News

The Gainesville City Commission approved the fiscal year 2013-2014 Gainesville Regional Utilities budget, which will see a rise in both individual and business rates, on Monday night. The changes will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2013, and last through Sept. 30, 2014. The proposed budget has been fiercely debated since it was first put...

by Bradley Osburn Linda Piper, the Gainesville Cultural Affairs events coordinator, has been with the city for 27 years. For 20 years she has produced the Downtown Festival & Art Show and the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. Piper has taken these small-town shows and made them nationally recognized, and she sat down with the Report to...

Florida-based Eye Doctor’s Optical Outlets is set to open its first Gainesville location in the former Chic Tanning at 3324 W University Ave, which will join over 40 other stores in the state. Optical Outlets said that they have optometrists on-site so customers can go from prescription to glasses in the same day.       Beau...

Trimark Properties announced that ground was broken Aug. 19 for its new Savion Park Luxury Apartments, a five-story, 55-unit student housing apartment building at 719 SW 5th Ave., now under construction by Roger B. Kennedy, Inc. under its $8.5 million contract with Midtown Properties of Gainesville, LLC.  Designed by Skinner Vignola McLean, Inc., Gainesville, the community is slated for fall 2014...

In an effort to keep Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce member businesses on the cutting edge of changes in regulations, available resources, and working in congruence with the city and affiliates, the Gainesville Chamber has partnered with the City of Gainesville to offer an Employment Law Seminar on Sept. 18 and a Small Business Workshop...

By Felicia Lee A $10 nylon bag from Sports Authority gave Edward Lavagnino the inspiration for Gift Certificates and More – an online program that’s like free money. At the time, he was a serial entrepreneur living in Gainesville and planning his next move – he had just closed down his second business and it...

Heartland Automotive Services, Inc., America’s largest Jiffy Lube franchisee, has entered into the North Florida market with its acquisition of five locations in Gainesville. This acquisition is part of a larger acquisition of South Lube, Inc. locations, including 18 stores in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as 10 stores near Charleston, S.C. The 33 new locations...

Residents or students interested in a crash course on local government and city planning and management need look no further than the City of Gainesville itself. Gainesville 101: the Fall 2013 Citizens’ Academy is a six-week program organized by the City of Gainesville Communications Office, and designed to teach city residents about the inner workings...

by Josh Steppling International companies are relocating or expanding to Innovation Square for an opportunity to be a part of the cohesive, welcoming Gainesville community. Companies like Mindtree, Mobiquity, and CurtCo Media, who have made headlines recently, chose Gainesville over destinations like New York, California, Texas, and Massachusetts.   Gainesville stood out to CurtCo Media,...

StartWhys, a new Gainesville nonprofit based around innovators working together, held its second meeting on Wednesday at the Gainesville Hackerspace in the basement level of the Sun Center. Students, tinkerers, business owners and entrepreneurs milled in and out of the tool-, wire-, computer-, nut- and bolt-filled space, where StartWhys co-founder Julian Miller, co-founder of Sharab...