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The stories near you
• WUFT News: Home at last: A Gainesville mother’s journey to homeownership. "With three bedrooms and two baths, hers is one of 11 houses in the 34-lot development that were financed through Dreams2Reality, a program which provides eligible homebuyers up to $70,000 for their respective down payment and closing costs."
• WUFT News: 2024 hurricane season: A recap and what to expect next time. "NOAA’s prediction of above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin had been attributed to several factors, including near-record ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and reduced Atlantic trade winds. With warming seas, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, meteorologists are expecting these chaotic storms to increase in frequency and power. "
• WUFT News: Judge denies request to reconsider ruling on 2020 Alachua ‘growth management area’ ballot language. "The cities originally filed a three-count complaint challenging Alachua County’s 'growth management area' ballot language more than four years ago, ahead of the 2020 election. Attorneys claimed the charter amendment’s title and summary didn’t reflect its impact of giving the county, not municipalities, final say in land use rules."
• Florida Storms: Florida's weekend temperature plunge, strong winds. "The next front, which will push through the state quickly on Friday, is not expected to bring showers or thunderstorms. However, it will allow much drier air to sink in. We also expect a significant temperature decrease just before the weekend starts. Friday starts foggy with dense patches that could again limit visibility, just as they did on Thursday morning across much of Florida."
• Florida Storms: Weathering a new normal: Bleak conditions persist 3 months after Helene crippled western North Carolina. "Hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed are still living in campers and tents amid cold temperatures. As a long hard winter sets in, many residents are still struggling to gain some forward momentum."
• WCJB: Alachua County Public Schools, Education Assocation reach tentative employee salary agreement. "ACPS’s negotiating team and officials with the Alachua County Education Association (ACEA) have tentatively agreed to a 1.6% salary increase, in addition to the average 1% pay raise received by almost all employees at the beginning of the school year."
• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville cop sues HCA’s North Florida Hospital for post-op infection. "She says she understood the risks that came with patrolling the streets in her police cruiser. But she would not have risked surgery at North Florida Hospital, she says, had she known operating rooms there were suffering a plague of dirty surgical instruments that had festered unchecked."
• The Alligator: The search for UF’s next president has begun. Here’s what to know. "At its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, the 15-member committee tasked with finding the next leader of the state’s flagship institution outlined a tentative timeline for the search, began crafting the president’s compensation package and heeded warnings of potential setbacks from the newly hired search firm."
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Around the state
• WUSF-Tampa: Caring for someone with dementia? Here are some tips for celebrating the holidays. "Tampa resident Melissa Malone shares how she first recognized signs of dementia in her mother during the holidays and how she made adjustments to celebrate with her in the years after her diagnosis."
• News Service of Florida: Florida is the fastest growing state in the country. It just topped 23.3M people this year. "Florida’s growth reflected two key issues in the Census Bureau data: international migration and population increases in the South."
• New York Times: Miami broker turns himself in to face sexual battery charge. "Ohad Fisherman, who is accused along with real estate agent Oren Alexander and his twin brother, Alon Alexander, of participating in an alleged sexual assault in 2016, surrendered to authorities in Miami on Wednesday. A judge said she would release Fisherman on bond after his family secured funds."
• Central Florida Public Media: Orlando International Airport predicts a record 2.9 million passengers over the holidays. "The airport predicts the busiest day will be the Saturday after Christmas with more than 192,000 departures and arrivals. Dec. 21, the Saturday before Christmas, will be the third busiest with about 186,000."
• Associated Press: Florida Gators are excited about an upbeat end to season entering Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl. "The Gators won their last three games, had the 11th-ranked recruiting class and has several upperclassmen returning in 2025. Plant City's Mario Williams and the Tulane Green Wave hope to end that run."
• WLRN-Miami: 'An act of justice': Interactive Cuba exhibit shows the stories of Castro regime's victims. "'The Cuban Experience' simulates the historical period with interactive sections that include hundreds of artifacts, photos, videos, as well as experiences like a walk through a recreated prison cell like those where anti-Castro rebels were detained and a simulated execution wall similar to the space where televised mass executions in Cuba would take place."
From NPR News
• Law: Georgia court blocks Fulton DA Willis from Trump election interference case
National: Federal murder charge against Mangione could mean death penalty in CEO killing
• Business: Amazon faces multiple pickets as union targets holiday shopping rush
• Politics: Shutdown threat looms after stop-gap spending bill fails on House floor
• Health: Who can say it's healthy? The FDA has a new definition for food labels
• National: Federal regulators prohibit drone flights in dozens of locations across New Jersey
• National: California man allegedly messaged Madison school shooter about plans ahead of attack
• National: Saturday is the winter solstice. Make the most of the shortest day of the year
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.