Metro - The Independent Florida Alligator

Olysha Magruder discusses polling reports with watch party attendees at the Blue Agave Mexican Restaurant Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Olysha Magruder is running as district 22's democratic candidate for the Florida House of Representatives.

METRO | POLITICS

Clemons takes District 22 Republican race, Democratic primary yet to be called

By Omar Ateyah and Jackson Castellano | Aug. 24, 2022

In Tuesday night’s District 22 primary election, State Rep. Chuck Clemons comfortably secured victory in the Republican race, but Democrats Olysha Magruder and Brandon Scott Peters were considerably closer to one another, with no clear winner despite all precincts in Alachua, Gilchrist and Levy Counties reporting their results.

Diyonne McGraw, the District 2 School Board member-elect, celebrates her win
on Tuesday, Aug. 23. 2022. “I’m all about results when it comes to the children,”
she said. ”I have children and that's who I serve. I want to see them become
ambassadors and agents of change.”

METRO | POLITICS

McGraw unseats DeSantis-appointed Russell, regains District 2 School Board seat

By Sophia Bailly and Alexa Herrera | Aug. 24, 2022

McGraw won the Alachua County District 2 School Board race with 56.92% of the vote, about 14 percentage points more than school board member Mildred Russell. Russell was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after he removed McGraw in June 2021.

Campaign signs line the street outside of the Florida Museum of Natural History polling location Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.

METRO | POLITICS

The primary problem

By Heather Bushman | Aug. 24, 2022

Tuesday's primary election has 14 races on the ballot, but if precedent proves correct, most Gainesville residents won't cast a vote in a single one.

A graphic depicting candidates in the running for U.S. and Florida House.

METRO | POLITICS

Breaking down the ballot: Who Gainesville residents will see in primary races

By Heather Bushman | Aug. 22, 2022

Gainesville residents can vote in 14 races in the primary election. Early voting ended Sunday, but residents can vote at their designated precincts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Nikki Fried, a Democratic candidate for governor, greets Emily Blais, a 23-year-old UF microbiology and English alumna, at the Get Out The Vote bus tour stop at the Tower Road Branch Library Thursday, August 18, 2022.

METRO | POLITICS

‘A Nikki Wave’: Nikki Fried’s bus tour hits Gainesville ahead of primary

By Heather Bushman | Aug. 18, 2022

The tour, which launched Tuesday, began on the heels of new University of North Florida poll that put Fried ahead of Crist by 4% in the Democratic primary.

Demonstrators hold signs outside of Alachua County Public Schools Administration Building Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

Eastside High School marching band alumni seek a return to original culture

By Omar Ateyah and Allie Sinkovich | Aug. 17, 2022

For advocates, the debate over the marching band’s culture is not merely an issue of extracurriculars. It also embodies an erasure of Black heritage from a school thats roots are intimately tied to a critical part of Black history: the desegregation era.

A graphic depicting the nine candidates in the running for Gainesville mayor.

METRO | POLITICS

Meet the mayoral candidates for the Gainesville primary election

By Mickenzie Hannon | Aug. 17, 2022

Nine mayoral candidates — including David Arreola, Ed Bielarski, Ansaun Fisher, Gary Gordon, Adam Rosenthal, Donald Shepherd, July Thomas and Harvey Ward — are on the ballot in the upcoming primary election. On the campaign trail, they’ve focused on issues such as affordable housing, Gainesville Regional Utilities rates and climate change.

Delta-8 and smoking is an activity seen amongst young adults in Gainesville's nightlife

METRO

Delta-8: pot’s accessible, affordable alternative

By Anna Ward | Aug. 17, 2022

Delta-8 is one of many legal THC products sold on shelves. Delta-8's biggest appeals are its accessibility and legality, students say. Any 18-year-old has a menu of legal edibles to choose from, and 21-year-olds get an extended edition of THC prerolls, flower, wax cartridges and disposable vapes — no medical card required.

The mural on Southwest 34th Street is shown defaced with blue spray paint depicting a swastika and the phrase, “God Bless Derek Chauvin."

