March 20, 1964: Albert II, the alligator mascot of UF, is “gatornapped.” University police find the gate still locked and a hole cut through the fencing at the top of his pen. A few days later, campus police receive reports of a 7-foot alligator chained to a flagpole on Florida State University’s campus.
March 14, 1986: Northeast Gainesville is hit with an early-morning tornado that leaves first-estimate damages at $1.7 million.
Touching down at the Northgate Shopping plaza at 6:17 a.m., the twister moves a mile and a half in eight minutes to the Lamplighter mobile-home park near Gainesville Regional Airport.
The tornado throws trees into cars and rips the roofs off of unlucky shops but causes no deaths or injuries.
March 17, 1998: John Haupt, a man charged with making harassing phone calls and false 911 reports, runs as a candidate for Gainesville mayor from inside the Alachua County Jail.
If elected mayor, Haupt plans to build an underground railroad system and increase incoming revenues.
Haupt previously ran for a City Commission seat in 1996 and worked as a researcher with UF’s department of research and graduate education for 13 years. In the mayoral election, he receives 379 votes, which amounts to 4 percent of total votes cast.
