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• WUFT News Special Report: Dam Love Affair
Today, WUFT News continues Dam Love Affair, a special report on the more than 1,000 dams and reservoirs in Florida. Ninety-four of them are designated “high hazard,” which the state defines as “likely” causing loss of human life and extensive property damage if the dam were to fail. While dams are taken down across the country due to aging, public risk and environmental harm, Florida holds onto its dams. Read Part II, Unlocking Florida’s Rivers, today. On Wednesday, we explore the lack of public access to crucial records on the condition of the state’s dams.
• WUFT News: Future of UF campus tailgating still unclear after early-season controversy. "At the center, lies the biggest uncertainty: what will be the future of on-campus tailgating on grass areas throughout the center of campus?"
• Fresh Take Florida: Thieves steal $107,625 from UCF in sophisticated hacking scheme. "By the time the university noticed 12 days later that it had been victimized, nearly all the money had vanished. There were no reports of arrests in the case."
• WCJB: The City Manager responds to organization’s decision to withdraw funding for a gun prevention program. "The future of local gun violence prevention programs is in question after a disagreement arose between the city of Gainesville officials and a coalition of groups including a national agency. The conflict appears to jeopardize millions of dollars in funding for local programs."
• WCJB: Arguments arose between Alachua County Leaders and City of Gainesville Leaders about an agreement with GRU. "Previously, an agreement allowed the county to use GRU-installed street lights for free, as long as the county allowed GRU workers the right of way to maintain them."
• WCJB: ‘This is a critical need’: Marion County Public School officials break ground on the first new high school after 20 years. "The school is being built on 115 acres of land with 61 classrooms and will be able to accommodate 2,711 students."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Florida Museum reschedules construction timeline. "The expansion will include the construction of a new, two-story building on the west side of Powell Hall. This nearly 6,000-square-foot addition will host educational spaces, offices and the University of Florida’s Thompson Earth Systems Institute. The projected reopening is 2026."
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Around the state
• Central Florida Public Media: A fight to protect one of Central Florida’s cleanest lakes. "Nestled among Central Florida’s many polluted lakes and other Waters Not Attaining Standards is Lake Ola, a lake generally considered “clean.” But these days, pollution is a growing concern, according to many who live on or around the 426-acre lake in northwest Orange County."
• Associated Press: Former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death for killing 5 women at Sebring bank. "A former prison guard trainee who executed five women inside a Florida bank almost six years ago was sentenced to death on Monday as his judge called the slayings calculated, heinous and cruel."
• WUSF-Tampa: An inspection deadline for condominium buildings is quickly approaching. "Conform reform laws passed after the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida in 2021 require structural examinations, and for associations to build their reserve funds for maintenance and repairs."
• Central Florida Public Media: State Rep. Anna Eskamani says she’s running for Orlando mayor in 2027. "And so the race begins to replace longtime Mayor Buddy Dyer, who said after his reelection in November 2023 that it would be his last four-year term."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: Saildrone gets contract to survey part of Florida’s coastal waters. "Florida's shoreline is second only to Alaska's in terms of length — and what lies below that expanse of the Sunshine State's coast is, in many places, uncharted."
• WLRN-Miami: Broward school board to vote on banning religious signage after 'Satan' First Amendment lawsuit. "Timothy 'Chaz' Stevens filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the school district after local schools denied his request to hang the provocative banners, but allowed signs from Christian churches."
• News Service of Florida: Floridians are about to embark on a record holiday travel season. "A record 7.1 million Floridians are expected to travel more than 50 miles during the end-of-year holiday period, an increase of more than 3 percent from the period last year, according to the AAA auto club."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: A match made in marrow: How an FGCU student’s cheek swab led to a life-changing encounter. "Horowitz joined the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry in one of her classes. Gift of Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer by connecting stem cell donors with matches. For Horowitz it was as simple as a cheek swab — but for Kevin Mitchell it was a one-in-100,000 opportunity."
From NPR News
• National: Here's what we know about the deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin
• Business: Amazon manipulated injury data to make warehouses appear safer, a Senate probe finds
• Election: 'Fake electors' from 2020 are casting 2024 votes for Trump while facing felony charges
• Education: Apprenticeships are a trending alternative to college — but there's a hitch
• Business: 'Love Is Blind' cast are employees, labor board says. Could a reality TV union be next?
• Health: An increasing number of mental health practitioners do not take insurance
• Religion: Sotheby's to auction off ancient Ten Commandments tablet
• National: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a longtime theater lover, makes her Broadway debut
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.