Tag Archives: North Central Florida

Finding a place to park has become increasingly difficult on 38th Street to the light at 43rd Street. Gainesville city commissioners are trying to solve the issue, while some local businesses disagree with the solution they offer.

A Florida Senate bill would raise the penalty for each stolen hive from $5,000 to $10,000. In some parts of the state, beekeepers had more than $100,000 worth of hives stolen.

In 2015, rural Dixie County, Florida ranked among the highest in the state for opioid-related deaths. Now, less than one year after Gov. Rick Scott declared opioid addiction a statewide emergency in May, opioid deaths in the county have declined—but prevention efforts in children and teens persist.

The people of Melrose are mourning the loss of 'Big Irma,' a cherished oak tree that fell during Hurricane Irma. Local residents had hope to save the tree, but Putnam County, which maintains and operates Melrose Heritage Park, where the tree stood, had it removed for liability concerns.

The Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise are both performing studies that could lead to new road developments in Alachua County, leaving local residents of Newberry and Jonesville concerned for their homes and rural way of life.

Volunteers are trying to assess the number of homeless people in five North Central Florida counties and figure out the needs of the homeless community.

"Even that understates the actual number," county commissioner Robert Hutchinson said.