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Sunday, August 03, 2025

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METRO

Local front-yard ‘fresh eggs’ box delights neighborhood

By Zoey Thomas | Sep. 11, 2023

Michelle Castronover wasn’t keen on owning chickens. But when her husband and daughter asked to build a coop as a “COVID project,” the 49-year-old Shell Elementary teacher agreed. Three years later, the Castronovers own 10 chickens — the maximum allowed to residents by Gainesville’s Fowl, Chickens or Livestock Code — and share their eggs with the neighborhood through the “fresh eggs” box standing on the edge of their front lawn, which they restock regularly with six- and nine-egg-sized boxes. The coop is just one of the family’s backyard sustainability projects, along with a greenhouse and butterfly garden. 

Third grade teacher Alayna Schwenker sits on a hand-made bench in the library corner of her classroom at Stephen Foster Elementary School Sept. 8, 2023.
METRO  |  K-12 EDUCATION

Teachers spend up to thousands on classroom supplies

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 11, 2023

Teachers across Alachua County Public Schools and throughout the country spend from hundreds to thousands of dollars each year buying school supplies, class decorations, cleaning supplies and snacks for their students — most of which can’t be purchased using district-allocated supply funds. Among the ACPS teachers who talked to The Alligator, the average amount spent out-of-pocket was between $1,460 and $2,500, with the lowest estimate being $100 and the highest being $10,000.

Magnolia Plantation Bed & Breakfast Inn is seen on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Gainesville’s Historic Bed & Breakfast district.
METRO

Deeper than beds and breakfast: Preserving a piece of Gainesville’s rich history

By Ella Thompson | Sep. 11, 2023

Only a 10-minute drive from UF lies one of Gainesville’s hidden gems: the historic bed-and-breakfast district. With a rich history and eclectic aesthetics, these inns have provided a unique travel experience to Gainesville visitors for 32 years. Ghosts, hippies, Tom Petty and some members of his first band, Mudcrutch, have inhabited these inns long before they became temporary homes to travelers passing through. 

Sante Fe student Ava Sardina plays with shelter-dog Jake at Camp Run-A-Mutt on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. Ava took Jake home hoping to give him a forever home.
METRO

Hurricane Idalia brings pet fostering surge to local animal shelters

By Zoey Thomas | Sep. 5, 2023

The Humane Society of North Central Florida manages 250 fosterable animals, but on the morning of Aug. 30, not one could be found at the shelter. The Humane Society and other Alachua animal shelters began efforts late last week to find foster homes for their animals to wait out Hurricane Idalia. The storm made landfall in Florida the morning of Aug. 30 but spared much of Gainesville.

Jess Hunt, 33, addresses two students of the Gainesville Empowerment Zone’s one-year-old class Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
METRO  |  K-12 EDUCATION

GNV4All tackles learning achievement gap with new pre-school center

By Valentina Sandoval | Sep. 5, 2023

The GEZ Family Learning Center is a new preschool center founded by the local nonprofit Gainesville for All, known as GNV4ALL, which seeks to address racial and economic inequities in the community. The center opened its doors to Alachua County families Aug. 10 and is located on the Metcalfe Elementary School campus. Roughly 20 students ranging from 6 weeks old to 4 years old currently take advantage of the resource, said Schuran Cartwright the assistant director for the center.

METRO

Hurricane Idalia leaves minimal effects on health and emergency facilities

By Jinelle Vazquez | Sep. 3, 2023

As concerned Gainesville residents spent last week huddled around their TVs to follow Hurricane Idalia's path, first responders prepared for the worst. Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida's Big Bend region Aug. 30. Although earlier projections predicted a direct hit to Gainesville, cities such as Cedar Key, Steinhatchee and Perry suffered the brunt of the storm's 125 mph winds and 7-foot water surges.

METRO  |  K-12 EDUCATION

Buchholz High School ranked No. 54 in Florida

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 1, 2023

Buchholz High School was ranked No. 54 best high school in Florida and No. 1 in Alachua County Public Schools by US News & World Report for the 2023-2024 school year. The school was also ranked No. 822 out of 17,680 public high schools in the country, putting it in the top 5%. 

METRO  |  CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Remembering David Flagg – former Gainesville mayor, Florida House representative

By Zoey Thomas | Aug. 31, 2023

When he wasn’t jumping from planes as an 82nd Airborne lieutenant, the Gainesville native, history buff and diehard Gators football fan served as a Gainesville city commissioner and mayor-commissioner from 1985 to 1988, followed by two terms in the Florida House from 1988 to 1992. During his time in office, he championed natural resource protection and gun safety legislation. He died Aug. 21.

METRO  |  CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

City officials hold press conference ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia

By Ella Thompson | Aug. 28, 2023

City officials held a press conference at 5:30 p.m. Monday to discuss city operations and provide safety tips about flooding and power outages as Tropical Storm Idalia approaches the west coast of Florida. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward was joined by City Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut, city manager Cynthia Curry, city attorney Dan Nee, Gainesville Regional Utilities general manager Tony Cunningham and a handful of the city’s emergency response team. 

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