Gainesville Town Hall

Gainesville City Commissioners like to think of themselves as “environmentally progressive” (i.e.: signed the Kyoto Protocol, initiated a free Bicycle lending service that resulted in most of the bicycles being stolen, and dedicating large amounts of our transportation budget to RTS). However, one of the responsibilities of leadership is to dig a little deeper and consider every ramification of decisions imposed on the public. continue reading »

Article By Tony Domenech
Originally Written Circa 2003

Thinking back, I suppose my wife and I began to notice the decline of East Gainesville 25 or so years ago.  At the time we lived in a beautiful home (circa 1938) on the corner of NE 7^th Street and 9th Avenue.  Many of our friends lived nearby; Lynn and I were teaching at Howard Bishop Middle School, and we were raising our first child, Joseph.  While there continues to be “fits and starts” and isolated improvements as time relentlessly advances, the relatively straight-line decline of east Gainesville continues, for the most part, unabated.

Some examples:

• Lowes – Closed
• Winn Dixie - Closed
• Manaro’s - Closed
• Barnett Bank – Closed
• Southeastern Bank - Closed
• Central Builders – Moved West
• Cedar Grove II: Barely passing; heavily subsidized
• Tackle Box – Moved
• Decreasing school enrollment
• Decreasing residency

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