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Suwannee County Property Appraiser Ricky Gamble told legislators Jennifer Bradley and Chuck Brannan that he may sue the Department of Revenue over a change to the ‘Save our Homes’ exemption. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Suwannee County Property Appraiser Ricky Gamble told legislators Jennifer Bradley and Chuck Brannan that he may sue the Department of Revenue over a change to the ‘Save our Homes’ exemption. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

Gamble ready to battle state over exemption

LIVE OAK — It really wasn’t a request made of Suwannee County’s state legislators. Rather, Property Appraiser Ricky Gamble just wanted to give Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) and Rep. Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenny) a heads up.

Taliban stop planes, evacuees from leaving

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people seeking to escape the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have been unable to leave the country for days, officials said Sunday, with conflicting accounts emerging about why the flights weren’t able to take off as...

State moves ahead with vax campaign

Even as there are signs that the latest round of covid-19 infections may have finally peaked, Florida is pushing ahead with a plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the months ahead to pay for testing, medical staff support and a media campaign to encourage vaccinations.

Johns reappointed to water management district board

LIVE OAK — Virginia Johns will remain on the Suwannee River Water Management District’s governing board. Johns, of Gainesville, was reappointed to the board by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday. She was first appointed to the district’s governing board in 2012. Johns, the president of John C.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan in the East Room of The White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 16. Biden has moved to declassify documents around the Sept. 11 attacks. (OLIVER CONTRERAS/AbacaPress.com/TNS)

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan in the East Room of The White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 16. Biden has moved to declassify documents around the Sept. 11 attacks. (OLIVER CONTRERAS/AbacaPress.com/TNS)

Biden moves to declassify 9/11 documents

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday directed the declassification of certain documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a supportive gesture to victims’ families who have long sought the records in hopes of implicating the Saudi government.

Florida school mask debate headed for appeals court

ST. PETERSBURG — The battle over mask requirements to guard against coronavirus in Florida schools headed for a new legal phase Friday following an appeal by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of a judge’s ruling that a blanket ban on mask mandates exceeds the state government’s authority.

SCI guard found with narcotics

LIVE OAK — A former Suwannee Correctional Institution guard was arrested last month on drug charges. According to a Florida Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General report released Thursday, Sgt.

DeSantis appeals ruling on school mask mandates

ST. PETERSBURG — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appealed a judge’s ruling that the governor exceeded his authority by ordering school boards not to impose strict mask requirements on students to combat the spread of the coronavirus.