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The Point, Nov 20, 2024: Recent hurricanes caused major losses for Florida farmers and ranchers

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The stories near you

• WUFT News: IFAS: Hurricane Helene cost Florida farmers and ranchers as much as $162 million in losses "A preliminary report published on Tuesday by researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences estimates growers lost between $40 million and $162 million of the year’s production."

Structural damage to K&H Dairy Farm in Lafayette County a few days after Hurricane Helene. (Photo courtesy of Ray Hodge)
Structural damage to K&H Dairy Farm in Lafayette County a few days after Hurricane Helene. (Photo courtesy of Ray Hodge)

• Mainstreet Daily News: Rockwell takes over as chair of School Board of Alachua County. "The School Board of Alachua County voted unanimously to hand the reigns of board chair to Sarah Rockwell, after swearing in Board Member Thomas Vu for his first term and Board Member Leanetta McNealy for her fourth term. The board also voted to make Board Member Tina Certain vice chair at the annual organization meeting on Tuesday night."

• WUFT News: UF finds its new campus police chief already working inside the department. "The University of Florida said Tuesday that after a national search, it found its new campus police chief already working inside the department, as the current deputy chief. Bart Knowles, who took over as interim police chief in June when his predecessor was promoted, said in a new interview that his goal is to keep UF’s sprawling campus in Gainesville safe so students, faculty and staff can prosper."

• WUFT News: Florida chief financial officer says he may run for vacated congressional seat in Panhandle. "Add one more name to the list of political figures considering running for the congressional seat in the Panhandle surrendered by Rep. Matt Gaetz: Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s elected chief financial officer, announced Tuesday he might join the race."

• Mainstreet Daily News: ACT facilitates purchase of Union County conservation easement. "The Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) recently facilitated the purchase of a 200-acre family property in Union County near Raiford that will protect lands in the Upper New River corridor. According to an ACT release, the conservation easement was purchased by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and facilitated by ACT. The two organizations helped the Diercks family sell a conservation easement that was acquired through Florida Forever."

• WCJB: Sporting equipment constructed at West End ahead of World Master Games. "The West End Golf Course used to be an eyesore for the community, but they have made great progress in cleaning it up. The World Master Games will be held there, and Ed Williams, Alachua County capital projects coordinator, says they have made significant progress on the new park. For example, the throwing area is done, and concrete has been poured for the javelin throw."


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Around the state

• Central Florida Public Media: School board members take the oath of office throughout Central Florida. "Under Florida law, a school board member’s term begins on the second Tuesday following the general election, which this year, falls on November 19. Each board member serves for a total of four years."

• News Service of Florida: An ongoing social media lawsuit heats up again after the Supreme Court bounces it back to Florida. "A high-profile legal battle over a Florida law placing restrictions on social-media platforms is heating up again, after the U.S. Supreme Court returned the case to a Tallahassee-based federal judge for further consideration. Industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a revamped lawsuit this month, as they continue a First Amendment challenge to the 2021 law, which targeted tech behemoths such as X and Meta."

• WFLA-Tampa: Battle over abortion rights continues after the election. "The election is behind us, but the battle over abortion rights in Florida is far from over. While a majority of Floridians voted to reverse the state’s six-week abortion ban, the ballot measure fell short of the 60 percent needed to pass."

• WUSF-Tampa: Education unions welcome favorable ruling in an ongoing legal battle with the state. "A federal judge backed two public school unions in a legal battle over dues deductions. Educators say this is good news, but will continue watching for potential challenges to other parts of the sweeping union law."

• WUSF-Tampa: New Rays stadium in jeopardy as a Pinellas County vote on construction bonds is delayed again. "The vote to delay the purchase of bonds to construct a new stadium came shortly after a letter from the Rays to the commission said the delays are making the deal unaffordable."

A Norwegian cruise ship churns up sediment as it motors into Key West Harbor. (Courtesy Safer, Cleaner Ships)
A Norwegian cruise ship churns up sediment as it motors into Key West Harbor. (Courtesy Safer, Cleaner Ships)

• WLRN-Miami: Cruise ships stir up a hurricane's worth of sediment, Key West monitoring shows. "When cruise ships lumber into Key West’s shallow harbor, they can sometimes churn up a storm of sediment more potent than a hurricane, new monitoring by the city shows. A year’s worth of tracking by the College of the Florida Keys found 32 events where turbidity measurements not only exceeded limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but often reached levels above what hurricanes like Helene and Milton generate when they pass by, according to Patrick Rice, principal investigator for marine research at the college."


From NPR News

• National: Wildfires in eastern U.S. put strain on fire departments

• Health: The FDA says it found bacteria and a 'mold-like' substance at a Tom's of Maine plant

• Health: Nationwide IV fluid shortage changing how hospitals manage patient hydration

• Climate: This soil is slowly burning, releasing CO2. The solution? Let water reclaim it

• Health: Drugmakers and pharmacists battle over who gets to make obesity drugs

• National: Trump picks business executive Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department

• National: Oarfish keep washing ashore in California. Folklore suggests that could be a bad omen

Krista Jensen curated today's edition of The Point.