The Point

The Point, April 29, 2025: Fitness group supports military veterans

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published April 29, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT

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Today's Florida stories

Gainesville Army veterans Steve Perrault, Joe Stull, Donte Jones and Willow Vest share a moment outside Gainesville Health & Fitness, where they participate in regular workout groups hosted by new local organization Camaraderie Through Fitness. Jones founded the group and Perrault leads the classes. (Zoey Thomas/WUFT News)

• WUFT News: Gainesville military veterans find sweat – and support – through new fitness group. "A new local organization, Camaraderie Through Fitness, aims to make that advice more accessible – and enjoyable – for people like Vest. The group, founded in January, is hosting monthly group exercise classes for military veterans at Gainesville Health & Fitness."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Victim from Easter shooting at TB McPherson Park dies. "According to a Chestnut Funeral Home post on social media, 20-year-old Ontaria Baisden, one of three people shot on April 20 at an Easter egg hunt, succumbed to her injuries."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Newberry promotes Jason Lyman to fire chief. "The announcement comes two months after former Newberry Fire Chief Mike Vogel was arrested for driving under the influence and later resigned from his position. Lyman was elevated to interim fire chief after Vogel’s February resignation."

• The Alligator: A look into Santa Fe Teaching Zoo’s gopher tortoise safe haven. "Some are missing limbs, and others have damaged shells. But what they all have in common is that they survived life-threatening injuries."

• PolitiFact FL: Firearm-related deaths are No. 1 killer of college-age people, data shows. "Accidental deaths ranked No. 1 for people ages 18 to 25 in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Firearms were the 'leading mechanism.'"

• Associated Press: As immigrant arrests surge, complaints of abuse mount at America's oldest detention center in Miami. "At the Krome Detention Center reports have poured in about a lack of water and food, unsanitary confinement and medical neglect."

• WLRN-Miami: Endangered sawfish continue to fall ill in South Florida waters. "Another three endangered sawfish have turned up dead this spring as scientists continue to investigate toxic algae they suspect is killing the fish, bringing the total to nine this year."

• Central Florida Public Media: When roads run short: the challenges of living in a car-centric Central Florida. "The cost of commuting by car isn’t just about dollars and cents. There’s also the cost of time: like time spent waiting in traffic, or trying to find ways to avoid it. For some 200 people protesting in the Serenoa Lakes neighborhood of Four Corners one Saturday in late March, time was top of mind."

• WFLA-Tampa: Trump appoints Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to new FEMA review council. "The group was created by a January executive order. The council is tasked with 'streamlining operations' within FEMA."