Metro - The Independent Florida Alligator

METRO | BUSINESS

New bike delivery serves coffee to downtown businesses

By Ana Fajardo | Nov. 4, 2013

Sweetwater Organic Coffee Company recently added pedal power.

METRO

U.S. Senate considering national employment discrimination bill already in effect locally

By Jensen Werley | Nov. 3, 2013

Alachua County and Gainesville may be joined by the federal government as a bill that promises to end employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity gains traction in the Senate.

METRO

Fans, bands from around the country pack Gainesville for Fest 12

By Sean Stewart-Muniz | Nov. 3, 2013

From Thursday to Sunday, Gainesville was filled with bearded men, cut-off jean shorts and empty beer cans as Fest 12 attendees hopped venues.

METRO

Former death row inmates talk about experiences, exoneration

By Chris Alcantara | Nov. 3, 2013

In a Broward County courtroom on Dec. 21, Seth Penalver sat quietly next to his lawyer, waiting to hear the jury’s verdict for a 1994 triple murder he claimed he didn’t commit.

A battle concerning the popular, but controversial “I Heart Boobies” bracelets could potentially make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two Pennsylvania high school students petitioned against their school’s ban against the bracelets, arguing the bracelets promote breast cancer awareness among young people.

METRO

'Boobies' bracelets could appear in U.S. Supreme Court case

By Chip Lowe | Nov. 3, 2013

“I❤Boobies!” bracelets may soon be the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case as a school district in Pennsylvania plans to appeal a federal court’s ruling that has allowed the bracelets in schools.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Weekend crime roundup: A crash, battery on an elderly person and marijuana

By Chris Alcantara | Nov. 3, 2013

A 45-year-old Callahan man died Friday morning after he was thrown from his SUV during a rollover crash two miles northwest of Waldo.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Police: Woman embezzled $200k from Red Cross

By Kathryn Varn | Oct. 31, 2013

After several months of investigation, Gainesville Police arrested an employee accused of stealing more than $200,000 from the American Red Cross North Central Florida chapter.

METRO

Pabst Blue Ribbon price jumps to $3 for Fest 12

By Kelcee Griffis | Oct. 31, 2013

Punk rockers have descended upon Gainesville as they do this time every year, but Fest 12 comes with a few changes.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Gainesville Police now offers online bicycle registration

By Courtney Nachlas | Oct. 31, 2013

Gainesville Police now offers electronic bicycle registration.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Safety an issue as Daylight Savings comes to an end

By Danielle Hilton | Oct. 31, 2013

Sunday at 2 a.m. will mark the beginning of more darkness. But as Daylight Savings comes to end, more women could feel unsafe.

METRO

Local compost organization to offer post-Halloween pumpkin pickup

By Kelsey Grentzer | Oct. 30, 2013

A local organization is offering a pumpkin pickup service for downtown-area residents Friday to help reduce the waste from rotting jack-o’-lanterns.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Residents up in arms about medical incinerator to burn body parts

By Hanna Marcus | Oct. 30, 2013

LIVE OAK — When Suwannee County resident Lori McCraney describes the ideal vision for her county, she never imagined an incinerator.

A flying fox snacks on grapes Oct. 21 at the Lubee Bat Conservancy. The conservancy, which is located about nine miles outside Gainesville, conducts bat research and hosts an annual bat festival open to the public. It aims to create a more positive perception of bats.

METRO

Lubee Bat Conservancy dispels scary bat myths

By Kelcee Griffis | Oct. 30, 2013

During a recent tour, a young girl introduced herself to Jade Salamone by saying, “I’m horrified of bats.”

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Second recent UF bomb threat diffused

By Kathryn Varn | Oct. 30, 2013

University Police arrested a Gainesville man Tuesday for making a bomb threat at UF Health Shands Hospital, the second incident of its kind to stir the UF campus in a little more than a month.

METRO

Ghost hunters use tech to reach out to spirits

By Ashley Crane | Oct. 30, 2013

TRENTON — The Old Gilchrist County Jail has not been running for about 45 years, but owner Arlene Hale, 65, said its spider-laced walls are still very much alive with the nonliving.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Keep Halloween tricks at bay with these safety tips

By Jennifer Hernandez | Oct. 30, 2013

The pumpkins are carved, the candy aisles are ransacked and you’re ready to pour the punch with ghosts and goblins at your costume party tonight. But are you forgetting something?

METRO