2 Gainesville residents arrested after attempting to headbutt, throw chair at deputies
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A response related to a reported burglary in Gainesville on Tuesday led to the arrest of a man and a woman as they attempted to assault the responding deputies. Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies say that after they arrived at the home on Southwest 9th Place, they...
Movies and TV shows casting in Gainesville
The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures attention starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities' Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of that...
Students uninjured in school bus collision
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) Up to five students were on a school bus involved in a traffic crash Tuesday, according to Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies. The crash happened on Northwest 78th Avenue at County Road 235. Deputies said four or five students were on the bus, but none of them...
What ImagineGNV, Gainesville’s new Comprehensive Plan, could mean for you
The City of Gainesville has released the first draft of its updated comprehensive plan, a document that will guide how the city grows and develops in the coming years. Comprehensive plans outline where housing and businesses can be built, how transportation systems are designed, how the environment is protected, and...
Archer’s first Black female mayor, longtime community advocate, dies at 87
Roberta 'Betty' Lopez, Archer's first Black female mayor and community advocate, died on Feb. 11 at age 87. Lopez raised over $900,000 to convert Archer's abandoned 1936 high school gym into the Archer Community Center in 2011. Lopez served on many boards and co-founded the Northwest Archer Community Association...
Man sentenced to 45 years for Marion Oaks salon murder
Melvin Arias received the sentence for second-degree murder in the death of 47-year-old Milagros Guzman Lopez.
Alachua County firefighters put out house fire in Hawthorne
HAWTHORNE, Fla. (WCJB) - Firefighters in Alachua County put out a house fire in Hawthorne Tuesday night. Alachua County Fire Rescue crews, along with crews from Windsor Fire Department, Melrose Fire Department, and Cross Creek Fire Department, responded to reports of a house on fire in Hawthorne just before 6:30 p.m.
Leaders question equity as district weighs closing east Gainesville schools
Leaders of Gainesville’s Black community convened a town hall at Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church on Feb. 16 to discuss the potential closure of several schools in east Gainesville. The Visionaires and the Alachua County NAACP addressed a packed room of residents demanding to know why draft rezoning maps released...
Gainesville’s new one-way streets draw mixed reactions from commuters
The city of Gainesville converted several streets near UF’s main campus into one-way pairs in January. West 10th Street and West 12th Street, between Southwest Eighth Avenue and Northwest Eighth Avenue, now operate as one-ways to improve safety for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians along these busy corridors. The...
Sheriff Blasts Out Warning On Local Predator John Stapleton
Sheriff Blasts Out Warning On Local Predator John Stapleton. Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith took to Facebook on Tuesday to name John Stapleton as this week’s “Sexual Predator of the Week,” putting neighbors on notice that a registered predator lives in the community. The brief post pointed residents to state...
