Regional

I-75 lanes closing in Hamilton for road work

NEWS STAFF

Monday, August 11, 2025

JASPER — Double lanes of traffic on Interstate 75 will be closed this week during the overnight hours in Hamilton County. The Florida Department of Transportation will close two lanes Tuesday night on I-75 south near State Road 6 (exit 460) for asphalt repairs.

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Florida House to look at redistricting

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Friday, August 8, 2025

TALLAHASSEE — Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez said Thursday he is setting up a select committee to look into redrawing congressional districts, as Republicans seek to keep control of Congress in 2026.

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State DOGE could get new name

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Friday, August 8, 2025

TALLAHASSEE — As state leaders expand audits of local-government spending and taxes, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia jokingly suggested a new name for the Florida Department of Government Efficiency.

FILE Wreckage and debris were widespread in Columbia and Suwannee counties after Hurricane Helene made landfall last September. (FILE)

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Hurricane forecasts hold steady

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Colorado State University researchers Wednesday cautiously stood behind their forecast for the rest of the 2025 hurricane season.

A map outlines the scope of the Rimes Acquisition Project, an effort by the Alachua Conservation Trust to buy 54 acres of land along the norther parts of the Santa Fe River in Union County. (COURTESY)

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Santa Fe River property purchased for conservation

NEWS STAFF

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

GAINESVILLE — The Alachua Conservation Trust has purchased 54 acres of land along the upper part of the Santa Fe River in Union County. The property, purchased from the Rimes Family, will become part of ACT’s Santa Fe River Preserve system of protected lands.

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Valdosta man charged in Jasper murder

NEWS STAFF

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

JASPER — A Valdosta man was arrested Thursday on second-degree murder charges following a shooting at a Hamilton County motel. According to a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office release, deputies responded to the Motel 8 on State Road 6 on July 30 after a 911 call reported a woman had been shot.

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Builders, septic industry target manatees ruling

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

TALLAHASSEE — Saying the case has “significant implications for home construction and the economy,” home builders and the septic-system industry this week backed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in its appeal of a federal judge’s decision that required additional steps to protect...

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Appeals filed on ballot initiatives law

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

TALLAHASSEE — Backers of proposed constitutional amendments and voting-rights groups are appealing after a federal district judge last month refused to block parts of a new Florida law that placed additional restrictions on the state’s ballot-initiative process.

Lafayette High Principal Stewart Hancock was elected to the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education Hall of Fame last week. (COURTESY)

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Lafayette High’s Hancock named Hall of Famer

JAMIE WACHTER

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

MAYO — Stewart Hancock’s path to the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education Hall of Fame began more than a decade ago.

Erin Dasher, pictured with her husband, Kevin, is a 2025 Excellence in Agriculture Award finalist from the Florida Farm Bureau. Dasher is a livestock agent with the UF/IFAS Suwannee County Extension Office. (COURTESY)

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Dasher recognized for ‘Excellence in Agriculture’

MORGAN MCMULLEN

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

LIVE OAK — A local UF/IFAS agent is getting statewide recognition — and potentially more — for her lifelong devotion to the field of agriculture.