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The Daystarter: Winners and losers at the Oscars; 'Vote Them Out!' easier said than done; Baycare, Publix team on health care kiosks; eight years later, a murder charge

 
Officials are working on bringing a new 7-mile system to the University of South Florida area that would connect the campus to nearby medical centers and Busch Gardens. That would include places such as (clockwise from top left) Florida Hospital Tampa, USF, Busch Gardens and Moffitt Cancer Center. [Composite photo by ALESSANDRA DE PRA  |  Times / Florida Hospital, Busch Gardens, Moffitt Cancer Center]
Officials are working on bringing a new 7-mile system to the University of South Florida area that would connect the campus to nearby medical centers and Busch Gardens. That would include places such as (clockwise from top left) Florida Hospital Tampa, USF, Busch Gardens and Moffitt Cancer Center. [Composite photo by ALESSANDRA DE PRA | Times / Florida Hospital, Busch Gardens, Moffitt Cancer Center]
Published March 5, 2018

Catching you up on overnight happenings, and what you need to know today.

• James Riddle shot Aaron Reny and John Roland in 2010 during what investigators said was an argument over drugs. Roland died immediately. But Reny died just last month, almost eight years later, from what the medical examiner determined was delayed complications from his gunshot wounds. Riddle, 42, is serving a nearly four-decade prison sentence in connection with a 2010 shooting. But now he faces a new charge of murder. Kathryn Varn spoke with Reny's mother, who served as his caretaker during the years after he was shot.

The Shape of Water and the voices of women dominated the 90th annual Academy Awards, capping an awards season marred by career-ending revelations of sexual misconduct in Hollywood. But honoring a fantasy wasn't as important Sunday as confronting hard truths that the Time's Up and #MeToo movements have brought to the forefront of the movie industry and beyond. Several presenters and winners used their time at the microphone to support victims of abuse or harassment, and demand gender equality in Hollywood. winners and losers were on the red carpet. Did you miss the telecast? Look back on our live blog for our instant analysis and what viewers were talking about Sunday night.

• The University of South Florida sits between a gridlocked area from Fletcher Avenue to Busch Boulevard. But now a public-private partnership is planning to roll out a circulator that would finally introduce mass transit to the area, linking the medical hub to the university to Busch Gardens and everything in-between. Caitlin Johnston explains how local leaders are pulling this together, and what it means for the bigger transit picture.

• There are those who want to vote out politicians who oppose gun control, but history isn't on their side. In 2016, with Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton at the top of the ballot, only three incumbents in Florida's Legislature lost their seats. But that was all before Parkland, where the deaths of 14 students and three teachers gave rise to the #NeverAgain movement that has brought thousands of demonstrators to Tallahassee to demand a statewide ban on assault weapons. Steve Bousquet writes that November is coming, but voting anybody out of the Florida Legislature is easier said than done.

• Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson criticized Gov. Rick Scott for not appearing at the CNN town hall following the Parkland shooting. Days later a reporter asked Scott to respond to Nelson's criticism. "Bill Nelson is a career politician," said Scott. "He talks a lot. He does nothing. Think about it: He has been in office for almost 50 years. He hasn't done anything on gun safety or school safety, and nothing on gun control." PolitiFact Florida found that sweepingly broad attack by Scott mischaracterizes Nelson's record.

• BayCare Health System and Publix Super Markets are pairing up in the fast-changing area of telemedicine. Their product: convenience, as in going to the doctor while you shop for groceries. What started as an experiment late last year at a handful of Publix stores will be expanding to nearly two dozen more locations in the coming months. At BayCare's new "Walk-In Care" kiosks near the Publix pharmacy, customers can talk remotely to a physician to address simple medical problems like a sore throat or head cold without the usual logistical complexities. Justine Griffin has the story at tampabay.com.

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