The Point

The Point, March 24, 2025: Gainesville's Downtown Ambassadors program makes a difference

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published March 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT

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The stories near you

Reed Johnson, a team lead for the Gainesville Downtown Ambassadors, answers a visitor's question regarding parking. (Martine Joseph/WUFT News)

• WUFT News: Downtown Ambassadors' night watch is making a difference. "Johnson and other safety ambassadors have built relationships within the community to know the area and its residents well, he said. They are on a first-name basis with many unhoused individuals and greet passersby on the streets with familiarity."

• WUFT News: Experts reflect on the future of the species as vehicle collision kills fourth Florida panther in 2025. "The 4-year-old male panther was hit by a vehicle on SR29 in Collier County. All recorded deaths this year have been due to vehicle collisions, which was the primary cause of death among panthers in 2024."

• WUFT News: #1 Gators defeat UConn, move to Sweet 16. "The #1 Florida Gators are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. Todd Golden's team took down the reigning back-to-back national champion #8 UConn Huskies, 77-75."

• Florida Storms: A pair of cold fronts to move across Florida this week, high rip current risk. "Some schools are still out on Spring Break this week. Although the seas will be much calmer overall than last week, there is still a high risk of rip currents, especially along the east coast of Florida. Swim near a lifeguard, or better yet, avoid getting in the water."

• WUFT News: UF's bee college prepares beekeepers for spring. "It's part of its annual Spring Bee College Program, which essentially opens the doors of the Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab to the public for workshops and classes."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Final development plan approved for mixed-use, 12-acre site in Jonesville. "Approved unanimously, the project will front Newberry Road and add another development section between the city of Newberry and Gainesville. The site is currently heavily wooded and is across the road from the Campus USA Credit Union building."

• WCJB: Road renamed after former Marion County NAACP president. "A portion of Northwest 24th Road will be known as Whitfield Jenkins Road. Jenkins is a lifelong Ocala resident who worked as a teacher and at the Department of Corrections."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Gainesville schools dominate 2025 Florida chess championships. "Gainesville students sliced through the competition at the 2025 Florida State Scholastic Chess Championships, with Oak Hall School, the Frazer School and Queen of Peace Catholic Academy winning seven of the eight team championships."

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Around the state

Fort Myers, Fla., City Council members Fred Burson, Teresa Watkins Brown, Diana Giraldo, Darla Bonk and Mayor Kevin Anderson listen Friday, March 21, 2025, to a speaker's opposition to a measure that would allow city police officers to enforce federal immigration laws. (Kairi Lowery/Fresh Take Florida)

• Fresh Take Florida: Fort Myers reverses vote, allows police to work with US immigration agents after threats from GOP leaders. "The city council, which earlier in the week had blocked the measure in a 3-3 vote, passed it unanimously despite protests from residents who warned that it would instill fear and distrust in police among the city's prominent immigrant community. The reversal was the first such action stemming from threats by state Republican leaders."

• WLRN-Miami: South Miami-Dade brush fire contained, under control, says Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and county mayor. "Levin Cava later congratulated the firefighters Sunday afternoon, posting on X congratulations to 'our heroic first responders for getting the South Dade brush fires under control and protecting our community.'"

• WFSU-Tallahassee: As Trump dismantles the U.S. Department of Education, Florida educators have mixed reactions. "For years, President Trump has talked about his desire to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. On Thursday, he issued an executive order to move the process forward -- and in Florida, reactions range from enthusiasm to anxiety."

• Central Florida Public Media: Statewide heat protection bill returns to Florida legislature. "The majority of workers in the farming, construction, roofing, utilities and other industries are subject to workplaces void of protections, leading to heat-related incidents, according to the U.S. Department of Labor."

• WLRN-Miami: Florida leads nation with nearly 100 police partnerships with ICE to deport undocumented. "As of Tuesday, 140 law enforcement agencies at the state, county and local levels have signed 'task force' agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the nation, according to an ICE database. A total of 97 of them are in Florida, including the sheriff's office in each of 67 counties."

• WUSF-Tampa: Most Florida LGBTQ+ youth want to leave the state, a national survey finds. "A recent study shows that 69% of LGBTQ+ Florida youth polled have considered moving to another state because of politics and laws that single them out. That’s the highest percentage of any U.S. state, according to The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People."

• Associated Press: Technician says Orlando thrill ride operator ignored safety concerns before teen's fatal fall. "A whistleblower lawsuit says the Orlando Free Fall had sensors that were modified to accommodate people whose height and weight were above the limits. Tyre Sampson died in 2022 after falling 70 feet."

• WGCU-Fort Myers: Sea turtles set to crawl onto Florida's shores to nest again this summer; conservationists hope hurricanes, predators stay away. "Last year’s nesting season in Florida revealed the fragile balance between heartbreak for sea turtle enthusiasts and encouraging nesting trends in Florida, where more than 90% of sea turtle nesting in the United States occurs."