June 23, 2022 The Point


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• WUFT: First day of summer brings high temperatures and warnings of heat-related illness. “With soaring temperatures comes high heat that could prove a danger to vulnerable people like young children, the elderly and those exposed to the outdoors for long periods of the day.” 
• The Alligator: Northeast Gainesville neighborhood celebrates community center reopening. “John Nix reflected on the lost sense of community Duval Heights boasted throughout his childhood. The newly revamped Clarence R. Kelly Community Center renewed his optimism.”
• Gainesville Sun ($): Mentoring program building community and hosting the East Gainesville Backyard BBQ. “The community is invited to come out, eat, mingle and have fun at the East Gainesville Backyard BBQ with activities for the entire family.”
• Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala City Council approves Cala Hills buildout of 104 townhomes in SW Ocala. “The plan, which faced no public opposition during the hearing, calls for 104 townhomes on about 26 acres adjacent to the Cala Hills neighborhood, which currently has single-family homes and townhomes.”
• CBS4: 10 new officers sworn in at GPD. “GPD Interim Chief, Lonnie Scott, says the police department has been experiencing staffing shortages since last year, and recruiting has not been easy.”
• Gainesville Sun ($): Alachua County’s House, Senate candidates set for primary, general elections. “The races will include the governor, Congress, and U.S. senators, as well as local elections for this year’s midterm election.”
• WFLA: Citrus County thieves take off with 540 gallons in stolen diesel fuel, deputies say. “The sheriff’s office released photos of the vehicles along with their descriptions. One is a white four-door pickup truck, possibly a newer Chevrolet Silverado. The other is a gold Ford pickup truck, possibly an early 2000s F-250 with an extended cab.”
• FOX 13: Publix not offering COVID vaccines to children under 5. “While children age six months to 5 years old are now approved to receive COVID-19 vaccines, parents will not be able to get their kids vaccinated at one major pharmacy. Publix says its pharmacies will not administer vaccines to children under the age of 5 at this time.”
• Tallahassee Democrat ($): Former mayor, candidate for governor Andrew Gillum and adviser arrested on federal charges. “One of Gillum’s closest advisers, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, also was charged in the 21-count indictment. Lettman-Hicks recently qualified to run for the Florida House seat in District 8.”
• WFSU: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear an appeal in a decades-old Tallahassee murder case. “Justices, as is common, did not explain their reasons for declining to take up the appeal filed by attorneys for Joe Elton Nixon, now 60. Nixon was convicted and sentenced to death in the August 1984 kidnapping and murder of Jeanne Bickner.”
• WFSU: A Leon County judge has rejected efforts to make FSU pay students for pandemic shutdowns. “In one of a series of similar cases across the state, a circuit judge tossed out a potential class-action lawsuit that argued Florida State University should refund money to students because of a campus shutdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• News4Jax: St. Johns is healthiest county in Florida, says study from US News & World Report. “Los Alamos, New Mexico, is the healthiest county in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report, which ranked the top 500. Only two Florida counties made the list: one of them is St. Johns County, which landed at 185.”
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune ($): Sarasota judge to rule in 2 weeks if lawsuit against Brian Laundrie’s parents is dismissed. “During the hearing Wednesday on a motion to have the suit dismissed, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie were notably absent from the court. The Laundries’ attorney, Matthew Luka, said afterward it was not unusual for clients to not appear during a motion to dismiss hearing.”
• Sun Sentinel ($): Jury selection in Parkland mass shooting case enters final phase. “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting trial entered the final phase of jury selection Wednesday, and Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she is planning to have the job finished within a week.”
• New York Times ($): An Outbreak of Meningococcal Disease in Florida is Growing, the CDC Says. “So far, 26 cases, including seven deaths, have been identified, primarily in men who have sex with men.”
• WFTS: Florida homeowners pay nearly 3x national average for homeowners insurance. “The price to live in paradise is getting higher for homeowners. A new analysis found that Floridians are paying property insurance premiums nearly three times the national average.”
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune ($): Sarasota judge to rule within a week on injunction barring Herald-Tribune from ID’ing deputies. “The emergency injunction was granted June 10 to the Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney’s Office and deputies. It barred the Herald-Tribune from publishing the names of two deputies involved in the fatal shooting of Jeremiah Evans during an eviction on April 1.”
• NBC2: Largest Burmese python in Florida history discovered in Naples. “The female python measures nearly 18 feet long, weighs 215 pounds, and was found with 122 developing eggs in its abdomen officials said.”
•World: Survivors dig by hand after Afghanistan quake killing 1,000
• National: South Dakota AG removed from post after hitting and killing a pedestrian
• Uvalde Elementary School Shooting: A small, growing group of survivors advises school leaders after mass shootings
• Health: The FDA wants to reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes
• Politics: Marilynn Malerba could soon be the first Native American to serve as U.S. treasurer
• Politics: Biden wants a gas tax holiday. Some economists say that’s a bad idea
• Law: The Supreme Court may issue a ruling that could hurt Biden’s climate change plans
• Culture: The Smithsonian selects four possible sites for new museums for women and Latinos
• National: Americans connect extreme heat and climate change to their health, a survey finds

I’m Fareeha Haque Abrar, a journalist at WUFT. Originally from North Carolina, I grew up reading Florida stories since moving to Jacksonville at 4 years old. I am a senior journalism major and am a part of a team searching for local and state news each week that’s important to you. Please send feedback about today’s edition of The Point or ideas for stories we may have missed to fareehaabrar@ufl.edu.
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