News | Features - The Independent Florida Alligator

Rodeo clowns Hollywood Harris and his son, Boogerhead, perform a skit in which Harris pulled boogerhead out of a suitcase. Now 22, Boogerhead goes by the name Brinson James the Entertainer. He has been performing with his dad since he was 2.

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Adventures of father-son rodeo clowns

By Brooke Baitinger | Nov. 8, 2015

The crowds can’t stop screaming for him.

Fhillip Teixeira lifts Carla Amancio during Dance Live National Ballet's first performance of “A Haunted Swan Lake” of the season Oct. 25, 2015, at Riley Arts Center in Ocala. Teixeira and Amancio, both principal dancers from Brazil, play the king and queen.

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A Haunted Celebration: Dance Alive celebrates 50-year anniversary

By Martin Vassolo | Oct. 29, 2015

Judy Skinner still dreams about it.

Julie Watkin, the executive director of Jacksonville-based nonprofit The Girls Gone Green, spoke out against bear hunting in a rally she organized in downtown Orlando last month. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's statewide hunt begins Saturday and will run through Sunday. Its goal is to harvest 320 bears to manage the population.

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The Hunt is On: Florida bear hunt season begins Saturday

By Alyssa Fisher | Oct. 22, 2015

In the forests of Florida, black bears reign supreme.

This July 13 image provided by NASA shows Pluto as seen from the New Horizons spacecraft. The United States is now the only nation to visit every single planet in the solar system. Pluto was No. 9 in the lineup when New Horizons departed Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 19, 2006.

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Pluto exploration expands to New Horizons

By Ansley Pentz | July 15, 2015

A dot 3 billion miles away is starting to become clearer with the first high-resolution images of a has-been planet.

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Skin cancer now more prevalent in young people

By Sedona Huffty | June 10, 2015

As the summer sun heats up, so do the rates of Americans with skin cancer.

Patricia Garces speaks to her son, Matias Garces, in Spanish in the living room of their mobile home. The Garceses came to the U.S. in 2000 on tourist visas; when their visas expired they became one of the millions of undocumented families living in the country.

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The silent struggles of a migrant in the U.S.

By Hunter Williamson | June 1, 2015

Matias Garces’ fingers dance across the fretboard as his guitar cries out, singing the song of a man who lost it all.

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Knowledge about interior of Mars is InSight

By Kyle Bennett | June 1, 2015

A first-of-its-kind mission to study the interior of the planet Mars is set to launch in 2016, and a UF professor is playing a critical role in the planning process.

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Hurricane season should be calm, but still prepare

By Dana Hatchett | May 25, 2015

Amy Mahler is no stranger to to natural disasters.

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Six men go coast to coast in 50 hours for Special Olympics

By Nina Cusmano | May 18, 2015

George Corwine, John Franklin, Bobby Stafford, Chris Avery, Brian Ritter and Paul Hinson rode their motorcycles from Jacksonville Beach to San Diego Beach in 50 hours.

Pictured is the Maa & Paa grocery store, the only source of food located within Linton Oakes. The store supplies basic foods like frozen meat and snacks; the closest grocery store is the Winn-Dixie on Southwest 34th Street.

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County struggles to find food desert solution for residents

By Carla Vianna | Apr. 20, 2015

Most Gainesville residents don’t worry about reaching the closest grocery store.

Pictured is the exterior of Starter Space, a startup incubator located on 308 W. University Ave.

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Gainesville's entrepreneurs are slipping through its fingers

By Debora Lima | Apr. 8, 2015

Thanks to educational powerhouses, a growing innovation focus and other resources, like low cost of living, a quaint North Florida town better known for football than entrepreneurial savvy is carving itself a reputation in the startup community.

A group of clog dancers performs at Gainesville’s first clogging festival, which was on the Alachua County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Eight teams competed in the Florida Clogging Festival and will advance to two national competitions.

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Eight Florida teams qualify for national clogging competition

By Carla Vianna | Feb. 15, 2015

The tap-tap-tap-tap of clogging shoes could be heard from outside the Alachua County Fairgrounds’ warehouse on Saturday afternoon.

Stuart Bishop, 17, poses for a photo in his football uniform.

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Small Florida town honors life of beloved son, football player

By EMILY COCHRANE< | Jan. 11, 2015

WILLISTON -- Stuart Bishop loved his truck.

Owners Berkeley Hoflund (center) and her late father, Gar Hoflund, celebrate their first Oktoberfest at Stubbies & Steins pub with Berkeley’s older sister, Bryce Hoflund, in 2008.

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Stubbies & Steins pub to close this weekend

By Chabeli Herrera | Sep. 21, 2014

Under the orange glow of a metal chandelier and a ceiling draped in gold and ruby fabric, more than 60 people packed inside the small Stubbies & Steins pub Saturday night, savoring their last sips of its exotic beer selection.

Mike Hetrick, 47, owner of Goodbike, works on a vintage Fuji road bike on Wednesday. The shop at 425 NW 13th St. opened its doors with a new name and new management on the Fourth of July.

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Local bike shop reopens under new management, new name

By Emily Cardinali | July 30, 2014

Same Shop. Same bikes. New Paint. New Name.

Contestants gather around a five-and-a-half foot long inflated penis for X-Mart’s “Longest Handy Ever Contest” held Saturday at the store.

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Longest Handy Ever Contest finishes earlier than expected

By Alex Harris | July 21, 2014

The Longest Handy Ever didn’t last very long.

Rich Hibner crouches behind an obstacle at the new M2 Battlesports field in Newberry on Saturday.

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Outdoor laser tag arena opens

By GRAHAM HACK | July 14, 2014

Water droplets fell from the trees as the red team discussed its strategy.

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Local bar offers risque trivia, sex toys as prizes

By Erin Meisenzahl-Peace | May 26, 2014

“Dirty Mike” cleared his throat and then grunted into the microphone.

Julia Goodrich, 4, inspects a freshly picked blueberry at the 301 Blueberry Farm during its annual Blueberry Festival Saturday morning. Her mother, Meredith Goodrich, 39, said it’s nice to be able to listen to live music while picking blueberries.

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Blueberry festival keeps Alachua traditions

By Steven Katona | May 19, 2014

ISLAND GROVE, Fla. — Sliding a birdshot round into his Remington 1100 shotgun, Kinnis Thomas takes aim at one of several small, paper targets about 30 yards into a wooded clearing.

A vampire-slaying kit sits among similarly weird items at Comanche Moon Curios, a store for eclectic items near McIntosh, Fla.

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Antique store in McIntosh offers unusual wares, like vampire slaying kit

By Rachel Whetstone | May 12, 2014

For those in need of a vampire-slaying kit, it’ll run about $300 at the Comanche Moon Curios near McIntosh, Florida.