Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
ACLU WANTS FLORIDA’S INMATES TO KNOW THEIR VOTING RIGHTS
The American Civil Liberties Union is urging sheriff’s offices and supervisors of elections in all 67 Florida counties to ensure people in jail who are eligible to vote are aware of their voting rights. People with past felony convictions who haven’t had their voting and civil rights restored by the state aren’t allowed to vote. But those awaiting trial or serving time for a misdemeanor can request absentee ballots.
GAINESVILLE COUPLE DONATES 657-ACRE ESTATE AND ART COLLECTION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Stephen and Carol Shey plan to donate the land, 12,000-square-foot house and art from their private foundation to the school for use as a retreat and conference center. University President Bernie Machen says the gift will help the school achieve its goal of becoming one of the nation’s pre-eminent universities by giving it a tranquil space to host dignitaries and thinkers. Machen said the school lacks a top-notch conference center, something it now will have.
POLICE: 4th ATTACK ON UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA CAMPUS
Police are looking for a man suspected of tackling a woman who was walking on the University of Florida campus. The Gainesville Sun reports the student kicked the man and he ran off Sunday night. The woman, who was not injured, called police. It was the fourth attack on women on campus in recent days. But university police spokesman Maj. Brad Barber says it’s too early to say whether the incident on Sunday night is related to the others. Police set up a perimeter, stopping all vehicles well into Sunday night as the investigation continues.
MIAMI-DADE VOTERS TO DECIDE NEW COURTHOUSE PLAN
Voters in Florida’s most populous county will decide in November whether to raise property taxes to finance a replacement for the 1920s-era Dade County Courthouse. The Miami-Dade County Commission last week voted to put the question on this year’s general election ballot. If it passes, the commission would gain authority to raise taxes so the county could borrow $393 million for a new courthouse for lawsuits and other civil matters. Criminal cases are heard in a separate building. The current courthouse was completed in 1928 and is beset by problems, including water leaks, mold and structural issues.
FORT LAUDERDALE PEDESTRIANS WAVE FLAG FOR SAFETY AT INTERSECTION
Pedestrians in Fort Lauderdale are trying a new way to cross busy Las Olas Boulevard. They’re waving orange flags at motorists. Last month, the city placed a bucket of the neon flags at the intersection of Las Olas Boulevard and Southeast 13th Street in the city’s entertainment district as part of a test project to improve safety. The idea is for pedestrians to step into the crosswalk, make eye contact with drivers and wave the flag.
