

• Space: NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is talking nonsense. Its friends on Earth are worried

• National: The growing industry of green burials

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.