Metro - The Independent Florida Alligator

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

With City Commission's help, UF student marketing campaign promotes mask-wearing in bars

By Jack Prator | Feb. 17

Students at The Agency, UF’s student-led marketing firm, paired up with the city to launch a marketing campaign aimed to encourage students to wear masks in public inside bars during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Healthy Gainesville Initiative was presented to and approved by the City Commission Jan. 21 and cost the city $87,500.

Screenshot of the false message on Instagram [Courtesy of Jackie Johnson]

METRO | PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Fake message about Alachua County Public Schools posted on Instagram

By Emil Munksgaard Grosen | Feb. 17

A fake Instagram account posing as Alachua County Public Schools spread a false message late Saturday night that schools would switch to remote learning. The school district plans to contact Instagram with hopes of getting the account taken off the platform.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Gainesville won’t ‘free the nipple’ following proposal to de-gender toplessness

By Michelle Holder | Feb. 15

The city commission voted 3-3 against the proposal at a Feb. 11 meeting, halting the “Free the Nipple" movement in Gainesville but passing a plan to begin drafting language changes to de-gender city codes.

METRO | PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Eastside High School Alumni Association to mentor current students

By Alan Halaly | Feb. 15

The goal of the organization is to guide current students while also funding school programs and scholarships. It is one of the few high school alumni associations in the Alachua County Public School system.

Tyson Torchia (left) and Nathaly Barrantes (right) hold their new kitten, Silas, at Alachua County Animal Services.

METRO

Valentine’s Day adoptions were $14 at Alachua County Animal Services

By Amy Dunn | Feb. 15

The shelter, located at 3400 NE 53rd Ave., held its Valentine’s Day adoption event from Feb. 9 to Feb. 13. Though adoption fees are normally $20 for cats and $40 for dogs, all fees were $14 for both animals during the weeklong event.

METRO

‘Felt a moral obligation to help’: Gainesville’s Firefighters took part in Moderna vaccine trial

By Jiselle Lee | Feb. 13

In August, about 10 members of the Gainesville Fire Rescue team volunteered to become a few of the 30,000 nationwide participants in Moderna’s Phase 3 COVE vaccine trial.

A fire engine sits under a newly constructed shed at the Alachua County Fire Rescue Station 25 on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. The station didn’t have an enclosed space for the engine and was not recognized as a fire station when it opened last January, despite being on call and operating as one.

METRO

Newly finished Fire Station construction could reduce homeowner’s insurance

By Lucille Lannigan | Feb. 11

Homeowners within 5 miles of Fire Station 25 can receive lower insurance rates and an advanced life support response following renovations at the station.

Photo of GRACE Marketplace sign at 3055 NE 28th Ave. in Gainesville, FL.

METRO

Grace Pharmacy is giving away $600,000 worth of insulin to the public

By Lucille Lannigan | Feb. 10

The pharmacy, located at the GRACE Marketplace homeless shelter, started filling free prescriptions about three years ago and began giving away $600,000 worth of insulin to the public on Jan. 29. The free insulin will last until supplies run out.

Denise Garcia and Jeffery Davis wear face masks in downtown Gainesville.

METRO

Gainesville City Commission moves forward on emergency order on bar and restaurant restrictions

By Jack Prator | Feb. 8

The order, which passed 4-3, comes after a monthlong debate about a possible shutdown in the city and county commissions as students returned to UF campus. While the emergency order passed, the policy itself is still under development.

Gail K. Watson (left) and Brenda Whitfield (right) scoop dirt into glass jars at the soil ceremony for the Newberry Six on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. Whitfield spoke during the ceremony before the crowd began adding earth to the containers.

METRO

Newberry honors lynching victims in soil collection ceremony

By Lucille Lannigan | Feb. 8

The soil ceremony, originally planned for April 2020, is a step in the county's path to address and reconcile with its history of racial violence.

Marion Broadaway smiles as she tells stories of her life to family members and reporters at her 100th birthday celebration on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

METRO

Gainesville resident celebrates 100th birthday

By Michelle Holder | Feb. 8

Joining the world’s less than 1% centenarian population, Broadaway lived through World War II, the moon landing and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

METRO

New Hampshire Man passes through Alachua County on cross-country walk to help prevent suicide

By Michelle Holder | Feb. 5

Since January 2020, the 47-year-old carpenter from New Hampshire has been walking from sunrise to sunset across the country with his great dane named Watonga, a backpack and a yellow sign reading “don’t kill yourself.” He walks everyday to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

METRO

Establishing a connection with listeners: Celebrity host Elvis Duran’s radio show comes to the Ocala-Gainesville station

By Emil Munksgaard Grosen | Feb. 5

Recently, Ocala-Gainesville’s Q92.9 aired his show for the first time. The show airs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

METRO | CRIME

Former UF professor indicted for scheme to defraud the National Institutes of Health and UF

By Anna Wilder and Juliana Ferrie | Feb. 5

Lin Yang, a former researcher and associate professor in UF’s biomedical engineering department, was charged with six counts of wire fraud, or internet fraud, and four counts of making false statements to a U.S. agency, according to the Department of Justice.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference at Halifax Health Medical Center Sunday, May 3, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Business owners across much of Florida were busy Sunday preparing to reopen Monday under new restrictions. Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s deliberately taking things slowly during re-opening. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

METRO | POLITICS

Gainesville activists travel to Tallahassee to speak out against Gov. DeSantis’ protest bill

By Alan Halaly | Feb. 1

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ House Bill 1 would increase criminal penalties for participating in a “riot,” defined as a “tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more people.”

METRO

Gainesville Names New Fire Chief

By Michelle Holder | Feb. 1

Dixon, who most recently served as fire chief of Goldsboro, North Carolina, will begin with Gainesville Fire Rescue March 15. He said he is glad to represent African Americans and all members of the Gainesville community.

METRO

A tale of two Gainesvilles: Development along the east-west divide

By Alan Halaly | Jan. 29

The divide between East and West Gainesville has grown more complex as UF continues to increase in size each year, spilling onto the city’s less-developed east side. It matches a trend of gentrification of Black neighborhoods in cities across America over the past couple decades.

METRO | PUBLIC SCHOOLS

More than 700 Alachua County Public School students and staff in quarantine

By Daniella Sevares | Jan. 27

In its fourth week of classes, ACPS has 702 students and faculty in quarantine for COVID-19. The spread is tied to positive cases on sports teams.

Photo of ACPS Teacher of the Year Nicole Harris [Courtesy of Jackie Johnson]

METRO | PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Meet the Gainesville High 2021 Alachua County Teacher of the Year Award

By Daniella Sevares | Jan. 27

The Robert W. Hughes Teacher of the Year Celebration selected Harris as the winner among two other finalists during a virtual livestream Jan. 21. Harris will represent the Alachua County Public School District in the 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year Program.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Alachua County awarded $8.1 million in rent relief through CARES Act

By Jack Prator | Jan. 27

The Alachua County Commission voted unanimously at a meeting Tuesday to accept the rent relief funds, which will help county residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or are at risk of homelessness.