The Point

The Point, March 18, 2025: Alachua County unveils Spanish emergency alert line

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published March 18, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT

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Emergency personnel including Gracia Fernández provided real time updates during Hurricane Helene from the Alachua County Emergency Operations Center. (Courtesy of Alachua County Emergency Management)

• WUFT News: Alachua County launches Spanish-language emergency alert line. "Users who text ALACHUAESP to 888-777 will receive Spanish-language messages during disasters such as hurricanes. Additional emergency information will be posted on the County’s dedicated Spanish-language Facebook page: Alachua County Ready en Español."

• WUFT News: A Micanopy woman’s initiative to feed the hungry suffers an unexpected setback. "With her aiming to help even more people, a local church gave Blinder access to a small house on its property to open a soup kitchen. But that effort quickly ended in heartbreak, as a state agency ordered it closed on the kitchen’s opening day."

• Florida Storms: Mid-March in the tropics? Chance for tropical formation in the Atlantic. "This system does not have tropical characteristics, but it has a low chance of acquiring them. The good news is that it is expected to move into an even more unfavorable environment as it moves from the Americas to the north-northwest, with very strong upper-level winds."

• Florida Storms: Spring Break in Florida: Strong winds make beaches, seas dangerous & fire weather danger. "This week, after the cold front pushes through, the seas will be dangerous as the wind will continue to be strong at least through the first half of the week."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua County offers grant for small farms, ranches. "The mini-grants, approved by the Alachua County Commission, are available to Alachua County-based ranches and farms that earn between $1,000 and $250,000 annually."

• Mainstreet Daily News: World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships to launch this weekend. "With athletes, coaches, support staff, and supporters, the event is expected to bring over 9,000 visitors to the area, packing the Alachua County Sports & Event Center and West End in Gainesville to cheer on the athletes. The championships are for masters athletes aged 35 and older, with some of the elder participants in their 80s and 90s."

• WCJB: University of Florida offers free service animal checkups. "The University of Florida’s Small Animal Hospital announced that the free American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists-Epicur Pharma National Service Animal Eye Exam event will take place on May 16."

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Around the state

A sample of plants is collected from the Shark River Slough in Everglades National Park to analyze dragonfly larvae for mercury contamination. (Gaby Eseverri/U.S. National Park Service)

• WUSF-Tampa: Scrutiny for Florida agencies charged with managing treasured waters sparks unease. "The state agencies charged with managing Florida’s treasured and troubled waterways, from world-renowned springs in the north to the vast Everglades in the south, would face greater scrutiny under a measure introduced in the Legislature this session."

• News Service of Florida: The constitutionality of Florida's gun law has been upheld. "The 8-4 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came after seven years of legal wrangling in the National Rifle Association’s challenge to a 2018 law passed after a mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 students and faculty members."

• WUSF-Tampa: A closer look at the 'race-based scholarship' at USF that is under federal investigation. "While eight other Florida institutions are listed as participants in the fellowship as well, USF is the only one in the state listed in current investigations."

• News Service of Florida: Florida parents appeal after judge tosses out their challenge to school-book review process. "The parents from St. Johns and Orange counties filed a notice of appeal last week after U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in January sided with the State Board of Education and dismissed their lawsuit."

• Central Florida Public Media: Proposed E-Verify expansion would impact Central Florida businesses. "These bills would expand the state’s 2023 E-Verify law to close a loophole and end exemptions for businesses with fewer than 25 employees. All businesses, regardless of the number of workers, would be included. All four bills have been introduced and referred to committees for debate."

• Associated Press: Cybersecurity officials warn against potential ransomware attacks involving email, VPNs. "In an advisory posted earlier this week, government officials warned that a ransomware-as-a-service software called Medusa, which has launched ransomware attacks since 2021, has recently affected hundreds of people. Medusa uses phishing campaigns as its main method for stealing victims’ credentials, according to CISA."