Local

ALACHUA ‒ The City of Alachua welcomed a packed weekend of youth sports competition as two major tournaments brought dozens of teams and hundreds of families to the area.

Santa Fe Babe Ruth Baseball, in partnership with the City of Alachua’s Recreation and Culture Department, hosted the District 5 Babe Ruth All-Star Tournament at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex. More than 50 teams competed across five age groups, representing communities from Archer, Chiefland, Williston, Keystone, Melrose, Gainesville, Newberry, Palatka, Bradford and Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe Babe Ruth Minors team clinched the district championship with an 11-6 victory over Bradford. With the win, the team advances to the Babe Ruth Florida State Minors (10U) Championship, which will be held June 18–22 in Live Oak. The state champion will move on to the Southeast Regional Tournament in Varina, Virginia, in mid-July.

Meanwhile, 399 Sports and Recreation hosted its end-of-season Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Basketball Tournament at the Legacy Multipurpose Center. The event drew 42 boys’ and girls’ teams from across Florida, as well as North and South Carolina, to close out their season with high-level play.

Organizers extended special thanks to the volunteers who supported both tournaments.

“From concessions and field prep to running the brackets, our volunteers are the backbone of Alachua’s recreation programs,” the city said in a statement. “Their tireless work and commitment are what make events like these possible.”

Local officials also expressed appreciation to the families and fans who came out to cheer on the athletes and support the city's youth programs.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

NEWBERRY ‒ During the June 9, 2025, Newberry City Commission meeting, several items were reviewed and approved, including updates to flood zone mapping, a major construction contract, land transfers, and a park renaming.

Professional Engineer Mary Diaz, representing the Suwannee River Water Management District, addressed the Commission to inform residents about an upcoming public meeting regarding proposed changes to flood zone maps.

Diaz invited the public to attend the meeting at 5 p.m. on July 1 at the Dogan Cobb Municipal Building, located at 660 E. Hathaway Ave. in Bronson.

“After the July 1 meeting,” Diaz said, “making changes to the maps will be more difficult.”

She noted that two properties in Newberry are expected to be reclassified from low or moderate risk to high-risk flood zones, meaning the owners will be required to obtain flood insurance. The meeting will allow residents to provide input if they believe the proposed changes are inaccurate.

In other business, the Commission unanimously approved several items on the consent agenda, including a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Salser Construction for the Newberry Environmental Park Retention Basin Project. The contract, totaling $676,566, includes approval for the City Manager to authorize change orders not exceeding 15 percent of the contract amount if necessary.

Commissioners also approved the city’s acceptance of two tax deed transfers from Alachua County. The parcels, previously acquired by the county through the escheatment process after the original owners failed to pay property taxes, were conveyed to the City at no cost.

City staff is currently evaluating whether the properties may serve a municipal function, such as for public infrastructure or community use. If no viable use is identified, staff will return with a recommendation to dispose of the properties in accordance with city policy, likely through sale or surplus declaration.

A resolution was approved authorizing the acceptance of the parcels and directing the City Manager to execute all necessary documents to complete the transfer.

The Commission also approved a resolution renaming the southwest corner of Lois Forte Park as Newberry Veterans’ Memorial Park. The change formally recognizes the section of the park where the city’s Veterans’ Memorial was recently dedicated.

#     #     #

Email cwalker@

alachuatoday.com

GAINESVILLE ‒ The University of Florida has named Chuck Clemons as its next vice president for government and community relations, effective July 1.

The announcement came from UF Interim President Kent Fuchs, who praised Clemons’ extensive background in public service and his longstanding ties to the university and region.

“Chuck brings decades of experience in public service, leadership and advocacy to the role,” Fuchs said.

Clemons, a lifelong Alachua County resident and UF alumnus, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2024. He initially represented District 21, covering Dixie, Gilchrist, and part of Alachua County, and after redistricting, represented District 22, which includes Gilchrist, Levy and portions of Alachua County.

He served as Speaker Pro Tempore under Florida House Speaker Paul Renner from 2022 to 2024 and was a leading voice on education and appropriations policy. Clemons also chaired the Gator Caucus, where he advocated for major investments in the State University System and championed legislation protecting free speech on college campuses.

