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Over the next few days, WUFT is bringing you the 2024 Year in Review, a compilation of the noteworthy stories from our newsroom over the last year. Today, we're showcasing some of the best reporting our newsroom offered this year in special projects and major event storytelling.
Special projects
Throughout the year, WUFT reporters produce a series of special projects that dive deep into topics that matter to north central Florida. Here are those stories.
• Mundane beauty: The other side of a haircut. Tolbert's first time getting his hair cut short was on a whim. At 16, he went to a barbershop – a place where he felt accepted – near Altamonte Springs.
• From farm not to table: Sanctuaries in Alachua County provide refuge to farm animals in need. Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary is the largest rescue space for bovines in the US, according to its founder and president, Erin Amerman.
• From inmate to advocate: How incarceration motivated six individuals to try changing the system. How incarceration motivated six individuals to try changing the system.
• Meeting Mary Jane: How does Florida feel about marijuana ahead of 2024 election? A statewide ballot initiative proposed by political group Smart and Safe Florida could potentially put legalizing marijuana before voters in November 2024.
• ‘This is a fantastic program’: Marion County Veterans Treatment Court helps those who have served their country through new challenges. The Marion County Veterans Treatment Court is among 32 diversionary or pre-trial programs that serve Floridians with mental or physical difficulties.
• Water Worries. From concerns about algae and the aquifer to the overuse of bottled water, this series explores some of the pressing water issues facing north central Florida, as well as possible solutions.
• March of the Mangroves. Mangroves, once axed for development, are expanding across Florida due to climate change. Will Floridians learn to live with the iconic coastal tree?
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Major events
When major news happens, WUFT reporters are there covering it. From severe weather events like hurricanes to political conventions, we brought you the stories that mattered this year.
• Photo story: Hurricane Helene destroyed a man's home in Steinhatchee
• Steinhatchee’s recovery ‘an extraordinary effort’, says House Speaker Mike Johnson
• Swept away: Aerial look at Helene’s impact on Florida’s Big Bend
• ‘Complete devastation’: Cedar Key assesses Helene’s impact on local businesses
• Cedar Key residents rally to rebuild after Hurricane Helene's destructive blow
• IFAS: Hurricane Helene cost Florida farmers and ranchers as much as $162 million in losses
• ‘Worse than Idalia’: Florida peanut farmers report devastating losses from Hurricane Helene
• Photo gallery: Hurricane Milton aftermath in Horseshoe Beach
• ‘Time to start over’: Hurricane Milton’s disastrous slam on Florida’s battered barrier islands
• Hurricane season and a new Florida law leave homeless with few options; shelters open in response
• ‘It brings everybody together’: The woman fueling the Horseshoe Beach hurricane recovery
• Attempted assassination of former President Trump amps security at RNC
• Florida governor touts state's education progress during convention week
• At 2024 DNC, Democrats discuss involving Gen Z in their vision for America's future
• DNC recap: Key takeaways from Florida politicians and delegates
• Florida Democrats feel confident as Democratic National Convention wraps up
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.