The Point

The Point, Feb. 27, 2025: Researchers rebuilding a shorebird's sinking home

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published February 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM EST

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While oystercatchers’ vibrant orange beaks are photogenic, well-meaning photographers can threaten the birds’ safety. “You get the paparazzi out there and they don't understand that if you flush these large concentrations, now they're vulnerable to the avian predator that you didn't see lurking nearby,” avian research scientist Janell Brush said. (Courtesy of Patrick Leary)

• WUFT News: As waters rise, researchers race to rebuild a shorebird’s sinking home. "Gomez Key and dozens of other shorebird roosts are quickly disappearing as rising sea levels reshape Florida’s Nature Coast. Artificial reefs and conservation purchases, undertaken to save the region’s oyster industry, offer a glimmer of hope for oystercatchers."

• WUFT News: Newberry Elementary School charter application passes, school to open fall 2026. "Priorities now shift to a successful launch, according to a release on Wednesday from the school. This includes conducting a search for a principal and negotiating with the Alachua County School Board."

• WUFT News: Florida’s illegal horse meat market ‘thriving’ as horse owners fear danger to their pets. "Mari Pritchard took a call at work four years ago, but didn’t have to hear the caller’s words. She already knew in her gut when she saw the caller ID that her worst fear — images from her own haunting nightmares — had become reality."

• Fresh Take Florida: ‘I grieve what I could have had’: Daughter of murdered couple reflects on killer’s execution. "Maranda Malnory, 29, was less than one month away from her 2nd birthday when James Ford murdered her parents, Greg and Kim Malnory, in rural Charlotte County in southwest Florida. Malnory was left in a car seat in her father’s blue pickup after her parents’ murders, where police found her and her parents’ bodies the next morning."

• WUFT News: 17 seconds of violence: Newly released video captures shooting between romantic rivals. "Gainesville has wrestled with a serious and persistent gun violence problem for years – and the numbers of surveillance cameras have been climbing – but it’s still rare for a shooting such as this one in 2022 to be captured on video and publicly seen."

• WUFT News: Otter family at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo prepares to move by learning to communicate with new keepers. "Communication levels vary within the otter family. Chitra, the mom of the family, has mastered 11 or 12 terms with the buttons, Smith said, whereas the babies of the family – Buddy, Nutmeg and Noel – have three. They began button training only a few months ago."

• WCJB: Former Starke police chief blames lack of training for missing evidence, FDLE says no crimes committed. "A newly obtained report details the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation into the thousands of pieces of missing evidence from the Starke Police Department. In a 27-page report obtained by TV20, agents say no crimes were committed and the case is now closed."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Gainesville business owners feeling impacts from rising egg costs. "A widespread outbreak of avian influenza, also known as the bird flu, has killed millions of egg-laying birds in recent weeks, causing a major egg shortage. The result has been a skyrocket in the price of eggs across the country, and local businesses in Gainesville are taking a big hit."

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Around the state

A teenager uses Facebook on her phone in Gainesville, Fla., on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. (Lee Ann Anderson/Fresh Take Florida)

• Fresh Take Florida: DeSantis vs. Big Tech: Social media showdown unfolding in federal court in Florida. "The social media law, which was supposed to take effect Jan. 1, would block anyone under 16 from using some social media but would allow 14 and 15 year olds to use the online services with a parent’s permission. Companies that violate the law could be fined up to $50,000 per violation."

• WFSU-Tallahassee: Florida Sheriffs offices can now do street-level immigration enforcement. "The state’s sheriff’s offices announced agreements Monday to open up their jails for detentions for ICE. The moves are due to requirements in the immigration package passed by the Florida legislature in last month’s special session. It’s meant to help President Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation of undocumented immigrants."

• News Service of Florida: Florida's Uthmeier, Moody are planning 2026 campaigns to retain appointed positions. "DeSantis appointed Uthmeier after tapping Moody to succeed Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate. Rubio became U.S. secretary of state in January. Moody filed paperwork Monday at the Federal Election Commission for a 2026 Senate campaign, according to the federal agency’s website."

• Associated Press: Congressman Byron Donalds says he's running for Florida governor. "Donalds enters the race with President Donald Trump's endorsement. Donalds has been a frequent Trump surrogate and was on the short list to be his vice presidential running mate last year."

• WUSF-Tampa: Restrictions on ship speeds removed in endangered Rice’s whale's Gulf habitat. "Protections on ship speeds in the Gulf of Mexico were removed by the Trump administration in areas where the endangered Rice's whale is known to breed."

• WLRN-Miami: 'We welcome our spring breakers': Fort Lauderdale launches law enforcement plan - with open arms. "City and public safety officials touted an open arms approach — a stark contrast to Miami Beach officials, who continue their efforts to tame spring break crowds by telling them to stay away."

• News Service of Florida: Florida could allow oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay once again. "State wildlife officials are devising plans to allow some commercial oyster harvesting next year in Northwest Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, despite no major improvements in the bay after a halt during the past four years."