In Alachua County, more than 30,000 acres have been protected under similar land agreements. In January, the trust facilitated an agreement with a 550-acre dairy farm in Gilchrist County. The farm has been owned for multiple generations by the Watson family, who will receive $1.54 million through the easement.
In Alachua County, 11.1% of the population is food insecure, according to the Florida Department of Health. In the last decade, several urban farms have sprouted in an effort to combat local food insecurity. These community gardens also tackle other issues stemming from food insecurity, including educating citizens and addressing systemic inequality.
Porters Quarters is a historically Black neighborhood in East Gainesville founded in 1884 by Canadian physician Dr. Watson Porter, who only sold real estate to African Americans. As the neighborhood continues to battle gentrification among student housing and downtown expansions, the lack of communication between the city and the neighborhood worries residents. The most recent construction has left residents perplexed.
Addressing limited access to health in southeast Gainesville, community members and health care providers across Alachua County see solutions not only in improving access in policy, community engagement and education, but also in expanding food resources to the town.
Various education reform bills have altered curriculum and cut funding to certain programs in public K-12 schools and universities since the beginning of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The initiatives have targeted a wide variety of subject matter including diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as all critical theory, a blanket term that encompasses the idea of critical race theory. The passage of new legislation, both in support and opposition of past initiatives, faces the state legislature in 2024.
House Bill 757 titled “Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likeness” seeks to lower the bar for public figures filing these lawsuits. Proposed by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, the initiative would widen the scope of actual malice, work to discredit anonymous sources, limit the use of artificial intelligence, establish 60-day veracity hearings and authorize venue expansion.
The country’s outbreak of gang violence has escalated since an attack at a television network in Guayaquil Jan. 9 spiraled the nation into fear. After the country’s powerful drug lord, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, known as “Fito,” escaped prison Jan. 8, Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared a 60-day state of emergency for what he’s coined an “internal armed conflict.” For Gainesville’s Ecuadorian community, the violence back home has left a lingering pain.
In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The compact provided the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights in running gambling activities on tribal lands. In exchange, the tribe agreed to give $2.5 billion of its revenue to the state for the first five years the compact is in place. Under SB 1638, 96% of these annual funds would go to Florida’s environmental resources.
As the legislative session ramps up, newly proposed bills that could alter the higher education landscape have faculty and students bracing themselves after last year’s education regulations. Following the state’s 2023 move to defund public universities’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Florida State Board of Education prohibited the usage of public funds for DEI programs in Florida’s 28 public state colleges, according to a Florida Department of Education news release Jan. 17.
From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, there were 83 incidents where shots were fired, killing a total sum of seven people. From Jan. 1 the start of 2024 to Jan. 15, there have been 13 incidents where shots were fired, resulting in the deaths of two people, according to a data report shared by Alachua County’s Criminal Investigation Division. The city implemented efforts to combat firearm misuse during 2023, yet attempts have continuously clashed with state law.
Faced with the upcoming 2024 Republican primary election, Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended his presidential campaign. Former President Donald Trump and former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina will compete head-to-head for the Republican nomination.
Florida’s manatee population has struggled over the past few years, leading many petitioners to call for its re-entry to the endangered species list. In 2017, the manatee was reclassified from “endangered” to “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Save the Manatee Club filed a joint petition in 2022 to put the Florida manatee back on the endangered species list.
In the comfort of her Miami home, 34-year-old Julianne Espinosa lies in bed captivated by videos of Disney princesses flashing across her television screen. As echoes of “The Little Mermaid” fill her room, she smiles brightly, silently expressing the words she cannot say.
Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered the State of the State address Tuesday, Jan. 9. A joint session of the Florida legislature received his remarks in the House of Representatives Chamber.
A poco más que una hour de manejo al norte de Gainesville, en el condado rural de Baker, se encuentra uno de los cinco centros de detención de ICE en Florida.
Just over an hour’s drive north of Gainesville in rural Baker County lies one of Florida’s five ICE detention centers.
Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease, has ravaged the citrus industry in Florida over the past two decades. Since the disease was first detected in 2005, it has reduced citrus production by over 75% and cost the industry billions of dollars in lost revenue. Researchers have studied the disease for decades but have yet to find a lasting solution to citrus greening.
The 2024 Florida regular legislative session begins Jan. 9 with over 1,000 bills filed. The proposed legislation has sparked discussions on a wide range of issues including abortion access, firearm regulations, education reform, environmental protection, insurance rates and hurricane relief.
On Nov. 16, the United States Supreme Court refused the state of Florida’s request to re-enact a law punishing businesses for allowing children into drag shows. Artists like Garrepy are taking the opportunity to celebrate the rare legal victory, which follows a flurry of Florida anti-LGBTQ laws passed over recent legislative terms.
The community farm, which has been in the works since 2012, serves as an effort to combat food insecurity and generate an income for Porters.
Solutions by The State News
