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WUFT Special Report: The Last Straw

As North Florida’s timber industry faces new challenges, some landowners turn to pine straw. Are the human and environmental costs worth it? In part three, 'The nutrient tradeoff,' pine straw provides nutrients to the forest floor as it degrades. Landowners must replace what they take.

The stories near you

• WUFT News: Ocala Skate Park users wait for city to begin renovations, while worries about safety continue. "In January 2024, the Ocala City Council allocated $500,000, from the city’s engineering department budget, to renovate the Ocala Skate Park. Despite the allotted funds, the city has yet to approve the project’s design in a city council meeting, preventing construction from beginning."

• WUFT News: Ocala-Marion Transportation Planning Commission seeks public input on future transportation vision. "The commission released the 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan survey in April 2024 and now seeks the community’s feedback on transportation priorities and investment decisions."

• WCJB: GRU mistakenly overbills Gainesville residents: ‘It was a complete surprise’. "GRU leaders say some customers mistakenly received prorated charges for stormwater and refuse service fees on their February bill. They added that they recognized the inconvenience and would be issuing credits to affected customers."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua County continues negotiations with UF on animal services. "Alachua County selected an architect last week to design plans for its new Animal Resources shelter, but timelines remain uncertain as negotiations continue with UF over the operations of the shelter, planned on university-managed property."

• WCJB: USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championship graces Gainesville for 1st time. "Six Olympians and more than 1000 athletes from around the country are competing in the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championship from Friday, February 20 through Sunday, February 23 at Celebration Pointe."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Days left to qualify for Alachua, Newberry elections. "Two Alachua County municipalities are gearing up for April elections, with qualifying periods open for new candidates for a few more days."

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Around the state

• WLRN-Miami: Speed vs. accountability: The call to fix FEMA and the high stakes for Florida. "Few states have as much at stake with any changes to FEMA than Florida. The agency has committed almost $20 billion in disaster funding to Florida since 2017. About 13 cents of every disaster dollar spent by FEMA in the past seven years has been in Florida."

• WUSF-Tampa: Food insecurity is a major concern when it comes to Florida children’s well-being. "The 2025 report by the Florida Policy Institute ranks counties on five factors, with the newest being food security."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Florida AG Uthmeier files lawsuit against Target for DEI, Pride initiatives. "He’s arguing the company violated the Securities Exchange Act by not disclosing the 'know risks' of its DEI and Pride month initiatives. He says those investments hurt the company’s performance when its stock dipped 70 dollars two years ago. The state’s employee pension plan invests in the company."

• WUSF-Tampa: Increased federal protections are delayed for 'threatened' pillar corals due to a White House memo. "Pillar corals were supposed to become 'endangered' on Tuesday, but that was before a recent freeze pushed it back to March."

• Associated Press: Robots in the strike zone? Twins at Hammond among teams to see computer umps for spring training. "Minnesota Twins games at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers will be among a handful of sites that will test a computerized system that calls balls and strikes during Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games after four years of experiments in the minor leagues."

• WUWF-Pensacola: Historic ocean liner SS United States heads to Florida to be world's largest artificial reef. "The 1,000-foot vessel shattered the transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952. The first stop is Mobile for planned prep work before it is eventually submerged in the Gulf off Okaloosa County."

From NPR News

• Politics: Reversing U.S. policy, Trump attacks Zelenskyy, blames Ukraine for war with Russia

• Economy: IRS cuts over 6,000 jobs in the middle of tax season

• Health: Measles cases are rising in the U.S. Do adults need a vaccine booster?

• Politics: Sen. Mitch McConnell says he will not seek reelection in 2026

• Health: Republican proposals to cut Medicaid could be politically fraught

• National: N.Y. governor won't remove NYC Mayor Adams from office, another win for President Trump

• National: Trump aims to cut benefits for those without legal status. Most already don't qualify

• Science: Why are 'fireworks' coming from a black hole? This is what scientists say

Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.