Before his time in state government, Clemons spent 17 years in higher education administration at Santa Fe College, retiring in December 2024. He also held federal roles, including a presidential appointment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Clemons’ roots in the community and the university run deep. He attended public schools in High Springs and Alachua and graduated from Santa Fe High School. As a student at UF, he was active in campus leadership, joining Florida Blue Key and serving as president of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. His wife and son are also graduates of the university.

“His experience across local and state government, higher education and community engagement will be instrumental in advancing UF’s priorities and partnerships,” Fuchs said.

In his new position, Clemons will lead UF’s government relations at the local, state and federal levels, and guide its community engagement strategy.

“Chuck Clemons has been a steadfast advocate for higher education and a tireless champion for the University of Florida throughout his career,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees. “His deep understanding of the legislative process and his commitment to public service make him exceptionally well-suited for this role. I am confident he will help elevate UF’s impact across the state and ensure our voice remains strong in Tallahassee and beyond.”

Clemons said he is eager to begin the new chapter.

“I look forward to helping build a strong coalition focused on advancing the legislative and community best interests of my alma mater without regard for political party,” Clemons said. “The University of Florida is a treasure for the state of Florida, and I’m eager to do my part to help it reach its fullest potential.”

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

ARCHER ‒ The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a program created by Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1935 to address unemployment during the great depression. It provided public works projects and jobs for millions of Americans encouraging infrastructure construction, arts and culture initiatives and other work relief programs.

The Archer High School gymnasium was built in 1936-37 under the WPA to support the school, which was built in 1917. Buildings like this exist throughout the state of Florida and the United States.

When FDR took office in 1933, he promised a “New Deal” for everyone which included women, African Americans and others. While inequities existed under the programs, many women, African Americans and other marginalized groups found employment with the WPA.

In 1935 the WPA employed 350,000 black Americans, about 15 percent of its total work-force. The WPA put women to work in clerical jobs, gardening, canning and as librarians and seamstresses. The women engaged in sewing projects made up seven percent of the National WPA workforce.

There was some criticism of the WPA, which included WPA Construction projects, WPA Arts program and more.

WPA Legacy

Despite these attacks, the WPA is celebrated today for the employment it offered to millions of Americans during the darkest days of the great depression, and for its lasting legacy of smartly designed well-built schools, dams, roads, bridges and other buildings and structures — many of which are still in active use across the United States. The WPA shut down in June 1943. By that time unemployment was less than two percent as many Americans transitioned to work in the armed services and defense industries.

When I learned that the old gymnasium was an FDR Works Program Administration project. it inspired me to make the Archer Community Center a Florida Historical Heritage Site. This building should always be a part of FDR’s great American history.

#     #     #

Email editor@

alachuatoday.com

Undisclosed: Civil suit, criminal probe collide in Davis’s $15M verdict

A SERIES

Part 2: The immunity nobody mentioned

Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 in a multi-part series examining the legal battle between the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) and ACSO Sgt. Kevin Davis.

 Sidebar

TIMELINE: Behind the Verdict

• Kutner secretly monitors Frank during a conversation with another client, ACSO employee David Hardy.

Feb. 15, 2023

• Kevin Davis files a civil lawsuit alleging reverse discrimination and retaliation.
• The same day, Davis’s attorney Bobi J. Frank contacts FDLE requesting a criminal investigation into ACSO leadership.

March–May 2023

• FDLE begins interviewing witnesses—at Frank’s own law office.
• Frank appears on behalf of at least eight FDLE witnesses, including retired Capt. Brandon Kutner.

May 2023

• Kutner admits to the illegal monitoring.
• FDLE interview notes confirm Kutner received immunity from prosecution before testifying.
• None of this is disclosed to the defense prior to or during Davis’s civil trial.

Feb. 7, 2025

• Jury awards Davis $15 million.
• Jury is not informed of Kutner’s immunity nor the collapse of the FDLE criminal case.

Feb. 19, 2025

• State Attorney John Durrett issues letter confirming no charges filed in the FDLE probe.

April 2025

• ACSO obtains Durrett’s letter and FDLE case materials.
• Files motion to amend post-trial filings to include newly discovered evidence.

June 2025

• Court denies ACSO’s request to amend.
• Post-trial hearing limited to arguments in ACSO’s original motion to set aside and overturn jury verdict.

July 2025

• Post-trial motions to be heard for ACSO request to overturn verdict, reduce $15M award amount.

