Gainesville’s next mayor part of nationwide trend
By STEFANIA FERRO | Apr. 20, 2010In one month, Craig Lowe will join the ranks of about 24 other mayors who are bringing diversity to city halls across the country.
In one month, Craig Lowe will join the ranks of about 24 other mayors who are bringing diversity to city halls across the country.
Thank you, Editorial Board, for echoing the call for compassion on factory farms. For years, animal protection organizations have shown the inherent cruelty in cutting the beaks off egg-laying hens and confining them to spaces so small they can’t even spread a single wing. Battery cages will be illegal in the European Union starting in 2012, and the U.S. would do well to follow that example. However, sadly, this is not the only area where McDonald’s is falling behind the times on animal welfare standards.
As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaches, attention turns to a long-standing environmental problem in the community.
Gainesville and the rest of the world will celebrate Mother Earth Thursday for Earth Day’s 40th anniversary by gathering their shovels and gloves and getting down to business.
It’s finally here.
The last Senate meeting of the spring semester was a little brighter than usual.
Caroline Hitiman recently wrote a letter to the Editorial Board complaining about all the attention Tiger Woods receives from the media. Woods receives attention from media simply because he is the most interesting athlete in sports. Like Hitiman said, the media ratings from the Masters went up 36 percent from last year just because Woods was in the field. I understand other golfers were performing better, but when Woods heads into the final round at the Masters only four strokes behind the leader, it’s definitely something to watch. The most interesting thing to watch aside from Woods pulling crazy shots to win is to see Woods lose. Even when he is in last place, it is entertaining to see how he handles failure. Whether it is slamming clubs or holding up a trophy, Tiger deserves airtime.
Their signs were more weathered and their crowd has dwindled since the first protest, but the message of protesters was just as strong during their third march Tuesday afternoon.
Joseph File is his real name, but his Facebook profile reads Joseph Carmen.
Holding signs with slogans like “We Want Justice,” a crowd of about 500 people, including about 25 UF students, marched this weekend from Tampa to Lakeland in support of better wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers.
Kofi Adu-Brempong’s story has been told through the shouts of protesters and the text of police reports.
For the past two weeks, the Gators have been playing with fire.
Amanda O’Leary stood on the field and looked around while goose bumps covered her body at the sound of the national anthem. She saw the stadium that would be at capacity less than four minutes after faceoff, she saw the faces of supporters, and she saw her dream come true.
Win big. Lose big.
Seventy-two square inches.
Forget Optimus Prime.
Alligator reader Ann Sanchez is an idiot. First, the health care bill does not provide blanket health care for illegal immigrants, as they are treated much as before. Yes, some people will pay more in taxes, but we will pay less in health care costs as a whole due to more preventative care. Malpractice reform would save about $54 billion over 10 years, which is significant but not huge considering we spend more than $2 trillion on health care each year. There is nothing in the bill stating that all specialties have to be paid the same. This is not even true in the U.K., where they have real socialized medicine. Unlike Sanchez claims, it is not common knowledge that doctors leave medical school with half a million dollars in debt because they leave with an average of $156,000, which is still a big number, but there are few professions where you are guaranteed to make six figures for the rest of your life. And finally, medical residents do not make $30,000 per year; they usually make upwards of $45,000 per year — 50 percent more than $30,000, according to my rough math. They’re not living the high life, but it’s not bad considering the significant pay raise at the end of their 3- to 7-year residency. It’s OK to have opinions and to print those opinions, but it’s just a waste of ink if the people expressing those views refuse to read books or use the Internet, and instead they base their elementary opinions on e-mails forwarded by grandma.
Bravo to the counter-protesters of the Westboro Baptist Church protesters. A confrontation such as this could have turned violent, but Gainesville residents showed these people how the city really feels about ignorance and intolerance. We laugh at it. By dancing, singing and making fun of the situation, residents let the Westboro Baptist Church members know that their claims are so idiotic that they do not deserve to be taken seriously. It is unfortunate that so much hate and discontent is spread in the name of God, but the beauty of our country is that they have the right to do so in the same way others have the right to choose their partner regardless of gender. It boggles my mind how these people claim God hates homosexuals. Isn’t the god whom the followers of Westboro Baptist Church speak of the creator of everything, all-knowing and ever-present? If so, their God created gay people willingly and knowingly. Fortunately, the members of our community are smart enough to recognize a circus act when they see one, and everybody enjoys a day at the circus.
The Gator Nation is getting frisky, but this time it’s not just the students.