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Monday, March 09, 2026

Metro

crime
METRO  |  CRIMINAL JUSTICE

One dead after a shooting at Wawa

A shooting Tuesday night at Wawa on 1007 E. University Ave. left one man dead.  At about 9 p.m., Gainesville Police Department officers responded to the gas station about a person being shot. Wallace Lee, a Gainesville resident, was found by officers lying on the ground with what looked like a gunshot wound to the head. 


METRO

Gainesville activists condemn Florida’s 15-week abortion ban bill

This bill bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and has raised alarm among people with reproductive capabilities. The ban would allow for exceptions involving “serious risk” to the pregnant person and fetal abnormality with no exceptions for rape or incest.  Now, the closest place for Floridians to access abortion after 15 weeks is North Carolina.


Becky Fields, a teacher at Talbot Elementary School, and Fields' two children hold a "We Say Gay" sign to protest Florida's Don't Say Gay bill at Heartwood Soundstage on Saturday, March 19. The bill has passed the state legislature and is on the governor's desk.
METRO

Gainesville activists rally against Don’t Say Gay bill

The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, the Unspoken Treasure Society and PFLAG Gainesville hosted the We Say GAYnesville Rally Saturday at the Heartwood Soundstage in downtown Gainesville. Over 20 organizations participated in the rally, PCCNCF President Tamára Perry-Lunardo said. 


Gainesville High School students protest outside their school's campus, waving their flags for oncoming traffic in opposition to Florida's ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which would effectively ban discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in elementary schools and stigmatize it in upper grade levels.
METRO  |  K-12 EDUCATION

High school students protest ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill with walkout

Honks, cheers and rainbow-decorated signs accompanied 30 Gainesville High School students as they walked down Northwest 13th Street Thursday afternoon. Hundreds more stood in protest on the baseball fields. GHS students joined Buchholz and Eastside High and students across the state in a walkout to protest the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which passed its final state senate committee Monday and awaits a final vote and signature from the governor. Officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Bill, the legislation would bar state educators from discussing LGBTQ+ topics that are not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.” 


Mayor Lauren Poe delivers his final State of the City Address on at the Cade Museum for Creativity & Innovation on Monday, Feb. 28.
METRO  |  CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

City of Gainesville hosts annual State of the City Address

The plan, Imagine GNV,  is a collaborative effort between Gainesville neighbors and the city government. The plan lays out actions the city will take to address elements including racial inequity, affordable housing and education — an area that hasn’t been included in previous city plans. The plan is in the works with nine draft chapters published online. 


METRO

‘This is our home’: Gainesville multigenerational residents recount the evolution of a segregated Gainesville

For Paula Sanders, home is a quaint one-story, white and red accented cinder block house. It’s been home for 54 years. In response, multigenerational Gainesville residents must take it upon themselves to preserve their heritage through food, photographs and oral histories. For some Black residents, they experienced the hasty integration of schools and the inequitable transformation of the city. 



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