As chief investigator for the state attorney’s office in Gainesville, Billy Malphurs always had a plate full of cases. But when legendary saddlemaker Don Brown called, Malphurs’ job and his 30-year career didn’t matter.
Brown offered a more enticing opportunity than tracking down murderers, rapists and other criminals. The opportunity was to learn how to make saddles from one of the country’s top craftsmen.
Not just any saddles, but old-time saddles that were comfortable to ride all day.

“We’re going to build saddles and build them right, just you and me,” Brown told Malphurs when he called him in 1996.
Malphurs didn’t hesitate. “I drafted my letter of resignation to [then State Attorney] Rod Smith and gave him a two-weeks’ notice,” he says.

Now that hurricane season is upon us, and the projections are for it to be unusually active, it’s time to make sure that your business, employees, vendors and customers have a disaster plan in place. Here are some thoughts on how to plan for, and mitigate the effects of, storms that may impact our area.
Start by considering some basic business functions—how they relate to your business, and their vulnerability to storm damage. What you do to mitigate them will depend on factors unique to your business, but here are some examples:

Your business sells a service or a product.
If you have a product that you purchase, you need a secure storage location, or better yet, two locations in case one is damaged. If you sell a perishable product, you may need on-site power generation.
If your product requires frequent ordering, you will need to ensure that your vendors have a plan to deliver to you despite any damages they may incur. If you produce the product, you will need another location to use in the event that yours is damaged. (For example, a printer in County A might have a mutual arrangement with a printer in County B to use the other person’s plant after hours if their own plant is damaged.)

When Gainesville officials talk about a progressive, innovative city they’d like to emulate, Austin, Texas, often tops the list.
That’s no surprise, as Austin has created success from some of the same assets that make Gainesville great.
Home to a major campus of The University of Texas, Austin straddles an interstate (35), has a publicly owned utility and is considered a “green” and politically progressive city. (Legislators from Amarillo and Waco refer to it as “The People’s Republic of Austin.”)
Also like Gainesville, Austin tops many lists for quality of life. In 2006, Money magazine named it the No. 2 Best Big City in which to live and the Travel Channel voted it America’s No. 1 college town.
But it’s taken more than a confluence of good assets to turn Austin into a high-tech and biotech powerhouse. And the things officials there did, and didn’t do, over the last few decades could provide some useful tips to help Gainesville grow.

For one side, it could spur a downtown renaissance. For the other it’s the tipping point that could lead to more layoffs or even foreclosures in Gainesville’s apartment industry.
However you define it, the city commission’s 7-0 decision to provide preliminary support to a new graduate student housing community downtown is a game-changer. And it is not without controversy.
When the commission tentatively agreed last month to issue tax-free bonds to fund the Continuum apartment community, it drew the ire of dozens of apartment community owners and employees. Opponents say the city’s involvement will give the new project an unfair advantage in financing. They also complain there are numerous questions about the project, from the quality of the proposed construction to the feasibility of Continuum’s projected $900-plus rents. Mike Warren, president of AMJ Inc., urged the commission to investigate the Continuum thoroughly before making a commitment. “There’s no need for the city to jump into bed with the first developer who winks at it,” he said.