Staff Writer Alan Halaly is a first-year journalism and Spanish major and the East Gainesville Beat Reporter. This is his second semester on staff, and he previously worked as a news assistant on the Metro desk. He's excited to use this semester to shine a spotlight on underserved communities in Gainesville.
Vote-by-mail drop boxes can alleviate the stress of commuting to a precinct for voters of color, those in low income communities, disabled people and those in quarantine, the clergymen’s letter to Florida lawmakers read.
Community gardens like the one at Reserve Park are part of a citywide effort to increase food security since the first one was built in 1998. Each garden is equipped with a hose and a handful of plots that belong to other residents who applied to get one from the city.
In response to the three Atlanta mass shootings and upward trend in hate crimes, more than 200 protestors marched down Main Street from Bo Diddley Plaza to Depot Park Saturday afternoon to condemn the ongoing violence and stand in solidarity with victims.
Students and families questioned their future plans and finances when the bill was first proposed and are still worried about funding not being guaranteed for students.
Johnson and Duncan-Walker, whose swearing-in ceremonies have not yet been planned, have continually fought against the construction of luxury student housing in the city’s historically Black neighborhoods.
Following the lead of United Chinese Americans, a nonprofit Chinese cultural and heritage organization that planned vigils across the nation Saturday, the Gainesville Chinese American community participated in four simultaneous rallies at street intersections and a subsequent vigil at Turlington Plaza.
Gigi Simmons faces Desmon Duncan-Walker in the March 16 municipal election to represent District 1, which encompasses most of East and downtown Gainesville. Some of the major issues currently facing the district are economic development, food insecurity and COVID-19 relief.
A donation of $20 sends books to six prisoners, according to the organization's Instagram page. The nonprofit has fulfilled more than 60 requests during its first few months back in operation.
Since former Eastside High School band director Richard E. Parker's death in 2016, former band members have come together every few months to honor and educate people about the marching band’s old style and community impact through performances at community events and street parardes.
Commissioner Gail Johnson, policy experts and community activists proposed a plan for the city to look into creating a community grocery store in East Gainesville, where several neighborhoods qualify as food deserts. The commission unanimously passed the plan.
Stevie VanAusdale, a 30-year-old UF PhD student and mental health professional who spoke at the rally, brought her two daughters, two-year-old Aria and one-year-old Maya whose shirts read “Tiny Changemaker.”
Marchers carry signs with messages such as “Just Biden my time! Kama-long with me!” and “I am tired of still marching” in support of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Amanda Foreman, a 19-year-old UF animal sciences sophomore, marches alongside Alachua County protesters down Main St. to Bo Diddley Plaza.
Solutions by The State News