METRO

Terrell Bradley advocates grapple with racist messages, images painted over 34th Street mural

By Jackson Reyes | Aug. 13, 2022

Friends and family of Terrell Bradley woke up early Friday morning to paint over the hateful messages left on a mural demanding justice for Bradley, who lost an eye to a Gainesville Police Department K-9 after he fled from police last month.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Gainesville police arrest suspect involved in killing outside GRACE Marketplace

By Omar Ateyah | Aug. 12, 2022

Police charged James Lawrence, a 55-year-old man whose address is listed at the shelter, with premeditated first-degree murder after responding to a call around 7:50 a.m. about a man found dead outside of the shelter.

Prayer books are laid out at the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center for the Rosh Hashanah service. Around 650 members of the community and students attended the holiday service Sunday night.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

City officials, GPD respond to white supremacist flyers in Gainesville neighborhoods

By Omar Ateyah | Aug. 10, 2022

Gainesville residents in multiple neighborhoods received flyers at their homes over the weekend condemning race-mixing and positing a Jewish conspiracy in an incident now under investigation by the Gainesville Police Department.

Gainesville city commissioners listen to residents express approval or opposition toward the city’s plan to eliminate exclusionary zoning Thursday, Aug. 4, 2021.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Gainesville City Commission approves zoning changes despite resident outcry

By Mickenzie Hannon | Aug. 5, 2022

Gainesville will be the first city in Florida to eliminate exclusionary zoning after a 4-3 vote Thursday. Hundreds of residents crammed into City Hall, for the meeting, which the city scheduled to finish at 10 p.m. Going nearly two hours over the allotted time, the vote finally came shortly before midnight.

Gainesville residents attend the Shady Grove Primitive Baptist Church to voice concerns about the city’s plan to eliminate exclusionary zoning Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2021.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

‘The fight will continue’: Gainesville community rallies against citywide zoning changes

By Mickenzie Hannon | Aug. 4, 2022

Gainesville residents attend the Shady Grove Primitive Baptist Church Wednesday to voice concerns about the city’s plan to eliminate exclusionary zoning.

Thousands of Alachua County residents including students, parents and teachers filled Santa Fe College’s gymnasium Saturday, July 30, 2022.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

Rally addresses Gainesville gun violence prior to school year’s start

By Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp | Aug. 1, 2022

Thousands of Alachua County residents including students, parents and teachers filled Santa Fe College's gymnasium Saturday for Alachua County's 23rd annual Stop the Violence Back to School Rally.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

College of Education, Alachua face Florida's teaching vacancies

By Jackson Reyes | Aug. 1, 2022

About 9,000 teacher vacancies need to be filled statewide for the upcoming school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Midtown Apartment residents said propped doors, like the one pictured above July 27, 2022 contribute to the security breaches seen in the complex recently.

METRO

Midtown Apartments residents fear security breach, management denies allegations

By Mickenzie Hannon | Aug. 1, 2022

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office received 132 calls to the apartment site since May 2019.

Terrell Bradley sits at a police advisory council meeting Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

METRO

Protestors pressure police advisory council for law enforcement accountability

By Omar Ateyah and Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp | Aug. 1, 2022

Demonstrators at the police advisory council meeting Wednesday demanded law enforcement accountability and justice in the wake of the recent Terrell Bradley and Dovico Miles incidents.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Gainesville man arrested for child pornography, lewd material

By Omar Ateyah | July 29, 2022

A Gainesville resident used Snapchat to interact with a 13-year-old girl in a sexually explicit way and also obtained a nude picture from her.

Florida’s first presumptive case of monkeypox was identified May 22.

METRO

Alachua County sees first monkeypox case

By Carissa Allen | July 25, 2022

Days before the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency, the Florida Department of Health reported Alachua County’s first confirmed case.

Residents attending a walking teach-in for Terrell Bradley cross Northeast 15th Street Saturday, July 23, 2022.

METRO

Police chief suspends K-9 involved in man’s mauling

By Omar Ateyah and Jackson Reyes | July 25, 2022

Three days after the man who was mauled by a Gainesville Police Department K-9 was released from jail, the new police chief suspended the dog involved in the incident.