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The Point, June 28, 2022: Middle And High Schoolers In Alachua County Will have To Wear Clear Backpacks Next School Year

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The stories near you

• The Gainesville Sun ($): Alachua County school district to require clear bags for middle, high school students. "The decision to have clear backpacks also comes after a rise in youth violence this past year, school officials said, which includes the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas where 19 students and two teachers died."

• WFTS: Potential tropical cyclone 2 being monitored in the western Atlantic "The National Hurricane Center began issuing advisories Monday evening for potential Tropical Cyclone 2 as it moves toward the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea."

• The Gainesville Sun ($): 'This is who I am. Take it or leave it.': Gainesville's LGBTQ community shares coming-out stories. "In Gainesville, the pride rainbow shines bright. To celebrate Pride Month, The Gainesville Sun collected the coming out stories of locals within the LGBTQ community."

• WCJB TV20: Heirs property loss high among black community. "Habitat for Humanity is one of the many resources that is being recommended to help close the gap for heirs’ property loss."

• WCJB TV20: UF Health hires diversity officer. "Butler was a professor of pharmacy practice and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Southern Illinois University."

• WUFT News: City Service Fair fosters relationships with Gainesville residents"Some of the services represented at the fair included GRU, affordable housing, Parks and Recreation and Public Works, among many others."

• First Coast News:Columbia County Sheriff: Suspicious men posing as electric workers. "Two suspicious men claiming they were from an electric company were seen going door-to-door and asking people questions in Columbia County, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said."

• The Villages Daily Sun: Schools look to fill open jobs with recruitment events"The labor shortage has hit education in Florida — from teachers to bus drivers, custodians, substitutes and more. School districts in Lake, Sumter and Marion counties are working to recruit all positions this summer before school starts again in August."

• The Alligator: Josh Richards Accent event postponed indefinitely. "TikToker Josh Richards’ $60,000 visit to UF was postponed indefinitely Monday. Richards’ Wednesday event was canceled due to an unforeseen family obligation, according to an Instagram post from the Accent Speakers Bureau. No alternate time was mentioned."

• CBS4: NIL attorney calls UF recruiting "Dysfunctional". "After Rashada committed to Miami, An attorney who says he represents him for NIL deals (Name, image, and likeness), criticized UF's recruiting in a story with On3."

• Villages-News: Wildwood leaders place moratorium on new outpatient drug treatment clinics. "Under the resolution approved unanimously, the moratorium will extend until May 23, 2023. At least 10 substance abuse and addiction treatment centers currently are located in Wildwood."


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Around the state

• WUSF: DeSantis visits Tampa to sign a bill that expands Bright Futures eligibility"Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the Hillsborough Community College campus in Ybor City on Monday to sign a bill that expands eligibility requirements for the state's Bright Futures scholarship.  The scholarship covers either 100% or 75% of tuition for high-achieving, Florida students."

• Tampa Bay Times ($): Florida judge hears arguments on state’s new law banning abortion after 15 weeks. "Reproductive health providers on Monday asked a Florida judge to block a new 15-week abortion ban from taking effect this week, arguing that the state constitution guarantees access to the procedure."

• WUSF: These new Florida laws are set to hit the books July 1. "Nearly 150 laws that Florida legislators passed this year are set to hit the books Friday.  Some face legal challenges, such as a bill that would prevent abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy."

• Citrus County Chronicle: State, NRA point to Supreme Court ruling in gun case. "As they battle over a 2018 Florida law that raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy rifles and other long guns, attorneys for the state and the National Rifle Association are trying to use a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster their arguments."

• WFLA: 'Abortion 4 All': Winter Haven pregnancy center vandalized, police say. "Volunteers painted over graffiti left on a pregnancy center in Winter Haven following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday. According to police, sometime between Friday evening and Sunday at noon a person, or a group of people, used spray paint to write messages on the side of the building, the front entrance and the sign."

• Tallahassee Democrat ($): Abortion-related graffiti spray-painted on Leon County church entrance sign and roadway. "In red spray-paint, the words "My BODY" was tagged over the entrance sign of Saint Phillips AME Church, 6200 Centerville Road."

Florida Times-Union ($): Judge denies requests to block Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ so-called ‘Stop WOKE Act’. "Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a 23-page order that largely denied a request for a preliminary injunction against the law, which is slated to take effect Friday. Walker, however, did not rule on an injunction request by a University of Central Florida professor, after ordering attorneys to file additional briefs."

• Palm Coast Observer: Flagler school district will utilize 'inclusive buses' "Beginning in August, Flagler County school district students who use wheelchairs will ride in the same school buses as other students."

• Orlando Business Journal ($): Brightline high-speed rail station at Disney Springs nixed. Here's why. "The theme park was among the first to announce plans for a station stop for the future rail project."

• Miami Herald: Will Surfside raise Pride flag after all? Commissioners say they support it"After backlash to Surfside’s decision not to raise the LGBTQ flag for Pride month in June, a majority of town commissioners say they would support flying the flag on town grounds this year and in the future. A protest is planned for Tuesday and some local residents had circulated a petition which gathered hundreds of signatures after the town announced earlier this month it would not raise the Pride flag, citing the lack of a policy."

• WMBB: Local restaurant cancels annual Lobster Festival. "One of the most popular annual events in the Panhandle will not take place this year. The local restaurant that organizes it cited soaring costs, supply chain issues and complications caused by COVID-19 for the cancellation."

• ABC7: New TikTok trend leaves giant holes on beaches, threatening turtles. "People are going through a lot of trouble just to film a TikTok. Holes, some as deep as five feet and as wide as four feet, have been found all over Sanibel. Many thanks to a new social media challenge. But the real challenge is what could happen to our turtles if left unfilled, or to whoever has to fill them in."


From NPR News

• National: An Amtrak train collides with a truck and derails in Missouri.

• National: More than 40 migrants are found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer in South Texas

• Health Care:Instagram and Facebook begin removing posts offering abortion pills

• Politics: The House Jan. 6 committee schedules a last-minute hearing for Tuesday

• National: WNBA star Brittney Griner is seen at court, but Russia extends her detention again

• Abortion: How green became the color of the abortion rights movement

• Law: Supreme Court backs a high school coach's right to pray on the 50-yard line

• World: WNBA star Brittney Griner is seen at court, but Russia extends her detention again.

• 4th of July: We're asking all immigrants - what does the 4th of July mean to you?

About today's curator

I’m Denise Vickers, the News Director at WUFT. Originally from Delaware, I am dedicated to serving you and all people in the communities of the greater Gainesville area. I am 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 denisevickers@ufl.edu.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org