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• WUFT News: Gainesville state representative files bill to improve public transportation in Florida. "Under the proposed legislation, Florida would join the Southern Rail Commission, a group of representatives from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi who lobby for passenger and cargo rail services in their states."
• WUFT News: Hundreds protest in Ocala’s Downtown Historic Square. "Many demonstrators held signs and shouted chants as onlookers drove by honking their car horns to show support. A few drivers rolled down their windows to engage with the protesters, with a mix of encouragement and criticism."
• WUFT News: Florida Museum of Natural History delays renovations, leaving a timetable for reopening unclear. "The approximately 6,000-square-foot project initially had a $20 million budget, according to the museum’s press release. The University of Florida administration allocated an additional $10 million, delaying the closure and allowing a larger expansion, said Nikhil Srinivasan, a public relations specialist for the museum."
• WUFT News: New shuttle service aims to bridge health care gap in East Gainesville. "Mobility on Demand (MOD) is a new initiative that aims to solve this issue. It provides free transportation to clinics, health care screenings and other essential community resources. The service takes residents to any destination within the East Gainesville MOD zone."
• WUFT News: Jury convicts Gainesville man who pointed flamethrower at neighborhood teens. "The trial in Alachua County Circuit Court was nearly fire: Prosecutors asked the judge to let them demonstrate the flamethrower – which can spew flames 20 feet – to jurors in an area behind the courthouse. The judge turned down the request."
• WUFT News: Santa Fe Springs Celebration unites the community to protect Florida’s natural springs. "The Santa Fe Springs Celebration brought the community together on Saturday to honor and educate attendees about Florida’s springs, rivers and aquifer, assets vital to the region’s environment and water supply. Beyond the festivities, the event carried a crucial message about the state of Florida’s water resources."
• WLRN-Miami: 'The Florida Roundup' visits WUFT, discusses UF's presidential search. "There’s a changeover happening at many of Florida’s public universities. Several universities across the state, including the University of Florida, are in the process of or soon to be searching for a new president. Controversies over political meddling and excess spending swirled around the former UF President Ben Sasse."
• WUFT News: AI and the Arts: What does this mean for future artists? "The University of Florida recently added an AI certificate within the College of the Arts that has received conflicting responses from students and local artists."
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Around the state
• WLRN-Miami: More than 2 years later, National Guard remains stationed in Florida prisons. Will they ever leave? "On top of having to tap the National Guard to staff prisons for regular inmates, a newly passed immigration law is exploring the option of using Florida prisons to detain undocumented immigrants in support of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation agenda, potentially exacerbating the staffing issues."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Bill changing Florida ballot initiative petition process passes first committee. "Ballot initiatives on recreational marijuana and protecting abortion rights faced heavy opposition from prominent Republicans during the 2024 election cycle. Governor Ron DeSantis has called for changes to the petition process."
• WGCU-Fort Myers: Environmental nonprofit sues to learn effects of cost-cuts on manatee, coral protections in Florida. "The firing of a pair of park rangers from the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, the only two designated to watch over manatees in the only federal wildlife refuge created specifically to protect the sea cow, stoked Kieran Suckling’s ire over the avalanche of environmental protection workers let go during recent cost-cutting measures by the Trump Administration."
• WFSU-Tallahassee: Two Florida state agencies announce new tools for combating human trafficking. "Two state agencies are working to identify kids vulnerable to sex trafficking before they’re victimized. The Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have announced an enhanced screening tool and new grant funding for law enforcement."
• Miami Herald: Florida offices housing Everglades engineers, scientists on the Musk chopping block. "In its bid to cut costs, the Department of Government Efficiency has ended leases around the country, including at the Florida office staffed with hundreds of federal workers focused on Everglades restoration and maintaining beaches across the state."
• WLRN-Miami: Miami Beach gets state aid to curb chaos during spring break. "DeSantis said he has directed state law enforcement officials to assist Miami Beach and other cities with resources and personnel through April."
• City & State New York: Lake Placid inks an ICE agreeement. But was it the town in New York or Florida? "The immigration agency had listed Lake Placid, New York, as having signed a 287(g) pact. It was actually the city in Highlands County. The mistake was eventually corrected, but not without some confusion."
From NPR News
• Politics: GOP unveils stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown. They may not have the votes.
• National: Benita Long disappeared. So why wasn't she added to this missing person database?
• Politics: Top Democrats ask Rubio for answers on now-canceled $400 million Tesla plan
• Religion: This synagogue calls itself 'anti-Zionist.' Here's what that means in practice
• National: Deadliest phase of fentanyl crisis eases, as all states see recovery
• Health: Daylight saving time has started. Here's how to adjust
• Science: New research reveals ancient humans used animal bone tools much earlier than thought
Kristin Moorehead curated today's edition of The Point.