The Avenue
‘That’s my flag!’: UF students react to Bad Bunny’s joyful halftime show
By Christopher Rodriguez | Feb. 9Not every non-Spanish speaking listener felt the language barrier posed an issue.
COVID-19
Metro
High school custodian charged with carrying two firearms on UF campus
By Vanessa Norris | Feb. 9An Alachua County Public Schools employee was arrested after carrying two firearms on UF campus Sunday night.
Sports
Phil Trautwein looks to return Florida to its winning ways
By Max Bernstein | Feb. 9Phil Trautwein is no stranger to success. As a player, he won two national championships as a key member of Florida’s offensive line in 2006 and 2008. As a coach, he helped lead Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024.
Sports
‘Let’s have a good one’: Gators baseball season days away
By Adrian Carmona | Feb. 9Condron Family Ballpark will see its first action of the year on Feb. 13 as Gators baseball begins its spring season, looking to leave a tumultuous 2025 in the rear view.
Sports
Florida football’s top incoming recruits in 2026
By Curan Ahern | Feb. 9Under newly hired head coach Jon Sumrall, UF currently has 20 incoming recruits in the class of 2026 to complement a productive transfer portal cycle.
Opinion
OPINION: Conservatives can’t be both pro-life and for the death penalty
By Timothy Dillehay | Feb. 9The pro-life ideology is misleading. A deceiving misnomer. It claims human life has value and no state or person should take life away. This logic, however, only pertains to fetuses. Once you are out of the womb, your life is expendable.
El Caimán
Absurdo: Gainesville reacciona a la prohibición de exámenes de licencia de conducir en idiomas distintos al inglés
By Dulce Rodriguez-Escamilla and Angelique Rodriguez | Feb. 8Anteriormente, los exámenes y las instrucciones para obtener una licencia de conducir o un permiso estaban disponibles en varios idiomas, incluyendo, español, chino, criollo haitiano, portugués, francés y ruso.
El Caimán
‘Absurd’: Gainesville reacts to ban on non-English driver’s license testing
By Dulce Rodriguez-Escamilla and Angelique Rodriguez | Feb. 8As of Feb. 6, the driver's license exam and its instructions will be administered exclusively in English, following a new directive from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Metro
Gainesville man arrested after throwing soda, mooning teenagers outside McDonalds
By Vanessa Norris | Feb. 8Videos taken by the teenagers show Heath smacking his buttocks and rubbing his left butt cheek in front of them.
El Caimán
Many Haitian Creole textbooks are outdated. So, this UF professor co-wrote his own.
By Dulce Rodriguez-Escamilla | Feb. 8Haitian Creole is the third-most-spoken language in Florida, but the resources for learning it are scarce, outdated and often lack lessons on day-to-day conversation. Among those who speak the language, there are also many who cannot read or write in it. To address these issues, a UF researcher co-published a Haitian Creole textbook designed to improve learning at the university and beyond.
Opinion
OPINION: How pro-life and pro-death can coexist among conservatives
By Alannah Peters | Feb. 8One of the most common accusations directed at conservatives is that you cannot be both pro-life and supportive of the death penalty. If life is sacred, as anti-death penalty voters argue, it must be protected in all circumstances — from the womb to the prison cell.
The Avenue
Gainesville artists and poets celebrate a night of Black love, art and poetry
By Laura Manzor | Feb. 8Gainesville artists, poets and community members came together for a free event Feb. 7 at the Oakview Community Center to celebrate Black History Month with art exhibits and spoken word performances.
Sports
Strong pitching tandem carries No. 6 Florida past South Florida
By Zach Moore | Feb. 8Once again for Florida softball, the pitching staff delivered. The Gators used two pitchers on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Katelynn Oxley got the start for Florida, as the Bartow, Florida, native tossed four innings with five strikeouts, allowing her lone run in the first inning.
The Avenue
Fill your calendar with this week’s Gainesville music events
By Isabel Kraby | Feb. 8This Valentine’s week, Gainesville is hosting many romantic music events alongside hardcore metal and garage punk shows. Check out what concerts are taking place this week starting Feb. 9.
Metro
County officials, grant recipients express frustration over DOGE criticisms
By Kaitlyn McCormack | Feb. 8While leading an art therapy workshop, Sarah Falk taught young girls how to make vision boards and prayer boxes — helping them set boundaries and build self-esteem with an activity called “creating your own Garden of Eden.”
Sports
Two dominant innings lift No. 6 Florida past Kansas
By Zach Moore | Feb. 8For most of the game, it appeared fans were in for a pitching duel. That was until the top of the fifth changed everything. In the ballgame, Florida had 15 hits. 11 of them were in the 5th and 7th innings.
Enterprise
Alachua County Democratic Party alleges city’s precinct closure suppresses voters
By Alexa Ryan | Feb. 8The commission cited planned construction at the community center during the election as the reason behind the closure, though a start date for the project has not been released. The city of Alachua didn’t respond to phone calls requesting details on the project.
Enterprise
Cruel and unusual? Florida executions face legal scrutiny over lethal injection
By Alexa Ryan | Feb. 8Florida’s rules for animal euthanasia, created in the 1990s, span a full page. Its guidance for executions by lethal injection, drawn up almost a decade later, takes up just two sentences. The specific details of the execution process are largely left to the discretion of the Florida Department of Corrections.
News
UF committee delays decision on project that could remove nearly 1,000 trees
By Juliana DeFilippo | Feb. 8The project would remove an estimated 947 trees, including 67 designated as heritage trees. The designation applies to trees of notable size, shape or importance.
The Avenue
Ditch the supermarket flowers and hit these 6 local shops for Valentine’s Day
By Aaliyah Evertz | Feb. 8Whether you’re planning a romantic gesture, a low-key “thinking of you” or something a little more creative than the standard dozen roses, Gainesville has no shortage of local florists ready to help you get it right.
