News

Eleven years ago, about 40 people attended an exhibition on the patio of the UF Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator designed to showcase life science companies from the area. Today, that small get-together has grown and evolved into a Celebration of Biotechnology that highlights the tremendous success coming out of Alachua’s Progress Park. The 11th annual...

Gainesville Regional Utilities celebrated the improvement of more than 1,000 homes through its Low-income Energy Efficiency Program (LEEP) on April 30 at the home of Gainesville resident David Mosley, one of the program’s participants. The program, established in 2007 after a 2006 pilot run, is designed to offer free home improvements to GRU customers in...

  The University of Florida has received a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to tackle one of health care’s greatest challenges: to heal wounds without scarring. After an injury, human skin repairs itself but does not regrow as before, leaving a scar. UF Genetics Institute researchers will examine cells on the molecular...

  An 18-member group of scientists, students, business people and education leaders has answered a call to find the next University of Florida president. The Presidential Search Committee is charged with vetting candidates and presenting a short list to the UF Board of Trustees, who will select UF’s 12th president. It is expected to spend...

  Floridians’ consumer sentiment declined one point in April to 79, according to a new University of Florida survey. “As we expected, the overall consumer sentiment index is remaining relatively flat given the lack of significant economic news,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research....

  As part of the Obama Administration’s new “Made in Rural America” export and investment initiative, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the creation of a new investment fund that will help propel the growth of small businesses across rural America. The new Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) will now allow USDA to facilitate private...

– Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce announced that it has joined the Business for Federal Research Funding coalition, a group of over 40 chambers of commerce nationwide to advocate for strong research funding growth in the federal budget. This partnership will help support innovation and economic growth efforts, both...

– EatStreet EatStreet, an online and mobile food ordering service with more than 5,000 restaurants nationwide, has begun partnering with local restaurants in the Gainesville area. The service aims to make online ordering simple and affordable for restaurants and customers. In Gainesville, Gumby’s Pizza, Billy-Bobz Bar-B-Q, Working Cow Ice Cream, and more than 20 restaurants...

The Gainesville Technology Council held its first open meeting and investor pitch event on April 25 at Depot Station, near the site of the future Cade Museum for Creativity and Innovation. The Council, originally announced at the Hobnob Career Fair on February 13, is a collaboration between the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and technology...

Haven Hospice, the 35-year-old North Florida nonprofit hospice organization that has served more than 68,000 patients since opening, has hired Catherine Mitchell as vice president and chief financial officer. She will assume a strategic management role and will be responsible for planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities. “Catherine is a seasoned financial executive...