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Saturday, September 05, 2026

The Avenue: Lifestyle

Zerrin Martin smiles for a headshot.
The Avenue

One UF musician's triumph over hearing loss

Her love for music was unwavering, but at 11 years old, life threw her an unexpected chord. A traumatic accident left her with perilymphatic fistula, a tear in the inner ear, which caused complete deafness in her left ear, tinnitus and the inability to walk.


A reptile sits on decor in a terrarium at Florida Man Reptiles on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
The Avenue

Gainesville’s Florida Man Reptiles opens doors

In the swampy outskirts of Gainesville, the iconic alligator may steal the show among the reptilian ecosystem. But on Southwest Archer Road, Florida Man Reptiles showcases its very own population of nearly 100 reptiles and amphibians. On July 1, its doors opened to the public to shop from a selection of snakes, bearded dragons, turtles, frogs and more. 



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