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Vol. 1 · No. 74 · Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Environment
A new nature preserve on Little Lake Santa Fe in Alachua County has opened its gates to visitors. The land is owned by the state and managed by the county.
Sources: Alachua County · Mainstreet Daily News
Education
University of Florida President Stuart Bell sent his first message to the campus community on Monday, laying out his priorities for the opening stretch of his tenure as the university’s 14th president. Bell said he aims to position UF among the top five public universities in the country while also strengthening individual colleges, and plans to fill key leadership roles and meet with campus stakeholders to gather ideas for improvement.
Public Safety
A man from Chicago died after diving into the deep end of a pool at Hidden Oaks Mobile Home Park in Gainesville, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the scene and pulled the man from the water. A child at the scene was reported to have escaped safely.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun · Mainstreet Daily News
City
An immigration protection petition before the Gainesville City Commission has drawn warnings from the region’s homelessness agency, which raised concerns that the measure could jeopardize federal funding. The letters complicate the commission’s path forward as a vote on the resolution approaches.
Sources: The Independent Florida Alligator
In Brief
In Brief
In Brief
In Brief
In Brief
A video showing a woman touching a wild alligator at Silver Springs State Park has gone viral, prompting visitors to flock to the site hoping to find gators of their own. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has opened an investigation into the incident, as touching, feeding, or enticing alligators is illegal under state law. Wildlife experts and local kayak guides warn that the surge of attention could ultimately be deadly for the animals.
Sources: WCJB TV20
Powerful thunderstorms rolled through north-central Florida over the weekend, with the National Weather Service recording wind gusts exceeding 40 mph that snapped tree branches, tore wiring from telephone poles, and left thousands without electricity. Repair crews have since been dispatched to affected neighborhoods, including the NW 1st Place area of Gainesville, where some downed lines were temporarily secured to poles pending full rewiring.
Sources: WCJB TV20
In Brief
In Brief
A civil trial against Florida Representative Fabian Basabe (R-Miami Beach) opened Monday in Tallahassee, with three plaintiffs — a former legislative aide, an intern, and the aide’s mother — alleging sexual harassment, battery, and defamation. Attorneys for the plaintiffs described two separate physical incidents involving the aide and recounted inappropriate comments the intern says Basabe made about sex and marriage. Basabe, who is running for reelection and denies the allegations, is representing himself in the proceeding.
Sources: WCJB TV20
Florida is preparing to execute two death row inmates older than 80, following the recent execution of a 74-year-old — the oldest the state has put to death in modern times. One of the men scheduled to die in July, convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986, would be only the second known octogenarian executed in the United States. The cases have renewed debate about whether capital punishment applied to elderly inmates who may soon die of natural causes is humane, and whether lengthy appeals processes delay justice or protect constitutional rights.
Sources: WCJB TV20
In Brief
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