Sep. 25—Residents in Gainesville no longer have to bug their City Council representative or speculate with neighbors about the construction going on across the street, downtown or at school.

A new redistricting map for the city of Gainesville appears to resolve concerns raised earlier in March by preserving minority representation in east Gainesville and increasing the Black voter base.

Shawn Murphy was only a month into his retirement as a journalism professor when he made his first “Tom Petty pilgrimage” to Gainesville this past January. Not owning a smartphone, Murphy, 58, spent ...