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The stories near you
• WUFT News: GNV is going electric: Gainesville Regional Airport leads advances in aviation scene. "In September, GNV announced partnership that could make this experience much different, maybe in the next couple of years. BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company based in Vermont, installed an electric charging station at GNV that can charge electric aviation vehicles."
• News Service of Florida: Alachua County stripper's challenge to Florida law put on hold. "A federal judge has paused a challenge to a new Florida law that prevents strippers under age 21 from performing in adult-entertainment establishments, putting a hold on the lawsuit while an appeals court considers a dispute over a similar Jacksonville restriction."
• WUFT News: Hurricane Helene: The Big Bend’s Recovery. "A team of WUFT reporters visited the coast just hours after Hurricane Helene made landfall. They continued reporting day, weeks, and months after the storm. WUFT News presents a collection of stories called Hurricane Helene: The Big Bend’s Recovery."
• WCJB: 50 acre fire burns through field, destroys equipment in Chiefland. "Leaders with the Florida Forest Service say the fire was caused by someone conducting an unauthorized burn in the area, but dry conditions caused it to spread."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Florida’s Amendment 5 to occur automatically for Alachua County residents. "Alachua County Property Appraiser Ayesha Solomon said in a press release that citizens with homestead exemptions can expect the adjustment to happen automatically next year. No action is needed by homeowners who already have homestead exemptions."
• WCJB: Town Hall and library closed in Micanopy due to mold. "Town leaders say they will know when the building will reopen and how much the repairs will cost after Tuesday night’s meeting."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville schools combine for 3 national chess titles. "The championships happened in Maryland over the weekend, and the Eagle’s wins break a five-year curse lingering at the school since 2009."
• Gainesville Sun ($): Shaq gives away new Audis to three young men he met in Gainesville following viral 2016 video. "During O'Neal's 2016 visit, he asked the boys to promise to listen to their parents and work hard in school. Upon learning on Saturday that the three kept that promise, O’Neal surprised them by telling them that he would buy each of them a new Audi A3."
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Around the state
• WFSU-Tallahassee: As hearings on oil drilling in the fragile Apalachicola River Basin begin, opponents protest at DEP. "Hearings are underway over the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s plan to okay an oil drilling permit in the fragile Apalachicola River Basin. Protesters gathered Monday on the agency’s steps to argue that the plan is dangerous -- not only to Northwest Florida’s ecosystem but to its economy."
• News Service of Florida: Tampa's Susan Valdes jumps to GOP, adding to Florida House supermajorrity. "The move, which drew a rebuke from House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, came a week after Valdes lost a bid to become chairwoman of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee."
• Associated Press: DeSantis appointee says he won't help his elected replacement take office. "A state attorney in Florida is telling his staff he can’t help his elected replacement take over his seat because Gov. Ron DeSantis had already suspended the Democrat from the office. Judicial circuit prosecutor Andrew Bain sent the message to his staff Monday and it was obtained by The Associated Press."
• POLITICO: Lara Trump leaves RNC amid Senate chatter. "She’s expressed openness to replacing Rubio, the president-elect’s pick to be secretary of State, in the Senate, telling The Associated Press it’s a role she 'would seriously consider.'"
• Central Florida Public Media: Space Coast home to 3-D printed, affordable homes. "Instead of a full crew performing labor-intensive construction work, Frank, the 3-D printing machine, was layering concrete with fast precision, while a small team in hardhats sat in the shade, monitoring the work."
• News Service of Florida: A state representative has filed an open carry bill for the 2025 legislative session. "The bill (HB 31) also seeks to repeal a 'red-flag' law that allows authorities to take guns from people found to pose a 'significant danger' to themselves or others. The Legislature approved the red-flag law as part of a wide-ranging measure after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland."
• Central Florida Public Media: Baby manatee deaths on the decline as year ends. "More baby manatees died so far in 2024 than in the previous two years. But that uptick could actually be a sign of recovery, showing more manatees are reproducing now, compared to 2021’s unusual mortality event. That year, 1,031 manatees died — twice as many as this year — and 106 were perinatal."
From NPR News
• National: New York prosecutors charge suspect with murder in death of UnitedHealthcare CEO
• Politics: Why Latino voters' turn to Trump, GOP may not have been as sharp as exit polls showed
• Business: 'We're absolutely in panic mode': Toymakers are bracing for Trump's tariffs
• National: Bidders are back in court battling over the auction of Alex Jones' Infowars
• Science: Taller vehicles are more dangerous to pedestrians, even at low speeds, research finds
• World: Massacre in Haiti leaves almost 200 dead, says UN
• Politics: Biden creates a new national monument marking the legacy of Indian boarding schools
• Culture: Renowned poet and Black arts movement icon Nikki Giovanni dies at 81
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.