Many people can claim they want to change the world one day. But not many of them have the blueprints for success in their communities. And very few of them, like Sophia Vernon, are 17 years old. Vernon, a senior at Buchholz High School, is the founder of BEING-Inner Value, …
Read More »Gainesville man with history of indecent exposure arrested for possessing child pornography, soliciting child sexual abuse material
Sixty-three-year-old Thomas Duval Andrews was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department Tuesday evening for possessing child pornography. The investigation into Andrews began last November when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from the adult video chatting app Flingster, which said one of its users was soliciting child sexual abuse material online. The tip was referred to Gainesville police. The user’s IP address was tracked to Andrews’ residence, where police seized several electronic items after serving a warrant in October.
Read More »Prosecutors drop criminal charges against prominent real estate agents; related civil lawsuits settled
The State Attorney’s office has dropped its criminal investigation of employees of a prominent commercial real estate firm whose offices were stormed by an armed SWAT team last year. Around the same time prosecutors abandoned their criminal case, on Nov. 1, at least three related civil lawsuits and countersuits in …
Read More »See who won Florida’s 2022 state House and Senate seats
Florida House Yvonne Hayes Hinson vs. Hollye Merton Winning close to two-thirds of the vote, Yvonne Hayes Hinson glided into her second term as a state House representative, this time for District 21. In keeping incumbent Yvonne Hayes Hinson, a majority of voters chose to advocate for more liberal policies, …
Read More »Ed Bielarski cannot muster enough power as Harvey Ward elected new mayor of Gainesville
The lights have gone out on Ed Bielarski’s run for Gainesville mayor as Gainesville City Commissioner Harvey Ward prevailed according to Alachua County supervisor of elections. Bielarski was the former general manager of Gainesville Regional Utilities and was motivated to campaign after being terminated from his position by Ward and …
Read More »See who won Alachua County’s 2022 midterm elections
Alachua County Commissioner District 1 Mary Alford vs. Raemi Eagle-Glenn Mary Alford took in around 58% of the vote, reclaiming the seat for commissioner of District 1, according to the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. Alford, 61, resigned in May after an investigation from The Gainesville Sun found she was …
Read More »Pedestrian dead after being hit by two cars on Archer Road
A woman crossed busy Southwest Archer Road against the light during rush hour Friday morning and died after being struck by two vehicles, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Read More »Here’s what Floridians can expect on election night
Florida, once a state that decided the presidency by 537 votes, could look solid red after Tuesday’s election. Running for re-election are Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered a top candidate for the White House in 2024, and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who had a failed 2016 presidential run …
Read More »Meet the candidates running for Alachua County’s District 2 commissioner seat
Candidates Marihelen Wheeler and Ed Braddy are going head-to-head for the District 2 County Commission seat. Wheeler is pursuing re-election as the incumbent, while Braddy is making his return to politics after serving as Gainesville mayor from 2013 to 2016 and previously on the Gainesville City Commission. Wheeler, a 71-year-old …
Read More »Football hooligans told him holocaust never happened; his relatives died in Nazi death camps
Mark Bleiweis, his wife, Jennifer, and his sister-in-law left their seats early during Saturday night’s football game between Florida and Georgia. As they exited the TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, they heard shouting from a sea of people – but it wasn’t about touchdowns. It took a few seconds for Bleiweis, a University of Florida professor and heart surgeon, to track the shouting. He said he saw a group of men, young and middle-aged, yelling antisemitic remarks. The sheriff’s office said no crimes were committed because the comments were protected as free speech.
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