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The stories near you
• WUFT News: Two women face obstruction charge in Marion County case in which a man and K9 died. "The charges stem from a state police investigator accidentally leaving his state-issued recording device in the car belonging to the sister of the suspect’s girlfriend, according to arrest records. The investigator had used the device to interview the girlfriend after the incident happened outside her home on Northeast 144th Court, just off of State Road 40, authorities say."
• WUFT News: Widening sex abuse probe leads to additional charges for St. Patrick Interparish School employees. "Two employees of an Alachua County Catholic school embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal are facing additional charges after Gainesville police filed a slew of new complaints in Alachua County Circuit Court Monday. Christopher Charles Chell, 46, a former physical education teacher at St. Patrick Interparish School, was arrested on March 7, a week after his firing. ... Police are also charging assistant principal Ryan Michael Clemens, 41, with five additional criminal charges."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Families grapple with impact of North Florida Hospital’s surgical shutdown. "Wendy Thornton does not know if her husband could have been saved, but she is angry the hospital didn’t tell her that, the day before he died, it halted all surgeries. At 1 p.m. on Jan. 17, hospital CEO Eric Lawson texted Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Harold Theus to tell him to take the critically sick or injured somewhere else."
• WUFT News: After 30 years in business, Hear Again Records owner says the shop is here to stay. "There is a music store in downtown Gainesville that’s so old, it saw vinyl make a comeback. In the years it’s been open, Hear Again Records, located on 201 SE First St., has survived two locations, two owners and a pandemic. Now, the store has a milestone to celebrate: its 30th anniversary."
• WUFT News: Swimming continues to expand in Marion County with three new competitions receiving funding. "After five sporting events were allocated funds in March, Marion County tourism officials have shifted their focus from land to water. The Marion County Tourism Development Council met Thursday to discuss funding for three proposed swimming events. The three events are projected to generate a little under $5 million in tourism revenues for Marion County."
• WUFT News: A snapshot into the life of a High Springs tree farmer. "Tree farmer Joshua Milliken, 38, spends his days trekking through miles of trees both on the job and off of it. As a Gainesville native and family man, he runs the 100-acre Sante Fe Tree Farm with his dad and two brothers in High Springs. When he’s not nose-deep in tree pots, he said, he's out in nature searching for new photos to add to his collection at La Chua Art Company, an organization Milliken founded in 2016."
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Around the state
• Central Florida Public Media: As Supreme Court weighs case on homelessness, local advocates call for more action. "Outside the George C. Young Federal Building and Courthouse in Orlando, local experts and nonprofit leaders discussed the cost and trauma of homelessness and criminalization, Central Florida’s “severe” lack of affordable housing, the number of working adults who are homeless, and they presented data and recent trends in Florida, proposing housing program alternatives to arrest."
• WFTS-Tampa Bay: State leaders address home insurance costs and say market could stabilize soon. "Now, leaders say nine insurance companies are entering Florida, which will create a more competitive market and lower costs. 'Carriers are doing new rate filings that are dropping from what they had been historically,' said Jimmy Patronis, Florida's Chief Financial Officer."
• NPR News: Abortion in Florida will be limited to the first 6 weeks of pregnancy starting May 1. "Florida requires people to wait at least 24 hours between their first consultation and an abortion. And sometimes they don't even know they're pregnant for weeks. Now, in these last days before the six-week ban, appointments are filling up, and staff are working overtime."
• Florida Politics: Ashley Moody sues ACC for shielding media rights contracts to FSU’s detriment. "A double Gator is going to bat for the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles in court. Attorney General Ashley Moody, who got her bachelor’s degree and her law degree from the University of Florida, filed a lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for failure to disclose what she believes are public records in the form of media rights contracts."
• Tampa Bay Times ($): Undeveloped Manatee County islands for sale for $75 million. "The 671-acre island believed to be shaped like a rattlesnake, located where Terra Ceia Bay and Tampa Bay meet, is for sale in a $75 million package deal that includes a nearby collection of smaller islands and a neighboring mainland property. In total, it’s 1,000 undeveloped acres of mostly wetlands."
• News4Jax: Opening of the beaches is just around the corner, but is the water ideal for a plunge? "However, as May approaches, a gradual warming trend takes the average to 71 before peaking around 84 in August. Right now in Mayport, at the river mouth, the water temperature is 72 and already reached 75 for the first time this year on April 20. Similarly, in St. Augustine, the current water temperature is 72 on April 25."
From NPR News
• Law: Supreme Court appears skeptical of blanket immunity for a former president
• National: Mass arrests roil college campuses amid pro-Palestinian protests
• National: 10 years after Flint, the fight to replace lead pipes across U.S. continues
• Health: States find a downside to mandatory reporting laws meant to protect children
• Space: He missed a chance to be the first Black astronaut. Now, at 90, he's going into space
• National: Archaeologist uncovers George Washington's 250-year-old stash of cherries
Ethan Magoc curated today's edition of The Point.