Featured Stories

In light of the upcoming November election, we asked the County Commission Seat 2 and Seat 4 candidates about their business-related policies and plans. This is what they had to say. Ken Cornell (D), District 4 What is your approach to encouraging economic development locally? We need to encourage development in parts of the county...

Gainesville-based drone developer Prioria Robotics announced it will hire seven more employees in response to acquiring a handful of big-name research and development contracts. Prioria cofounder Bryan da Frota said the company recently took on projects for NASA, DARPA, the U.S. Navy and the Air Force. This pushes the company’s projected year-over-year revenue growth to...

The University of Florida’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator was recognized as a national leader in technology-based economic development by the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI). The incubator won SSTI’s 2014 Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development award for its exceptional achievement in the technology commercialization category. Sid Martin Biotech companies and graduates have attracted more...

At a special workshop on Sept. 16, Alachua County staff presented more information to further reinforce its recommendation to deny Plum Creek’s sector plan, this time on the topic of environmental impacts. Chris Bird, director of the Alachua County Environmental Department, said the development proposal by forestry company Plum Creek has generated dialogue across the...

For some vacant properties in Gainesville, the Halloween season can be a treat. At least two costume companies have taken out short-term leases and set up shop in otherwise-empty locations around town. Halloween Megastore opened in an old furniture store on the corner of 13th Street and 23rd Avenue at the beginning of September. Simply...

The University of Florida College of Journalism has announced a lineup of acclaimed speakers, titled The Innovators Series, that will be free and open to the public. “The Innovators Series will bring six leaders in the information industries to the University of Florida over the next two years whose inventive outlooks have propelled them to the leading...

An orthotics and prosthetics software developer that has been based in Gainesville for nearly two decades has announced it will combine with a former competitor. OPIE Software announced it will bring Clearwater-based Futura International, a company that provides similar healthcare systems and software, under its corporate umbrella. The merger will bring together the 980 locations...

To the casual observer, it may seem that Gainesville has been buzzing about some controversial river named after a fruit for the past three years. As “Plum Creek” has become a buzzword in the local government and business communities, the issues surrounding the proposed development — and perhaps even the fact that Plum Creek is...

At the first UF Eye Opener Discovery Breakfast of the academic year on Sept. 10, UF President Bernie Machen gave a variety of updates on the general state of the institution, including addressing UF’s stagnant rank in the most recent U.S. News and World Report list. Here’s a list of the highlights. On-campus assaults: Machen...

On Sept. 9, Apple rolled out what CEO Tim Cook is calling its “biggest advances” yet: the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The new models both boast slimmer design, faster LTE service and larger display surfaces, among other features, according to a company news release. And they are in fact bigger. From a functional standpoint,...