Local

Henry Ortiz, pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist, addresses the audience as the keynote speaker for the MLK Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Henry Ortiz, pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist, addresses the audience as the keynote speaker for the MLK Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Honoring MLK’s memory: Ortiz says ‘struggle is not over yet’

TONY BRITT
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
A huge contingent of local residents took to the streets and local churches during the weekend to honor slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been his 95th birthday.
Flowers from a planter that adorns the side of North Marion Avenue lay on the ground after a suspect vandalized six of the city pots early Tuesday morning. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Flowers from a planter that adorns the side of North Marion Avenue lay on the ground after a suspect vandalized six of the city pots early Tuesday morning. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Downtown planters vandalized overnight

JAMIE WACHTER
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
The Lake City Police Department is looking to weed out a would-be early morning gardener.
Florida Gateway Hotels owner Nick Patel said the proposed expansion of the Circle K at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Interstate 75 goes against the City of Lake City’s Land Development Regulations. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Florida Gateway Hotels owner Nick Patel said the proposed expansion of the Circle K at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Interstate 75 goes against the City of Lake City’s Land Development Regulations. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

City board to decide truck stop’s fate

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
After a marathon meeting last week, the Lake City Planning & Zoning Board is once again set to meet with a single item on its agenda.
Interim City Manager Dee Johnson said the city would look both internally and externally to fill the position of Executive Director of Utilities. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

Interim City Manager Dee Johnson said the city would look both internally and externally to fill the position of Executive Director of Utilities. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)

City navigating open council seat

MORGAN MCMULLEN
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
The City of Lake City is still hashing out exactly how to fill the vacant seat on its council.
Volunteers help prepare an estimated 32,532 pounds of food early Saturday morning for the Farm Share distribution at the Lake City Police Department. (COURTESY LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT)

Volunteers help prepare an estimated 32,532 pounds of food early Saturday morning for the Farm Share distribution at the Lake City Police Department. (COURTESY LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT)

LCPD Farm Share event feeds 400 families

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
An estimated 400 local families were given food Saturday during a Farm Share event where the Lake City Police Department took part in a volunteer-driven initiative to help local families battle food insecurity.
Christy Noe, the president and CEO of Collaborative Educational Network, provided the Florida Gateway College Board of Trustees with an update on the application for its proposed charter school on Thursday, which raised questions. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Christy Noe, the president and CEO of Collaborative Educational Network, provided the Florida Gateway College Board of Trustees with an update on the application for its proposed charter school on Thursday, which raised questions. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Charter school raises questions

JAMIE WACHTER
Friday, January 12, 2024
The plans for Florida Gateway College’s charter school continue to progress, although they have also raised questions.
Sara Coleman, a fifth-grade student at Eastside Elementary School, won the Columbia County Spelling Bee on Friday, winning on ‘vague’ in the 12th round. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

Sara Coleman, a fifth-grade student at Eastside Elementary School, won the Columbia County Spelling Bee on Friday, winning on ‘vague’ in the 12th round. (TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter)

‘Vague’ spells title for Eastside’s Coleman

TONY BRITT
Friday, January 12, 2024
There was a fierce competition at the Columbia County School Board Auditorium on Friday morning with words flying left, right and everywhere in between.
A still image from video surveillance released by the Lake City Police Department shows suspects checking out vehicles to burglarize. (COURTESY)

A still image from video surveillance released by the Lake City Police Department shows suspects checking out vehicles to burglarize. (COURTESY)

Firearms, money stolen from burglarized vehicles

NEWS STAFF
Friday, January 12, 2024
The Lake City Police Department is looking into a recent string of vehicle burglaries in residential neighborhoods where people have reported firearms, cash and other miscellaneous items that were taken from their vehicles.

Murder suspect caught near Lake City

NEWS STAFF
Friday, January 12, 2024
A Mississippi man wanted for murder in Gainesville was captured Thursday after a crash in Columbia County. According to a Gainesville Police Department release, officers responded at 2:39 a.m. Thursday to NW 16th Place to a report of a person shot.