Local

Suspect sought in bank robbery

Authorities are looking for a man who passed a note to a bank teller here saying he had a gun and demanded cash shortly before the bank closed Friday afternoon. According to Lake City Police Department reports, around 5:30 p.m.

Sgt. George A. Brown III is honored with a stretch of interstate highway

For more than 20 years, Sgt. George “Andy” Brown III patrolled the state’s roadways as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. Even after retiring, he returned to the agency and was the Troop B pilot, often patrolling a portion of Interstate 75.

Minor bus crash wrecks field trip for 2nd-graders

A minor collision between two charter buses Friday morning resulted in no injuries but much disappointment for about 100 Fort White Elementary students, who had to take a rain check on a much-anticipated field trip, school officials say.

Local officials on alert over coronavirus developments

Growing concern over COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, prompted public officials from various state and local entities to gather at the Columbia County Emergency Operations Center on Friday for a briefing on the global outbreak.

Bad drivers are on LCPD’s radar

Bad drivers abound in Lake City and Columbia County, according to the state, and police are about to crack down as a result. The Florida Department of Transportation has published the 2020 Highway Safety Matrix, which ranks cities and counties in various categories related to safe driving.

Teacher's boyfriend arrested when he dropped her off at school

The boyfriend of a teacher at Eastside Elementary got a hard lesson Tuesday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

County endorses housing plan

An affordable housing project earned a recommendation from the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday. Developer Sylvester Warren wants Lake City officials to donate land to him, upon which he would develop single-family homes.

100-plus dogs confiscated from Live Oak home

More than a hundred dogs suffered cramped living conditions in a Live Oak home, where they were starved, medically neglected and on occasion shocked with a cattle prod, Suwannee County deputies say.

Another Way ex-chief named in suit

The former director of Lake City’s domestic violence shelter, Another Way, helped cover up — and benefited from — a conspiracy to defraud taxpayers of several million dollars meant to help domestic violence survivors statewide, the state alleges in a new lawsuit.

Saturday is deadline to seek mail-in ballot

The deadline to ask for a vote-by-mail ballot is fast approaching. Saturday is the last day to request a mail-in ballot for Florida’s presidential preference primary, which takes place on March 17.