I think we have all heard that aspartame, the sweetener in many diet sodas, has been found to cause cancer. Every time I order a sweet, crispy Diet Coke, my mom gives me that look and a mini lecture. But what if I told you the cancer risk of aspartame has been vastly exaggerated?
Unlike many of your hometown utilities, Gainesville Regional Utilities is a one-stop shop. We provide electric, natural gas, water and, for those who live in a GATOR NET community, high-speed internet. We also treat wastewater at our two local facilities and work with the City of Gainesville to bill for their solid waste and stormwater services.
The state legislature forcefully placed our locally owned public utility, Gainesville Regional Utilities, under the control of Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. This stripped Gainesville voters of their power to choose who controls GRU, despite the stated will of its ratepayers in two previous elections. DeSantis appointed five people to the new Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority Board, who answer only to him.
It wasn’t an award I ever wanted us to win. The motivation for those wide, flat-topped mounds, or speed tables, on University Avenue was born from gut-wrenching losses — the tragic, preventable deaths of Maggie Paxton and Sophia Lambert, two bright young students.
Overconsumption has become a buzz word in the media today, particularly in the ongoing discussion about sustainability, but many of us don’t actually know what it means for ourselves directly.
I am a student at the University of Florida, a proud Floridian and a young person who has seen firsthand what happens when a gun is not stored securely.
The acrid scent of burning sawgrass and cypress — carried on the breeze across South Florida's urban sprawl — is more than just a fleeting inconvenience. It is a powerful, visceral message from the wild heart of our state: the Everglades.
The primaries for Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial election are still a year away. But some Florida Democratic Party officials are already attempting to prevent a primary in the first place. Who is the party anointing as their pick for Florida governor in 2026? Surprise, it’s another former Republican.
UF is also abdicating its role in climate leadership — depriving students and the city of Gainesville of a vital environmental resource. The implications are profound for a university in a state currently experiencing the impacts of climate extremes.
Seeing your energy return to this community is like watching the great battery of this university getting recharged. So with that charge approaching 100%, let’s chat.
Happy first week Gators, and welcome to The Swamp! Whether you’re stepping onto campus for the very first time or returning for another chapter in your journey here, I am beyond excited to greet you as this year’s Student Body president.
Welcome back to fall in Gainesville! Yes, I know it’s technically still summer, and I know it’s still hot. It’s going to be this way for a bit, but I promise you there’s no better place to be than right here in Gator Country right now.
Freshman year of college is a mountain to climb. Many obstacles lie in the wake of the best times most college students will experience. With that in mind, I wanted to give my top five restaurants in Gainesville and some must-order options.
Despite the federal government’s efforts to conceal what happens inside the recently — and hastily — built immigration detention center officially named “Alligator Alcatraz,” the facility garnered national attention. We must speak up against this blatant violation of human dignity before it’s too late.
I applied to The Alligator to become a copy editor over a year ago as a last-minute decision, kicking off what would become one of the most rewarding times of my life.
I would often lie on the floor, eyes fixated on each divot of my popcorn ceiling, contemplating what would become of my life at the University of Florida. I had all this passion with nowhere to put it. Now, I navigate winding roads and uneven staircases with the might and heart of a journalist, a part of me I would never have unlocked if I hadn’t stepped through the propped-open door of The Alligator office.
In a school of over 60,000 students, it seems impossible to find the right person. UF’s dating scene makes me wonder if we would have better luck looking for our dream man in Lake Alice.
President Donald Trump recently signed his domestic policy bill, which outlines mass federal funding cuts. While the cuts were inevitable amid a national debt crisis and evolving economic policy, a choice was made to slash funding for programs nationwide. The University of Florida has been lucky.
Just across from UF and squeezed into Midtown is The Spot. It’s the kind of place you walk past dozens of times until that first bite of gyro hits and the homemade tzatziki cements itself to the inside of your skull.
The Alligator is hiring reporters, editors, photographers, videographers, data journalists and more for the Fall 2025 semester. Join our team!
Solutions by The State News
