The Point, April 29, 2021: Medical Marijuana Bills Talk Halts As Public Employees Suffer Consequences of Legal Use
5 min read
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• WUFT news: Florida medical marijuana legislation stands in place as public employees are fired for legal use. “Democratic officials proposed House Bill 335 to prohibit employers from cracking down on qualified medical marijuana patients. They were referred to four subcommittees in February and have not been heard since.”
• WUFT news: The construction of the new Zion Lutheran Church shrine leads to litigation. “The sanctuary on the northwest side of a prominent intersection in Gainesville on Northwest 16th Avenue and 34th Street is hanging where construction ceased in late 2019.”
• WUFT news: UF International students make tough decisions about traveling home with pets during a pandemic. “While Liu and Gao successfully took their pets with them, many students were unable to do so as of March 1st due to the lack of pet tickets and the cancellation of ESA by most airlines.”
• WUFT news: Gainesville Police Advisory Council discusses overcrowding and youth arrest rates. “Black youths were arrested more often than whites in 2012 and 2013, when the GPD had the highest percentage of police officers in the state’s 67 counties. Since then, GPD’s youth arrests have dropped 74% and GPD’s to fourth place, Halvosa said. “
• Daily News from Main Street: Newberry asks for a program to improve country roads. “Sharp turns, crumbling sidewalks and no shoulders are high on the list of reasons the two-lane road, a popular shortcut between Newberry and Bronson, is in dire need of repair …”
• Gainesville Sun ($): Buchholz ranks 95th on the US News list of the best high schools in Florida. “Eastside High was # 137, the Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School was # 164, Gainesville High was # 236, and Santa Fe High was # 314.”
• Gainesville Sun ($): Driving through nixed, but the city is driving greater development. “A thoroughfare that Suburban Heights residents feared could increase traffic in their neighborhood will not be part of any new mixed-use development proposed alongside the community. But that’s about all that was resolved after more than five hours of debate at a Gainesville City Commission hearing Wednesday night. “
• WCJB TV20: Alachua County agrees to pay the GRU millions for the public safety radio system. “The county officials voted 4-0 to pay the current GRU bill, which stipulates that the county has to pay a larger share than its colleagues in the city of Gainesville. And it’s a lot more than the county budgeted for. “
• Daily News from Main Street: UF graduate named Cuscowilla manager. “While one maintenance team works on renovating the basketball and tennis courts and another is renovating the 110,000-gallon swimming pool, newly appointed Cuscowilla manager Lexi Green plans an upcoming summer day camp program.”
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• WFSU: Florida law permits guns in churches on school premises. “HB 259 allows people who have hidden gun permits to be transported to churches that share property with schools. Under current law, hidden weapons are allowed in churches, but may not be brought onto the school premises. “
• News4Jax: With the online dashboard, residents can track the Duval School’s tax revenue of half a cent. “As of April 14, the tax had generated $ 6,689,011, of which $ 5,766,469 went to DCPS and $ 922,542 went to charter schools, according to the district’s website.”
• Spectrum News: Florida teachers fear the legislation could reduce their retirement. “On Monday the Florida Senate passed an extension to the state voucher program that Governor DeSantis is likely to sign. Critics fear that this will pull taxpayers’ money away from private public schools. “
• First coastal news: Florida resumes use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine at mobile vaccination events. “US health officials on Friday lifted an 11-day vaccination break on Johnson & Johnson after reports of some people developing an extremely rare type of blood clot.”
• WUSF: Energy-saving bills are waiting to be signed by Governor DeSantis and lawsuits could be sued. “If the law were signed, activists would deprive local governments of the power to control utility pollution.”
• WFSU: House approves election changes, sends bill back to Senate. “Florida could be the youngest state to revise its electoral laws after the 2020 presidential cycle.”
• Tallahassee Democrat: The FSU’s Anti-Racism Task Force votes against the removal of Doak Campbell’s name from the football stadium. “The entire panel voted to recommend that the university and the athletics department introduce ‘high profile’ recognition of black and other under-represented minority student athletes in the stadium.”
• WFTS: New species of venomous spiders found at the Florida zoo. “According to Frank Ridgley, head of zoo conservation, the spiders are named after the construction of a so-called” trap door “over vegetation and soil to attack their prey.”
• Bradenton Herald: According to the ADL audit, anti-Semitic incidents in Florida increased by 40 percent in 2020. “Last year there were 2,024 cases of assault, harassment and vandalism across the country, a 4 percent decrease from the 2019 record high. The audit found a 10 percent increase in harassment incidents, an 18 percent decrease in vandalism and a 49 percent decrease in attacks. “
• WMFE: The alarming number of manatee deaths results in a state budget of $ 8 million. “Nearly 700 manatees have been found dead in Florida since January, more than three times the number at that time last year.”
• Florida Politics: Lauren Book was elected President of the Senate Democrats after Gary Farmer was evicted. “The move sparked a hurricane of late-session drama that put farmers on the defensive and raises questions about who is really responsible now.”
• Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola adopts a 30 percent renewable energy target by 2030. “Pensacola’s goal of getting 30% of its energy from renewable sources may seem modest compared to 11 other cities in the state that have committed 100% by 2040 or 2050.”
• Sun Sentinel ($): Robert Runcie pleads not guilty – and moves to dismiss the perjury charge. “Robert Runcie pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and again urged a Broward judge to dismiss the perjury charge that nearly cost him his job as superintendent of the Broward Schools.”
• National: NC Court Considering Bodycam Video Posting, Brown Family Posting Autopsy
• Health: COVID-19 has hit the Amish community hard. Even so, vaccines are a tough sell
• National: Federal investigators search Rudy Giuliani’s apartment
• National: The DOJ is suing men for hate crimes for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery
• Surroundings: Senate votes to restore regulations on climate-warming methane emissions
About the current curator
I’m Sky Lebron, multimedia producer and Morning Edition newscaster at WUFT. I’ve lived in Florida my entire life, originally from Broward County before finally moving here to attend UF. I think Florida is a reporter’s dream because there are so many fantastic stories to tell. From state politics to the environment to character-based stories, this state has it all and I think it’s a great honor to curate these stories for our audience. If you have any feedback on today’s issue or ideas for stories we may have missed, contact me at slebron30@ufl.edu.
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