2 - The Independent Florida Alligator

The Shell sign is scattered across the ground Friday after strong winds blew it down during a storm at the Shell gas station, 3330 SW Archer Road. Daphne Roberson, an employee at the station, said she saw the sign go down around 11 a.m. “It just all of a sudden happened,” she said. “I looked up and it was flying across the air.”

METRO

North Florida thunderstorm affects thousands in Alachua County

By Karina Elwood | Apr. 19, 2019

Some flights were canceled or delayed

UF women's golfers Sierra Brooks (pictured) and Marta Perez were excused for the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic after they competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amatuer last weekend.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS GOLF

Brooks, Perez show out to give Florida 36-hole lead

By Victor Prieto | Apr. 19, 2019

Juniors Marta Perez and Sierra Brooks headlined a massive day on the links for the Florida women’s golf team in Round 2 of the SEC Women’s Championships.

Marlee Zein won SEC Freshman of the Week after earning two wins. Her 11 victories are second-highest on the team.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TENNIS

Zein clinches second-round SEC Tourney win over Ole Miss

By Victor Prieto | Apr. 19, 2019

Marlee Zein entered College Station, Texas, excited to compete in her first SEC Tournament. The freshman out of Sugar Land, Texas, was coming off a two-win week, and won SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

UF thrower AJ McFarland knows the importance of every meet, regardless of when it occurs. “I want to treat every meet like the postseason," he said.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TRACK

Gators return to the track for first time since Florida Relays

By Graham Marsh | Apr. 19, 2019

Sharrika Barnett reached the final straightaway clearly in first place.

Pitcher Kelly Barnhill has a 1.46 ERA and has only allowed an opponent batting average of .150. She is only 15 strikeouts away from Stacey Nelson's school record of 1,116.

SPORTS | SOFTBALL

Top matchups to watch when Florida takes on ‘Bama

By Mark Stine | Apr. 19, 2019

The Florida-Alabama softball rivalry is one of the fiercest in the Southeastern Conference.

Sophomore Duarte Vale got a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 singles victory in a 10-point tiebreaker in Florida's win over Auburn on Sunday. He improved to 9-0 in SEC play and extended his winning streak to 10 in singles.

SPORTS | OTHER SPORTS TENNIS

Top-seeded UF prepares to host Alabama in SEC Tourney

By Noah Ram | Apr. 19, 2019

The Florida men’s tennis team is SEC regular season champions and undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2003, a 14-match winning streak and their best regular season record since 1977.

Alicia Boren earned Second-Team All-American honors for the all-around and floor in 2019. She will compete in all four events at the NCAAs in Fort Worth, Texas.

SPORTS | GYMNASTICS

Gators compete for individual medals at NCAAs

By River Wells | Apr. 19, 2019

Eleven UF gymnasts walked off the mat for the last time this year when Florida’s gymnastics team was shockingly eliminated from the NCAA Championships at the NCAA Corvallis Regional in Oregon.

Shortstop Brady McConnell went 1 for 3 in UF's 8-4 win over Jacksonville on Tuesday at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium. He began the Gators' five-run first inning with a home run.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Taking stock of the UF baseball team: the good, the bad and the ugly

By Kyle Wood | Apr. 19, 2019

At this point in the season, I expected to endorse the Florida baseball team’s candidacy for being one of the favorites to come out of the SEC. But after 39 games, it’s rather difficult to draw a conclusion.

Florida pitcher Tommy Mace has given up 13 runs on 22 hits in conference losses this season.

SPORTS | BASEBALL

Gators first SEC road win comes in blowout of LSU

By Kyle Wood | Apr. 19, 2019

The Florida baseball team had an air of confidence about it heading into a road series at LSU.

Elio Piedra, 27, a Latin DJ in Gainesville, first learned how to play the drums in Cuba when he was in the fourth grade. He moved to the U.S. in 2010, when he was 19. “For most, it’s like two pieces of wood,” he said. “But for me, it’s like extensions of my arms.”

METRO

From Cuba to Gainesville: DJ Elio Piedra drums up Latin culture

By Christina Morales | Apr. 18, 2019

He plays more than 270 events every year

OPINION | COLUMNS

The US healthcare system shouldn’t discriminate against transgender people

By Chasity Maynard | Apr. 18, 2019

Many transgender people nationwide battle hatred, ostracization and discrimination in their interactions with random people and even with their friends and families. Hate is a nearly unavoidable part of life for the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. today. Unfortunately, achieving tolerance and acceptance is a process that takes time and education.

FILE - This Aug. 15, 2017, file photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Community given chance to dump drugs safely

By Abraham Hunt | Apr. 18, 2019

The drug take-back day will take place April 27

[FILE PHOTO] Andrew Persons, a Gainesville city planner, and Wendy Thomas, the city’s director of the department of doing, present information on gnvRISE affordable housing program at the beginning of a six-hour meeting.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

City Commission accepts audit despite controversy

By Karina Elwood | Apr. 18, 2019

The Reichert House audit is to be reviewed by a third party

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF startup combatting mosquito diseases featured at national showcase

By Jordyn Kalman | Apr. 18, 2019

The research costs $500,000

NEWS | CAMPUS

Bite Squad to offer UF students, faculty discount during finals week

By Lina Ruiz | Apr. 18, 2019

It can be used from April 24 to May 3

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts and Laurels: April 19, 2019

Apr. 18, 2019

You’re on your way to your final exam of the semester, and you should be going over equations in your head. Instead, your mind is thinking about summer days spent sleeping in and on home-cooked meals. The semester has flown by. There have been a few wins and a few losses, but you’ve made it through all the same. You find yourself with a small smile on your face, allowing yourself to revel in a little self-pride.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: What SG and others can learn from Public Policy Career Day

Apr. 18, 2019

On March 21, Chomp the Vote hosted the Public Policy Career Day inside of the Reitz Grand Ballroom. To put on the event, Chomp the Vote partnered with the Bob Graham Center, the UF International Center, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Beyond 120, the political science department, the College of Journalism and Communications, the Career Resource Center and Civic Duty Florida. The event featured more than 20 universities with public policy and administration programs, such as Tufts University, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, as well as employers from the public and private sector. The event director and planning team within Chomp staff created this event with the intention of bringing an event on campus for students to be exposed to educational and professional opportunities within the public policy sector.

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

UF President Fuchs’ last message of the semester

Apr. 18, 2019

The world watched in horror and grief on Monday as Notre Dame Cathedral burned. Her lead-covered wood roof and majestic spire collapsing into red flames as Parisians sang hymns on roads and bridges. Some 13 million people annually enter the cathedral. I have been one of those awestruck visitors on several occasions. Notre Dame is an exquisite example of French Gothic architecture and an unforgettable symbol of Paris, with its beautiful rose windows, flying buttresses and rib vault. Lost in the news of the past few days is the fact that Notre Dame is foremost a place for worship, particularly for Catholic Christians.

OPINION | COLUMNS

SG banquet: Mac and cheese, prayer and cowboys

Apr. 18, 2019

Well, I made it into the Student Government banquet this year, and it was a rather interesting event. For starters, they dropped around $20,000 on a banquet and ended up drinking out of disposable plastic cups. They are humble people, aren’t they?

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Police looking for two men involved in shooting

By Katherine Wallace-Fernandez | Apr. 18, 2019

A third man is still unidentified

COVID-19