Staff Report

Alachua County Today

GAINESVILLE – In this installment, newly uncovered records reveal how a $15 million civil verdict may have been influenced by undisclosed witness immunity, a secret monitoring, and overlapping legal strategies between civil and criminal proceedings.

A Key Witness with a Hidden Past

Central to the controversy is retired ACSO Capt. Brandon Kutner, whose testimony supported Davis’s retaliation claims but whose behind-the-scenes legal maneuvers – including an immunity deal and a covert monitoring of his own attorney – were never shared with the jury. As the sheriff’s office seeks a new trial, the case raises serious questions about due process, legal ethics, and the integrity of the verdict.

Parallel Investigations Begin

Plaintiff Davis filed the civil lawsuit in February 2023 against the Sheriff’s office, alleging reverse discrimination and retaliation after being passed over for promotion by then-Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. But that same day, Davis’s attorney, Bobi J. Frank, contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) advocating for a criminal investigation against the same officials named in the civil case.

The result was a parallel criminal probe by FDLE that unfolded largely out of public view –and without full disclosure to the jury.

The Immunity Deal and Secret Monitoring

With a post-trial hearing scheduled for July 15, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is seeking to overturn the jury’s decision, citing the excessive jury award and the jury’s exposure to allegedly improper testimony among other factors.

Troubling new information has surfaced regarding one of the plaintiff’s key witnesses – now retired ACSO Captain Brandon Kutner. According to FDLE records, Kutner admitted to secretly monitoring a conversation involving his attorney, Bobi J. Frank, and ACSO Deputy James Hardy. Records also show that when Frank and Hardy met in an ACSO office equipped with audiovisual and monitoring technology, Frank openly inquired if that room was a safe place to talk with Hardy. Meanwhile, Kutner was in another room monitoring the conversation. It is not clear if Frank was genuinely concerned with the confidentiality of her conversation with Hardy or if she was merely feigning it for the purpose of building out a claim.

A Pattern of Overlap and Omission

Notably, FDLE was investigating two instances of alleged illegal recording or monitoring by ACSO. In both instances Frank was the subject of the alleged illegal conduct. These circumstances raise the question: Was it possible that Frank was orchestrating and manufacturing evidence as a foundation for an FDLE investigation and subsequent civil suit?

Frank’s representation of potentially adverse parties raises concerns of possible conflicts of interest. The State Attorney’s Office later confirmed that Kutner received immunity before admitting to the conduct. FDLE records make clear that Kutner did not testify to FDLE investigators until after he received a formal grant of immunity. His admission about the secret monitoring came during that interview – which took place at Frank’s own law office, a location that appears multiple times in FDLE’s investigative files as the setting for early witness interviews.

Records reflect that Frank sat in on and represented at least eight witnesses during the early stages of the FDLE probe – a probe she requested that FDLE conduct. Nearly all of Frank’s eight clients received immunity for their testimony with FDLE. People will often obtain immunity when they have knowledge of an alleged crime and also may be implicated in that or another crime as a result of their own conduct. Frank also sued ACSO on behalf of several of her other clients.

What the Jury Never Knew

This development was never disclosed to the jury during Davis’s civil trial. The immunity Kutner was granted was also never raised during his civil trial testimony, nor was the jury informed that he had admitted to the conduct. There is no indication the defense was informed of the immunity agreement prior to the close of evidence.

These circumstances are now central to ACSO’s argument that the civil proceedings were tainted by withheld information and undue influence. In post-trial filings, ACSO argued that had the jury known about Kutner’s immunity and his illegal monitoring, it would have fundamentally changed how his credibility was assessed.

The same filings may suggest that Frank’s representation of multiple witnesses in the same investigation – while being secretly recorded by one – raises serious ethical concerns, especially when the resulting information was used to help shape the FDLE’s investigatory narrative. One implication that could be surmised is that the criminal probe was never independent at all, but was instead shaped behind the scenes by Davis’s civil trial legal team to bolster their case.

Kutner’s testimony featured prominently in the trial, providing details that supported plaintiff Davis’s retaliation narrative. Yet the context behind Kutner’s participation – the immunity deal, the secret monitoring, and the location of his interviews – was all withheld from the jury’s view.

The jury did not hear how the FDLE criminal probe interviews unfolded in a setting controlled by Davis’s own counsel. And notably, the jury never heard that the criminal investigation had been closed with no charges filed.

