The Climate Reality Project and local activists met Monday afternoon to hear an update on Gainesville’s climate action plan from Chief Climate Officer Dan Zhu. The city official outlined the plan and focused on two main aspects: adaptation and mitigation.
Gainesville Police Department Chief Lonnie Scott submitted his letter of resignation to Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry Monday, saying he would rather resign than be fired by the city manager.
During the 2023 season, the Gators softball pitching staff struggled. The staff had a 3.69 ERA, and the team faltered in SEC play, in part due to the pitching. The Gators ranked second-to-last in the category, ahead of Kentucky. In June, the team decided to move on from former pitching coach Mike Bosch, who had been with the team since 2018. To replace Bosch, Florida went with Chelsey Dobbins. Dobbins had been with the University of North Carolina for the past eight years. This season under Dobbins, the staff has found success, recording a 0.48 ERA in the team’s first 17 games.
The attention around homelessness in Gainesville has heightened after recent sweeps on homeless encampments and city commission decisions to allocate 30 beds to GRACE Marketplace in the next 90 days, move $700,000 to homeless support services and prepare for the sale of the vacant Gainesville Fire Rescue station. House Bill 1365 aims to prevent city and county governments from allowing people to sleep in public. As the bill moves through the Florida Legislature, members of Gainesville’s homeless population, the city government and residents met Feb. 22 at a general policy meeting to discuss the city’s approach to these issues.
As of Jan. 26, Florida residents are no longer able to change the gender marker on their state-issued driver’s licenses.
The UF cheerleading team currently has 13 men and 24 women, divided into a combination of male-female stunt pairs and all-girl groups. The athletes spent most of the two-hour practice preparing for next month’s cheer tryout, during which they’ll do their best to recruit talented newcomers — and show up themselves to re-earn their spots on the team. But tryouts will be less competitive for some than others.
Newberry Education First initiative wants to convert the three Newberry schools into public charters under the guidance of community leaders. The initiative wants to ensure “excellent education, increased teacher pay and the same great sports and activities we all love,” according to its website.
From Target to Topgolf, 85 of the nation’s largest retail stores rely on technology developed by the Gainesville-based Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) to deter shoplifting. The SaferPlaces Lab, a simulated storefront located at the UF Innovation Hub, is at the forefront of this nationwide initiative to protect retail shoppers financially and physically.
Arts and culture are present in Gainesville through museums, exhibits and music venues scattered around the city. Further developments like a cultural arts center in East Gainesville could continue catering to the expansion, providing people with a place to turn to for support. Community members are concerned more outreach needs to be done to fully immerse underserved communities into art outlets. There are opportunities for people to seek support through the arts, but the accessibility can vary.
How Bazar became a hotspot for art and culture Feb. 24 as people joined to honor a combination of various cultures, backgrounds and identities at the Culturs Festival.
The ringing clangs of swashbuckling sword fights resounded loudly in Buchholz High School’s auditorium at a midweek evening rehearsal. In front of a white-columned set piece, two pajama-clad teens duel with careful choreography, jousting silver swords and dodging calculated swings.
In the Gators men’s tennis dual against the University of North Florida Jan. 19, the match to clinch the doubles point was tied at 6-6. The score in the tiebreaker was 5-4 in favor of Florida freshman Adhithya Ganesan and sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn.
On Feb. 27 and 28, UF students will vote for 50 Student Senate seats and the positions of student body president, vice president and treasurer in the Spring 2024 Student Government elections.
Jazzlyn Harrell eagerly punched her number into the keypad in her elementary school lunch line over 20 years ago. More satisfying than the lunch she was served, she savored the ‘Happy birthday’ message that lit up on the screen. Unlike her classmates, she would have to wait another four years to see it again. Harrell, now a 31-year-old Alachua County elementary school counselor, is a ‘leapling,’ a person born Feb. 29. For her, the date brings memories of both small delights and mild frustrations.
There’s always more work to be done. This underlying belief has guided Change Party to serve the student body for eight semesters. This thought empowers us to author 200 bills when we are the minority in the Senate chamber. This is our conviction as we strive to put the power back into the hands of all students this election.
From its creation this past Fall, Vision Party has made it its mission to ensure the voices of every student are heard. The very foundation of Vision is based on individuals from all backgrounds coming together to tackle the ineffective governance of other parties.
Hosted by the Ukrainian Student Association, the event commemorated the second anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. It also honored the 10-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Crimea.
A UF student on pretrial release was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department Thursday night on suspicion of indecent exposure.
The Gators (14-12, 5-9 SEC) were defeated by the Bulldogs (12-15, 3-11 SEC) in a 76-60 loss, Sunday afternoon. Georgia took a 22-point lead into the halftime break and went on cruise control for the remainder of the game to swiftly leave Florida in the dust.
The No. 14 Florida Gators softball team (15-2) defeated UIC (9-6) 8-0 to sweep the T-Mobile Tournament. Freshman right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock continued her start to the season with a smooth 1-2-3 first inning getting three strikeouts on 11 pitches.
Solutions by The State News
