The pilot who died alone in a small plane crash earlier this week near Gainesville – after pleading for help in bad weather from an air traffic controller over his radio and expressing his love for his parents – dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot, his family says. The pilot …
Read More »East Gainesville residents are divided on proposed Citizens Field parking lot
Some east Gainesville neighbors are objecting to the possibility that a parking lot will be developed just a few feet from their homes. Sam Johnson is one of many who are protesting the parking lot in the development plan for an expanded and renovated Martin Luther King, Jr. Center and …
Read More »The Point, Nov. 13, 2023: Universities push back on DeSantis over pro-Palestinian student group
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • Fresh Take Florida: Citing legal fears, Florida universities push back on DeSantis order to shut down pro-Palestinian campus groups. “In a highly unusual move, two of Florida’s biggest universities are pushing back …
Read More »Belgium native Tom Di Maria adjusts to life as a Santa Fe student-athlete
Tom Di Maria has traveled a staggering 4,520 miles to play basketball in a new country. For many, this might seem crazy. For Di Maria, the move allows him to continue to grow playing the game he loves. “I want to try to be the leader of the team because …
Read More »Learning from home: How home-schooled students in Alachua County look for community
Noah Howes has a classroom inside his home. Howes, a high school junior and a resident of Gainesville, plays basketball at The Rock school and hangs out with his friends in his free time. He is one of the roughly 154,000 home-schooled students in the state of Florida, according to …
Read More »Not cool for school – Alachua County students struggle inside gyms without A/C, with no plans of installation
Filing into the school gymnasium is an all too familiar feeling: The squeak of glossy pine floorboards, the reek of sweat, rubber balls and cheap body sprays. But for some Alachua County students, there’s an added woe: The heat. “It’s very hot. Too hot,” said Layla Robinson, a seventh grader …
Read More »Forest Park reopens after $3.6 million renovation paid for by Wild Places and Public Spaces money
More than 100 people turned out for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen Forest Park after seven months of being closed for renovations, including new turf for the soccer fields.
Read More »Dixie County comes together amidst hurricane recovery
CROSS CITY, Fla. — Dixie County residents sat in blue chairs outside the FEMA recovery center in blistering heat. They waited for help and a semblance of hope after Hurricane Idalia swept through multiple cities across the Big Bend region. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, opened a recovery center …
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 »Alachua County Sports & Events Center hosts grand opening and open house
It was dribble, hop, throw and run on Saturday as the Alachua County Sports & Events Center celebrated its grand opening at Celebration Pointe. With the private-public partnership between Alachua County and Viking Companies, LLC., the Celebration Pointe developer, a dream was made real. “Whatever your mind can see to …
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