Police say a Trenton man stole construction equipment and went on a destructive spree just after 10 p.m. Monday causing an estimated $2 million in property damage to four businesses, according to early estimates. Police say Jesse Charles Smith, 47, hot-wired an excavator at a construction site and drove it …
Read More »FDOT pauses University Avenue construction for football season
Construction on University Avenue in Gainesville next to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has temporarily paused for football season. Florida Department of Traffic community outreach specialist Darly Goss said they are creating ways to keep pedestrians in the area more safe. “This will be the construction of two raised crosswalks, one …
Read More »Hurricane help continues despite local business closures
CROSS CITY, Fla. — On the West Coast of Florida, volunteers, relief shelters and meal stands can be found on almost every corner. With many businesses unable to open their doors, volunteers have stepped up to provide the community with the essential goods residents normally obtain from hurricane-damaged businesses. “We’ve …
Read More »UF Honeybee Research Lab responds to Hurricane Idalia’s effects
The University of Florida Honeybee Research Lab is not only prepared for hurricane seasson, it also researches the dangers honeybees face on a daily basis.
Read More »DeSantis requests aid for Big Bend fishing industries
Governor Ron DeSantis requested assistance for North Central Florida’s fishing industry to repair damage from Hurricane Idalia. He wrote a letter on Wednesday to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to issue a federal fisheries declaration providing federal funding for offshore, nearshore and inshore fisheries to rebuild. In DeSantis’ letter, he …
Read More »Outreach Thrift Store sees and sorts it all, serving Gainesville’s local communities for decades
One person donated a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. Another person gave a .30-caliber gun stored inside a pants pocket. Similarly, several sex toys have been donated. The items, no matter how bizarre, wait to be sorted inside the donation box of Gainesville’s Outreach Center Thrift Store. “There’s some strange things …
Read More »Youth Energy Academy gets kids excited about energy
Duke Energy and Gainesville Regional Utilities partnered with two nonprofit organizations to hold a Youth Energy Academy event for underprivileged kids. Eight middle- and high-school-age students from around the state gathered on Wednesday at GRU’s Eastside Operations Center to learn about the energy industry, as well as participate in activities …
Read More »What’s happening with GRU? Here’s an explainer as its control shifts to new authority
A timeline of mounting debt, the biomass plant and a power struggle With Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of a bill last month appointing an independent board to oversee Gainesville Regional Utilities, customers may be wondering about the future of the city’s utility company. If the headlines about GRU from the …
Read More »Gainesville files lawsuit against GRU control law
TALLAHASSEE — The city of Gainesville has launched a wide-ranging constitutional challenge to a new state law that overhauled control of the region’s municipal utility, including saying it could violate bond agreements. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Leon County circuit court, seeks to block a law that created the Gainesville …
Read More »Cox Communications extends its high-speed internet coverage to Archer
Cox Communications made waves in Archer on Wednesday morning touting its launch of high-speed internet access to the rural community. Its expansion efforts are part of the company’s goal of bringing broadband to underserved rural communities. The expansion includes gigabit internet speeds that the company says will reliably serve the …
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