Metro - The Independent Florida Alligator

A mural on the Southwest 34th St. graffiti wall for the victims of the 1990 "Gainesville Ripper" murders is seen on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

‘You will never be forgotten’: Community remembers murder victims over 30 years later

By Alexis Carson | Jan. 18, 2022

Five Gainesville college students were murdered in their apartments along Archer Road in August 1990, and three of them were brutally assaulted by a man dubbed “The Gainesville Ripper.” The Florida Department of Law Enforcement caught the murderer after a nine-month-long search where he, Danny Rolling, was executed by lethal injection in 2006.

The How Bazar officially opened its doors at the downtown Gainesville location with a celebration that included a fashion show, car show and local vendors, effectively shutting down Second Ave. with its festivities. The vintage clothing store, formerly run out of the Seagle Building on West University Ave., is a growing hub of Gen Z fashion and culture for students and young people in the area.

METRO

Shutting down Second Street: How Bazar hosts late-night grand opening

By Aurora Jimenez Castro | Jan. 18, 2022

How Bazar shut down Northwest Second Street for its new storefront’s grand opening block party Jan. 14.

Judge Stephan Mickle's wife, Evelyn Mickle, speaks at the podium about her husband's trailblazing legacy at the renaming ceremony of the Alachua County Courthouse on Friday, Jan. 14. The courthouse is located at 220 S. Main St.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Alachua renames courthouse to honor the legacy of late Judge Stephan P. Mickle

By Carissa Allen | Jan. 18, 2022

After Mickle died last January, Alachua County commissioners unanimously approved a new courthouse name: Judge Stephan P. Mickle Sr. Criminal Courthouse, ending the nearly 20 yearslong search for the perfect name.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

Fire at special education public school destroys classrooms, lab

By Jiselle Lee | Jan. 16, 2022

A fire destroyed classrooms at Alachua County public school Sidney Lanier Center on Friday afternoon.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Vaccination gift card programs return to Alachua County and include boosters

By Melanie Pena | Jan. 14, 2022

One program gives any Alachua County resident $25 gift cards for each COVID-19 vaccination and booster they receive. Another awards $100 gift cards to each county government employee for their initial vaccination and booster.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

Alachua County Public Schools’ COVID-19 cases increase following winter break

By Emma Behrmann | Jan. 13, 2022

After the first week back, there were 334 new student cases and 55 new staff cases — contributing to a total of 476 reported cases among both groups.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Three Gainesville city board members resign

Jan. 12, 2022

Their letters were sent in December. The Gainesville City Commission accepted the resignations of Shayna Rich, Wendell Porter and Harriet Davis during their meeting Thursday, Jan. 6.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Gainesville City Manager fires all assistant city managers, makes changes to the staff

By Erina Anwar | Jan. 12, 2022

Interim Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry fired three assistant city managers and appointed Gainesville Police Department Chief Tony Jones to take their places on Monday.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Plans for supermarket in East Gainesville canceled by city commission

By Erina Anwar | Jan. 12, 2022

The Gainesville City Commission has canceled its plans to put a Bravo Supermarket on the empty lot on Hawthorne Road, leaving many East Gainesville residents grounded in a food desert.

METRO

Locals and business owners brace for UF students’ return amid Omicron surge

By Carissa Allen | Jan. 10, 2022

As the COVID-19 omicron variant surges, so do Gainesville residents’ concerns about UF students returning for the Spring semester.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Alachua County has seen an increase in positive COVID-19 cases among jail inmates

By Troy Myers | Jan. 9, 2022

As of Friday, more than 100 inmates at the Alachua County Jail are positive for COVID-19, said Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Captain Kaley Behl.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Recent UF graduate dies after being hit by a truck at a crosswalk

By Erina Anwar | Jan. 7, 2022

Sabrina Obando, a 22-year-old UF graduate from Miami, was killed after being hit by a pickup truck on Tuesday at a crosswalk in the intersection of Northwest 8th Avenue and Northwest 10th Street.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

City Commission votes to provide city workers with COVID-19 at-home test kits

By Melanie Pena | Jan. 7, 2022

At their first meeting of 2022 Thursday, city commissioners, with City Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker absent, voted to keep Gainesville workers safe from rising COVID-19 cases in the county.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Hawthorne woman killed by tractor-trailer on highway

By Troy Myers | Jan. 7, 2022

A 49-year-old Hawthorne woman was hit by a tractor-trailer as she was standing by a mailbox on U.S. Route 301 near Northeast 78th Place, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release released Wednesday.

Photo by Makiya Seminera | The Independent Florida Alligator

METRO

Alachua County Animal Shelter quarantines dogs, three infected with canine virus

By Namari Lock | Jan. 6, 2022

Alachua County Animal Shelter isn’t capable of housing and treating dogs with canine distemper virus (CDV). It is incurable and often fatal — those that survive usually have permanent, irreparable nervous system damage.

Zoe Strahan, a sophomore at the University of Florida, gets her long-awaited gelati from B’z Gelati food truck at the Bonnamu Music Festival on March 12, 2021. Strahan said that if the gelati truck made more than $300 that evening, then the proceeds will go to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

METRO

B’z Gelati: Where the buzz began

By Elena Barrera | Jan. 5, 2022

The family-owned company first started working at UF’s football and baseball games. For the last six months, the food truck parked itself in the Oaks Mall parking lot Wednesdays through Fridays, and at Depot Park every other weekend. But B’z Gelati’s typical source of revenue is made through working at events or catering.

METRO

Gainesville events coordinator retires after more than a decade

Jan. 5, 2022

Over the course of his 14-year career, Ballard strengthened multiple Gainesville programs and community events. He directed theater performances for young audiences and created signature events such as the performing arts festival Jest Fest.

Photo by Asta Hemenway | The Independent Florida Alligator

METRO

Gainesvile celebrates New Year with fireworks, music but some stay home

By Namari Lock | Jan. 5, 2022

The City’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs coordinated the family-friendly, free night of fireworks and live music. The city also live streamed each event on Facebook, allowing participants to enjoy the festivities from home.

METRO

Alachua County Public Schools mandates masks for employees

By Emma Behrmann | Jan. 3, 2022

Alachua County Public Schools will require employees, volunteers and visitors to wear masks when they return from winter break due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases. ACPS cannot mandate mask-wearing for students.

Jada Davis (left), transformative justice co-lead, and Kiara Laurent (right), digital communications coordinator, unveil Dream Defenders' demands at the Alachua County Jail. The organization gave Sheriff Clovis Watson 12 days to respond, which is how long they say Erica Thompson's cries for help were ignored.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Activists unveil demands in death of former inmate’s baby following internal investigation

By Jiselle Lee | Dec. 10, 2021

GoDDsville Dream Defenders, a local activist group working with Thompson, announced its plan to launch a petition against the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on Monday.