Newsroom

A celebration of African-American Music Appreciation Month occurs every Friday night in June at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza as part of the “Free Fridays” concert series. Inspired by the dream of late local musicians Richard Baxter and Roland Burns, African-American Music Appreciation Month has been celebrated in Gainesville since 1998.

The second annual National Day of Civic Hacking takes place May 31-June 1, 2014 in more than 100 communities around the world. The international event will once again bring together technologists, entrepreneurs, developers and other citizens to improve our communities and the governments that serve them.

Municipal Minutes is an electronic newsletter for the community. The monthly e-newsletter provides information about upcoming activities, projects and events in the City of Gainesville. For more information about this e-newsletter, please contact the Communications Office at 334-5017.

The City of Gainesville is pleased to announce that access to City Commissioner emails is now available online to the public on the City of Gainesville website at http://ccemail.cityofgainesville.org/. Site visitors can browse email correspondence for current and outgoing commissioners or search message archives by date, sender, recipient, subject and/or key words in the body of the text. Email search results may be exported or printed individually or in bulk.

The City of Gainesville has launched engageGNV, a virtual town hall that provides an additional means of communication between the City of Gainesville and the public on topics important to the community. Periodically, the city will open topics seeking feedback on important issues. The first topic seeks input by June 18 about the rebuilding of Southeast Fourth Street from Depot Avenue to Southeast Williston Road. The topic can be viewed here: http://www.peakdemocracy.com/1899. This Web page also includes information about the project and site visitors can vote on one of seven various options.

Closeout Celebration - May 29: Join the City of Gainesville Public Works’ Ride & Stride Program for the closeout celebration of National Bike Month Thursday, May 29 from 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. in the courtyard outside  City Hall (200 E. University Ave.).
 
The celebration will have bicycle-related information, speakers and resources for the community. Groups in attendance include GPD; RTS; Solid Waste and Recycling; Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs; Health Street; the Ride & Stride Program and the Florida Pedestrian and Bicycling Safety Resource Center. Speakers include City Commissioner Lauren Poe and representatives from participating agencies.

On Friday, June 20 at 11 a.m., thousands of children and adults will unite at aquatics facilities around the globe to set a new global record for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL). The City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department is joining Team WLSL to once again break a world record and send the message that swimming lessons save lives. The global record attempt will take place at three Gainesville locations: Andrew R. Mickle Pool, Dwight H. Hunter (Northeast) Pool and H. Spurgeon Cherry (Westside) Pool.

In observance of the Memorial Day holiday, city offices will be closed Monday, May 26. RTS offices will also be closed and there will be no bus service. ADA paratransit service will not be running on this date, except for scheduled dialysis appointments. Residential curbside collection of garbage, recycling and yard trash will not be picked up Monday and be delayed one day for the entire week.

A tribute to the reggae music of Jamaican superstar and Rastafarian spiritual leader Bob Marley will be played at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza Friday, May 30 at 8 p.m. Marley first became noted for his band Bob Marley and the Wailers and later established a solo career that made him one of the bestselling musical artists of all time. He has sold more than 75 million records, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His album “Legend,” a Bob Marley and the Wailers greatest hits compilation, is the bestselling reggae album of all time with 25 million copies sold worldwide. “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked it number 46 on its list of 500 greatest albums of all time. Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36.

The City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) Department is gearing up for another great summer of aquatics! On Memorial Day weekend, May 23-26, all municipal pools will be open and there are activities all season long for all ages and skill levels: biathlons to group and private swim lessons, water aerobics to cross-training, and even certifications for lifeguarding and first aid.