Regional

David Culpepper was honored by the Florida Forest Service for his management of 175 acres of forest land in Hamilton County. (COURTESY)

David Culpepper was honored by the Florida Forest Service for his management of 175 acres of forest land in Hamilton County. (COURTESY)

Culpepper honored for forest management

NEWS STAFF
Monday, November 23, 2020
JASPER — A Hamilton County landowner has been recognized by the Florida Forest Service for his exceptional forest management properties.

Jobless rate ticks back up locally

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, November 21, 2020
After several months of falling, the local unemployment rate rose ever so slightly last month. According to numbers released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, there were 1,583 workers unemployed in Columbia County in October, a 5.3% jobless rate.
The new Live Oak Post Office at Live Oak Commons will open Monday. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

The new Live Oak Post Office at Live Oak Commons will open Monday. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

New LO post office opens Monday

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, November 21, 2020
LIVE OAK — The long wait for a new post office is over. Live Oak’s new post office is scheduled to open Monday at the Live Oak Commons along U.S. Highway 129 North. The move comes after postal services were provided in the historic downtown location for more than 104 years.
The Puppetone Rockers arrive at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park on Dec. 4 as part of the Christmas entertainment. Suwannee Lights opens this weekend and runs through Dec. 30. (COURTESY)

The Puppetone Rockers arrive at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park on Dec. 4 as part of the Christmas entertainment. Suwannee Lights opens this weekend and runs through Dec. 30. (COURTESY)

Expanded Suwannee Lights display unveiled this weekend

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, November 21, 2020
LIVE OAK — Suwannee Lights at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is back and better than ever. The Christmas lights extravaganza opens today — one week earlier than normal — with fun, food and more than 6.5 million lights.

Corcoran says distance learning will continue

NEWS STAFF
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
TALLAHASSEE — Florida students will be able to continue to learn remotely through the second half of the school year as the state grapples with the covid-19 pandemic, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said Wednesday. “From the top down in this state, that will absolutely happen.
Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenney) is pictured with his wife Lorelei on Tuesday at the State Capitol after being sworn-in to his second term in House of Representatives from the 10th District. (FILE)

Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenney) is pictured with his wife Lorelei on Tuesday at the State Capitol after being sworn-in to his second term in House of Representatives from the 10th District. (FILE)

Sprowls weighs in on police, patriotism in House session

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
TALLAHASSEE — Speaker Chris Sprowls, a former prosecutor and the son of a retired New York police officer, told lawmakers Tuesday he has an “open mind” about police and race as he took the gavel to run the Florida House for the next two years.
Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) was sworn in Tuesday as District 5 senator in the Florida Senate. (COURTESY)

Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) was sworn in Tuesday as District 5 senator in the Florida Senate. (COURTESY)

Simpson eyes education funding amid budget woes

NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
TALLAHASSEE —  Facing a $5 billion reduction in estimates of state revenue, Senate President Wilton Simpson warned Tuesday that austerity measures — including potentially the first public university tuition increases in a decade — are on the horizon.

Live Oak council closing in on city manager choice

JAMIE WACHTER
Saturday, November 14, 2020
LIVE OAK — A new city manager could be named as early as Tuesday afternoon. The Live Oak City Council called a special meeting for Tuesday to conduct second interviews with three candidates for the top administrative position in the city.
Live Oak’s new post office is set to open on U.S. Highway 129 on the northern side of the city on Nov. 23 in the Live Oak Commons. (FILE)

Live Oak’s new post office is set to open on U.S. Highway 129 on the northern side of the city on Nov. 23 in the Live Oak Commons. (FILE)

New Live Oak post office set to open Nov. 23

NEWS STAFF
Saturday, November 14, 2020
LIVE OAK — After more than 104 years, the historic Live Oak Post Office is down to its final week. Blair Beatty, the Live Oak postmaster, said Thursday the new post office is scheduled to open Nov. 23. It had previously been set to open Monday.