Staff Writer Jack is a UF journalism sophomore covering the Gainesville City Commission. If he's not in a hammock at the plaza he is probably watching the Queen's Gambit for the fifth time.
The mandate requires customers to wear masks in businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The commission also voted to add a section to the order barring county officials from asking residents for proof of vaccination.
Larry Katz went to the Gainesville Nissan dealership Saturday to get his airbags changed when he found a clear hand sanitizer bottle with a racist slur for the COVID-19 virus written across it in black ink, according to a photo posted on Facebook.
Residents who have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, can visit unvaccinated residents in private without wearing masks or socially distancing.
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.
Gainesville residents will vote on two city commission seats Tuesday: District 1 and At-Large Seat B. Development in East Gainesville and public health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic are hot-button issues in the election.
Residents and city leaders alike have expressed frustrations with Florida politicians and UF’s response to the pandemic. After UF reopened in the Fall, COVID-19 cases climbed and the university’s decision to return to in-person classes brought protests. But some residents agree Gainesville was better off than many other cities over the past year.
The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections sent an email Wednesday reminding voters of polling place changes for the election on March 16.
Voters can go in person to vote early from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at four locations: the Supervisor of Elections Office, the Millhopper Branch Library, the Reitz Union and the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center.
Gainesville City Commissioner and MTPO Chair David Arreola exchanged excited glances with the other commissioners in the room upon hearing this news. Gaining jurisdictional control over the taste road has been a priority of Gainesville's for the past month.
On Jan. 4, the commission approved the drafting of an emergency order to enforce mask-wearing inside businesses. The order would have required patrons to stay seated while eating and drinking in bars and clubs, similar to a Hillsborough County order from December.
Solutions by The State News
![Gainesville Nissan customer Larry Katz found a sanitizer bottle with the racist message, "Chinese Kung-flu Killer" written in black ink in the dealership storeroom. [Photo courtesy of Larry Katz.]](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/ufa/aff0d62b-c48b-4f1e-b171-27ab54025312.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1500&ar=4%3A3&fit=crop&crop=faces&facepad=3&auto=format)