A Verdict on Incomplete Information

This means that the jury’s verdict rested on an incomplete picture of what happened in the FDLE investigation because they never heard about the immunity of Kutner and others, the secret monitoring, or his participation in what may have been a coordinated legal strategy. ACSO’s attorneys argue that this resulted in a lack of fundamental fairness.

The central question remains: Did Davis’s legal team possess knowledge and control over both sides of the FDLE criminal investigation and civil proceedings, shaping them in tandem to achieve a result that the facts alone could not support?

The jury never had a chance to ask that question. And unless the court reopens the door, neither will anyone else.

Next, in Part 3: Manufactured Crisis?

Over the course of two years, Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr., became the subject of one lawsuit, then another–and another. But were the media being used to reinforce a carefully constructed narrative of scandal?

#     #     #

Email editor@alachuatoday.com

NEWBERRY ‒ On June 9, 2025, the Newberry City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board, reviewed redevelopment updates and approved enhancements to the Commercial Façade Grant Program along with a proposed downtown mural project.

The board unanimously approved a resolution to update the city’s Commercial Façade Grant program. Under the previous structure, the program offered a 50/50 cost match, reimbursing business owners between $500 and $5,000 only after project completion.

City of Newberry Planner and CRA Specialist Chelsea Bakaitis presented several recommended changes, including increasing the city’s contribution to 75 percent, with property owners covering the remaining 25 percent of costs. Additionally, the revised program allows for up to half of the reimbursement to be paid during the project with proof of a paid invoice, rather than waiting until full completion.

Bakaitis also recommended clarifying which applicants are ineligible for the grants such as national corporate franchises, government offices and agencies (nongovernmental, for-profit, tenants are eligible), and properties primarily in residential use, and properties exempt from property taxes.

Following a brief discussion, this item passed unanimously with the suggested changes.

CRA Program Update

Economic Development and CRA Coordinator Uma Sarmistha provided the board with an overview of ongoing and upcoming CRA initiatives.

“This year we are focusing on downtown and the historic district, but we want to go beyond that,” she said. “We will be working with Seaboard Drive and U.S. Highway 41 and some of the strips and working with new businesses too.”

Sarmistha noted that the CRA’s annual report was submitted March 31 and has grown significantly. “It went from two to 53 pages,” she said. “It was also submitted for the annual conference this year, so hopefully we will get it. This is a big change from just talking about the budget (last year) to providing all the details on what is actually happening.”

She emphasized that CRA efforts benefit more than just the downtown area.

“We’re improving those sidewalks and doing other infrastructure improvements,” she said, adding that such upgrades were “also important to showcase in the annual report this year.”

Sarmistha highlighted the completion of a safe walking route to Lois Forte Park and said the next pedestrian improvement project will extend from Southwest 255^th Street to Second Avenue, passing the football field and leading to the library.

Another effort underway is a “soft wash” cleaning project for buildings in the historic downtown. Six businesses have agreed to participate in the $6,725 initiative. The project is being funded through unspent money allocated to last year’s façade grant program.

Planned and ongoing CRA projects include Barry Park beautification, landscaping at Hitchcock Pond, land acquisition on Seaboard Drive, implementation of the Downtown Strategic Plan, a mural and community art initiative, annual Christmas decorations, and road work on Northwest 260^th Street and Southwest 254^th Street. Local festivals are also part of the agency’s future programming.

Annex Mural Proposal

Sarmistha also presented a proposal for a mural on the wall of the Annex Building in downtown Newberry as part of the CRA’s effort to enhance the district’s visual appeal and attract more business and tourism.

The project is estimated to cost approximately $5,000, or $15 to $25 per square foot, with funding provided through the CRA and a $2,000 Art Tag Matching Grant from Alachua County.

Sarmistha showcased concept art from Visionary FAM, a Gainesville-based muralist team comprised of husband-and-wife artists Jesus “Seck 37” Martinez and Carrie Wachter Martinez. The couple has a 25-year artistic partnership and has received multiple local awards, including the 2020 City Beautification Award from the Gainesville mayor and the 2020 Public Art Award from Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs department.

City staff recommended that the board approve the proposed mural for the Annex Building and move forward with assigning the artist, pending approval by the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) on June 16.

Commissioners reviewed the proposed design and offered suggestions for revisions, which will be shared with the artists. With a matching grant deadline approaching, the board gave informal approval to proceed with the project, contingent on HARB’s final review.

#     #     #

Email cwalker@

alachuatoday.com