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• Fresh Take Florida: UF senior staffers racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs after Sasse allowed them to work remotely. "More than half of the $211,824 itemized expenses attributed to six of his senior UF hires working remotely over 17 months was for airfare or train tickets, plus nearly $50,000 more for hotels."

• WUFT News: ‘Do we want to pack it full of houses?’ Springs lovers challenge development plans in Alachua’s fragile Mill Creek. "Cave divers in North Central Florida say the proposed 500-home Tara Forest West development could contaminate the Floridan Aquifer with its stormwater runoff."

• Florida Storms: Hurricane Idalia: A Look Back, One Year Later. "Just after sunrise on August 30th 2023, Hurricane Idalia became the first major hurricane on record to hit near Keaton Beach, in Florida’s Big Bend. Idalia brought a devastating storm surge of 8-12 feet to the coastline in Levy, Dixie and Taylor counties. Foundations flooded, and roofs toppled in Idalia’s wake."

• The Alligator: UF Health and insurance company fail to reach agreement, disrupting care for thousands. "People using both commercial and Medicaid plans will now be out-of-network for UF Health facilities, with the exception of patients at the organization’s psychiatric hospital and Central Florida hospitals. Medicare users will not be impacted, except for those at UF Health Flagler Hospital in St. Johns County."

• Fresh Take Florida: Beautiful but highly destructive: On the hunt to kill elusive, invasive lionfish on Florida’s reefs. "With venomous, featherlike spines, the beautiful fish – distinguished by their red, brown and white stripes – threaten Florida's reef ecosystems so dangerously that the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has organized contests to reward recreational and commercial divers who kill and remove them."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center to receive Florida Historic Marker. "The marker gives the CCMCC a federal designation as a historic site, allowing it to receive funding from the state."

• Central Florida Public Media: Hospice of Marion County focuses on art therapy as it reaches out to people who grieve. "Awilda Santos lost her father six months ago and came to the open house with her mother. Santos said she thought it could be a good first step in the grieving process."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Forbes ranks UF at No. 4 for top public universities. "UF moved up three spots from the 2023 rankings, according to a State University System of Florida press release."

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Around the state

• WLRN-Miami: More than 63,000 Florida workers have lost union representation due to new law. "The staggering blow to labor in Florida has quietly impacted workers’ ability to collectively bargain in every corner of the state. Everyone from municipal employees of the small city of Defuniak Springs in the Florida Panhandle to custodial staff and adjunct professors at large state universities and Orlando airport workers have lost their union representation."

• Palm Beach Post ($): State parks whistleblower says he was fired, but had to 'stop the madness'. "The whistleblower who says he leaked details on the state’s plans to add golf courses, pickleball courts and lodges at state parks says he was fired last week from his job at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) but doesn’t regret making the proposals public."

• Central Florida Public Media: New USDA rules mean more options for vegan, vegetarian students and those with milk allergies. "Under the new rules, beans, peas, and lentils count toward meat requirements for students, and nuts and seeds can fulfill the whole requirement. Experts say this will make it easier for schools to offer vegan and vegetarian options to students, which might include high-protein yogurt, eggs, and tofu."

• Politico: Ron DeSantis is struggling to maintain power in Florida following presidential campaign flop. "POLITICO interviewed a dozen legislators, consultants and lobbyists about DeSantis’ path forward — many expect a shift in the relationship and power dynamic between the governor and his erstwhile Republicans allies."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: Lee County Mosquito Control shares how to avoid dengue fever amid rise in cases. "Most of this year‘s numbers are traveler’s cases — picked up while individuals are outside the United States. But some cases originate here in the Sunshine State, where heavy summer rains and standing water have made a perfect habitat for hungry mosquitoes."

• Central Florida Public Media: A tale of two (invasive) lizards: University of Florida scientists explore a unique dynamic. "As a battle for territory unfolds between two different species of lizards invasive to Florida, a team of University of Florida scientists is trying to determine what it could mean for public health."

• Central Florida Public Media: Thousands of coral larvae spawn in Orlando. "More than 700,000 coral larvae spawned this week — not in their native habitat of the ocean, but rather at the Florida Coral Rescue Center in Orlando, where researchers replicate that habitat with natural lighting conditions for coral breeding, based on the lunar cycle."

From NPR News

• Business: Thousands of hotel workers launch strike after talks stall with top chains

• World: Israeli protesters call for a cease-fire deal after recovery of 6 dead hostages

• World: The U.S. has seized Venezuelan President Maduro's plane

• Elections: 'I'll be voting no.' Trump clarifies his stance on the abortion amendment in Florida

• National: Court orders a new hearing for Adnan Syed in 'Serial' case. Here's what to know

• Culture: A bill to protect performers from unauthorized AI heads to California governor

• World: Brazil starts blocking social media platform X amid a dispute with Elon Musk

• Economy: What can we learn from millions of high school yearbook photos?

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.