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Vol. 1 · No. 107 · Thursday, August 20, 2026

The Gainesville Ledger

Public Safety

Gainesville man sentenced to nearly four years for drug and gun charges

A 20-year-old Gainesville man, Damorie Miles, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug and firearms offenses. Prosecutors say he used social media to conduct marijuana sales and attempted to obtain a device capable of converting a firearm to fire automatically. Authorities recovered more than 600 grams of marijuana at the time of his arrest.

Sources: WCJB TV20 · Mainstreet Daily News

Community

Ronald McDonald House fundraiser sets record with $590,000 haul

The Ronald McDonald House of North Central Florida raised $590,000 at its annual Red Shoe Affair held at the O’Connell Center, surpassing all previous totals for the event. More than 830 attendees and over 100 sponsors took part, with the evening featuring stories from families who rely on the nonprofit for housing while their children receive care at UF Health Shands. Organizers also unveiled a new initiative called Chicken Nugget Champion, aimed at providing nightly warm meals at the facility.

Sources: WCJB TV20

Community

Spurrier, Wuerffel, and Tebow unite to raise funds for foster children

Three Heisman Trophy-winning Florida Gator quarterbacks — Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, and Tim Tebow — are appearing together at the Florida Legends Experience to raise awareness and funds for the Isaiah 117 House. The organization, founded by Ronda Paulson, operates 66 homes across the Southeast to support children awaiting foster care placement, including a facility in Baker County that serves families from North Central Florida.

Sources: WCJB TV20

City

In Brief

Education

In Brief

Public Safety

Man arrested after loaded guns and marijuana found hidden in UF campus bathroom

University of Florida Police arrested Stephon Coney, 29, on Tuesday after finding a concealed backpack in a crawl space inside a Little Hall bathroom that contained two loaded handguns, roughly 1.3 pounds of marijuana, a digital scale, and ammunition. Officers had already spoken with Coney earlier that day for accessing the same bathroom and grew suspicious when he returned and then exited without the backpack he had been seen carrying. Coney denied ownership of the items, though a document bearing his name was reportedly found inside the crawl space.

Sources: WCJB TV20

In Brief

Business

In Brief

Sports

In Brief

Community

In Brief

State & National

Donalds, Jolly pivot to general election after winning Florida gubernatorial primaries

Republican Congressman Byron Donalds and former Democratic Congressman David Jolly each secured their party’s gubernatorial nomination and are now turning their attention to the November general election. Jolly faces a structural challenge given that Florida has more than a million more registered Republicans than Democrats, meaning he would need to attract Republican crossover voters and independents to win. Both candidates signaled their campaigns will center on policy debates, with Donalds emphasizing his presidential endorsement and Jolly focusing on healthcare costs and public education.

Sources: WCJB TV20

In Brief

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