Metro - The Independent Florida Alligator

Nine members of the UF wildlife ecology and conservation department’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Committee wrote a letter criticizing the guidelines and called upon the UF community to advocate for transgender healthcare access for children.

METRO | POLITICS

‘It’s hard to exist’: Transgender community grapples with ban on gender-affirming health care Medicaid coverage

By Melanie Pena | Oct. 17, 2022

Many transgender Floridians are being impacted by the Agency for Health Care Administration’s ban on gender-affirming care coverage, which went into effect Aug. 21. A motion for a preliminary injunction was heard and denied by a judge Oct. 12. The preliminary injunction would’ve temporarily blocked enforcement of the AHCA’s Medicaid policy during the trial.

The front of West End Golf Club stands covered in overgrowth Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Environmental benefits keep discontinued golf course green in Alachua County Commission vote

By Aidan Bush | Oct. 17, 2022

The Alachua County Commission voted 4-1 to reject a proposal seeking to turn the now-defunct West End Golf Club into a residential area with a maximum of 70 units. Only Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn voted in dissent.

Visitors study boards detailing the history of Alachua County plantations and enslaved families Friday, Oct. 15, 2022.

METRO

Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center hosts panel on enslaved Africans in Alachua County

By Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp | Oct. 15, 2022

The Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center hosted “In the Shadows of Plantations: Enslaved Africans in Alachua County'' Oct. 14 to honor the research of Hilliard-Nunn, one of the pioneers of UF’s African American Studies department.

Hannah Rone, 18, a senior at Newberry High School, waves to a crowd of people in the homecoming precession Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.

METRO | K-12 EDUCATION

Newberry High School Homecoming parade returns for for first time since COVID-19 pandemic

By Sophia Bailly | Oct. 15, 2022

Newberry High Schools' sports teams, Homecoming court and other school organizations drove across the city of Newberry in trucks and cars to celebrate the first Homecoming parade since 2019. The parade kicked off at 3 p.m. Oct. 14.

The Gainesville Police Department building is located at 545 NW 8th Ave.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

City Commission meeting on K-9 unit delayed for second time

By Omar Ateyah | Oct. 13, 2022

The meeting was originally slated for Sept. 20 before getting delayed to Wednesday. It’s now scheduled for Nov. 15 — almost two full months before it was originally scheduled — according to the city’s agenda.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Joseph Williams Elementary janitor arrested for soliciting sex from 14-year-old

By Lily Kino | Oct. 13, 2022

Justin Anderson, a 36-year-old Hawthorne resident, is being charged with lewd or lascivious conduct, according to the arrest report. Anderson was arrested at Joseph Williams Elementary School and booked into the Alachua County Jail Tuesday at 10:06 a.m.

Mayor Lauren Poe reads a proclamation from the city declaring Oct. 10 Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 10, 2022.

METRO | CITY COUNTY COMMISSION

Gainesville celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day

By Alexa Herrera | Oct. 12, 2022

Mayor Lauren Poe read a proclamation at City Hall Monday recognizing Oct. 10 as Indigenous Peoples Day.

METRO

Days for Girls Alachua County Chapter opens new sewing center

By Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp and Alexa Herrera | Oct. 11, 2022

Working to prepare and distribute packages of period supplies to those in need both locally and internationally, the Days for Girls Alachua County Chapter quickly outgrew the confines of their old sewing center. More than 100 hundred people visited the grand opening of a more spacious facility on Sunday.

Voting booths are seen in the Career Connections Center at the Reitz Union on Tuesday, Nov.16, 2021.

METRO | POLITICS

How to register to vote before the November midterms

By Heather Bushman | Oct. 10, 2022

Floridians must register to vote by Oct. 11 to participate in November’s election.

METRO | POLITICS

Florida gender affirming care policy heads to court this week

By Melanie Pena | Oct. 10, 2022

The temporary blockage of a ban on Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments may be on the table in a Florida court this week. The Southern Legal Counsel and co-counsel filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on Sept. 12. The hearing for the motion will be Oct. 12.

METRO | POLITICS

Voters ask for climate action after Hurricane Ian

By Fernando Figueroa and Heather Bushman | Oct. 10, 2022

Candidates across the aisle have proposed legislative and executive action in response to prepare the state for the worsening conditions of climate change, but some voters say it isn't enough.

U.S. Rep. Val Demings talks to UF students at Plaza of the Americas Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.

METRO | POLITICS

A day in Gainesville with US Senate candidate Val Demings

By Heather Bushman | Oct. 8, 2022

The Gainesville tour saw Demings live like a local. She laughed with and listened to voters at staple locations like the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida and Grace Marketplace, braved the Gainesville traffic amid street closures to catch UF’s homecoming parade and even dug into a few slices at Satchel’s Pizza.

METRO | BREAKING NEWS

2 Gainesville men charged with human trafficking for forcing homeless woman to have sex with multiple men

By Lily Kino | Oct. 5, 2022

Kevarius King, 20, and Justin Hoyt, 25, are accused of coercing a woman to perform sexual acts for about two weeks at Safe Hands Group Home, located at 1221 NW 31st Ave. They are each being held on a $250,000 bail at the Alachua County Jail.

Rep. Kat Cammack poses with students from UF College Republicans Tuesday, October 4, 2022. She visited campus to touch on policy points and encourage students to become politically involved.

METRO | POLITICS

Kat Cammack makes pre-election stop with UF College Republicans ahead of potential 'red wave'

By Heather Bushman | Oct. 5, 2022

It’s up to young people like those in UF College Republicans to stay politically involved and secure a Republican presence in Congress, Cammack said.

METRO | CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Gainesville Police Department warns city residents about scammer impersonating officer

By Lily Kino | Oct. 4, 2022

The Gainesville Police Department issued a fraud warning Monday to alert people about scammers pretending to be an officer.

A screenshot from the UF Public Safety Instagram showing Jasmine Welman's missing person bulletin.

METRO | BREAKING NEWS

University Police Department issues purple alert for missing woman

By Halima Attah | Oct. 4, 2022

Jasmine Welman, 24, was last seen near UF Health Shands Hospital Monday, according to the purple alert issued by Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Rabbi Berl Goldman, director of the Chabad UF Jewish Student and
Community Center, runs a Hurricane Ian relief drive for affected
communities, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. This is the organization’s third
full shipment of practical supplies since Thursday, Sept. 29.

METRO

Gainesville looks to aid Southwest Florida families in Ian’s wake

By Alissa Gary and Aidan Bush | Oct. 3, 2022

While Gainesville students and residents alike felt only indirect effects from the storm, many have families further south who witnessed the full extent of the disaster.

A tree smashes through a house in the Stephen Foster neighborhood the day Hurricane Ian hit Gainesville Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.

METRO

Gainesville left mostly unscathed after Hurricane Ian

By Fernando Figueroa | Oct. 3, 2022

Hurricane Ian sideswept Gainesville on the afternoon of Sept. 28, causing gusts that toppled an Oak Tree, crushing Edna Hamilton's carport, shattering the windows of her 2002 Honda Accord and blocking her front door.

METRO | POLITICS

Federal student loan forgiveness plan limits eligibility, faces legal backlash

By Heather Bushman | Oct. 3, 2022

The White House announced Sept. 29 its debt forgiveness plan will no longer apply to around 770,000 private loan borrowers.

University Women’s Club members gather for a social event held between the years 1969 and 1970.

METRO

University Women’s Club will be no longer despite 100-year celebration

By Anushka Dakshit | Oct. 3, 2022

With a centennial celebration underway, the University Women’s Club has some unconventional plans: the organization will be dissolved after their 100th anniversary.