Updated: Feb. 12, 7:51 a.m.: House Speaker Jose Oliva has launched a workplace harassment investigation after newly elected Florida State Rep. Anika Omphroy, D-Lauderdale Lakes, wrote in an open letter Monday to the House Democratic Caucus that she was “bullied, threatened and verbally assaulted” by Orlando Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith at an event over the …
Read More »Alachua County Approves Ordinance Making It Illegal to Sell Tobacco to Anyone Under 21
The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners approved a county-wide ordinance Tuesday prohibiting the sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to anyone younger than 21 years old in Alachua County. The ordinance requires retailers to obtain a distribution license, valid for one year, for each separate location where tobacco products …
Read More »Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants Patients In Florida To Be Allowed To Smoke Medical Marijuana
Ron DeSantis wants a new law by mid-March that will end a ban on smokable medical marijuana and loosen limits on treatment center licenses, saying voters spoke clearly when they approved medical marijuana in 2016.
Read More »DeSantis Poised To Make Marijuana Changes
With one of his chief advisers tweeting the hashtag “NoSmokeIsAJoke,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will “very soon” announce changes in how the state is carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.
Read More »The Point, Jan. 4, 2019: Seven Dead In I-75 Crash Near Gainesville
The top stories near you • Just as yesterday’s afternoon rush hour began, two tractor-trailers, a sedan, and passenger van were involved in a crash on I-75 southbound between Gainesville and Alachua. Florida Highway Patrol reports seven deaths, making it one of the deadliest crashes in the region since the January 2012 …
Read More »Lawrence Fowler: A Retired Vet Turned Coaster Connoisseur
Larry Fowler, often called "the crazy coaster guy," has completed over 10,600 coaster rides since mid-December of 2017, with his longest consecutive run at 140 rides after 13 hours in the park. He expects to exceed 12,000 by the end of the year.
Read More »‘An Unfair Playing Field’: Gainesville Looks To Regulate Airbnb
Alachua County Tourism Director Jessica Hurov said the county tax collector’s office estimates that 95 percent of Airbnb-style rental spaces don’t remit the required monthly 5 percent bed tax.
Read More »In The Villages, Home To Thousands Of Golf Carts, Golf Cart Seat Belts Are Rare
The Villages Department of Safety reported responding to at least 86 accidents involving golf carts in 2018. Sixty-three of these involved injuries.
Read More »2018 Transgender Day of Remembrance Held In Gainesville
Holding tealight candles set in palm-sized glass jars, about 100 people gazed silently upon the stage as 300 names resounded Tuesday night at Bo Diddley Plaza in Gainesville.
Read More »‘We Won’t Be Erased’: Gainesville Marks 2018 Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Every year on Nov. 20, transgender advocates and LGBTQ organizations across the country and world host vigils.
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