Author Archives: admin

By Aurora Hadsock, HR Director of The Repurpose Project

Imagine you’ve got a DIY project around the house. Instead of heading straight for the big box hardware store, what if there was a local nonprofit alternative that provided valuable building materials to the community at good prices and prevented construction waste from ending up in landfills? If that sounds like an appealing addition to the neighborhood, you are in luck. The Repurpose Project is moving and expanding its reuse hardware store (and you might be surprised to hear where).

by Joe Courter

In late August 1990 there was a media frenzy in Gainesville around the infamous student murders. Satellite trucks were all over town covering every press conference, and throwing mics in peoples’ faces. Into that came Phil Donahue on Sept. 7, who asked for and was allowed to do his one-hour live 9am show from the downtown plaza (now Bo Diddley Plaza). Donahue passed away on Aug. 18 of this year. Below is an article from the Tampa Bay Times from Sept. 8, 1990, as well as a Democracy Now! interview with Donahue from Nov. 14, 2014.

From the Tampa Bay Times:

Phil Donahue was a not a popular visitor when he came to town Friday. The mayor, police chief and University of Florida president refused to appear on Donahue’s television show, a segment about the slayings of five college students. A letter to the editor in the Gainesville Sun urged residents to boycott the show.

Who/what is GAU?

by UF Graduate Assistants United

Suppose you’re a new graduate assistant who has attended an orientation or has been involved in activism on campus. In that case, you’ve likely heard of Graduate Assistants United (GAU), the labor union that represents all (over 4,200) Graduate Assistants at UF. UF GAU is a family, a haven, and a safeguard against entities that often don’t have our best interests at heart.

What have we been up to?

Despite legislative attacks, we’ve been productive both at and away from the bargaining table. The series of bargaining sessions that began in January of 2023 has resulted in the largest raise to the minimum stipend UF-GAU has seen in its 50-year history, more than doubling our historic win the year prior. Since we still haven’t quite caught up to inflation and remain below a livable wage, our team is continuing to work on getting another raise from the university. With the recent unveiling of exorbitant spending on salaries under the Sasse administration, it’s clear that UF has enough money to pay us what we deserve. 

by the Community Weatherization Committee

The Community Weatherization Coalition (CWC) urges its supporters and clients to vote “yes” on the “Local Public Utilities” referendum this November to put our utility in the hands of locally-elected officials who know and represent our community’s needs and interests.  

The CWC was founded in 2008 as a collaboration of nonprofit, government, faith-based, business, and university partners working together to address the high energy burdens faced by residents in Alachua County.  We help our neighbors lower their utility bills by saving energy and water through engaging volunteers, building community, and learning together.  

by Janice Garry, President, League of Women Voters of Alachua County

Have you made a voting plan? Voting can be one of those things that you know is coming up, but seems remote, and then, suddenly, the day arrives. That’s why the League of Women Voters of Alachua County (LWVAC) encourages each person to think ahead and make a plan on where you will be and how you will vote. 

All the important dates and information can be found on the Supervisor of Elections website, but here are a few to pay attention to. Oct. 7 is the deadline for registering to vote. Oct. 21 – Nov. 3 is the period for early voting. Oct. 24 is the deadline to complete a Vote by Mail application. Nov. 5 is election day. If you’re going to be out of town or unable to get to the polls, make a plan to vote by mail or vote early. 

The Matheson History Museum has announced its 2024 Fall Program Series. The full slate of programs includes live music, elections and voting history, author talks, and more. 

Along with their regular local and Florida history programs and Second Saturdays at Sweetwater series, they will be hosting programs to coincide with the “Voices and Votes: Alachua County” exhibition.

Check out their website for more information: https://mathesonmuseum.org/.

by Tia Maria

American poet and author Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” 

Let us apply these wise words of warning to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump ran for president in 2016 with the same rhetoric as today regarding Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He promised no cuts, but then spent four years trying to dismantle these great American programs through tax cuts to benefit his billionaire buddies.

What: Bee-luther-hatchee by Thomas Gibbons 
Where: The Acrosstown Repertory Theatre, 3501 SW 2nd Ave, Suite O (in Creekside Mall), Gainesville 
When: Sept. 13-29, Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm 
Web: https://tinyurl.com/Iguana2057
Facebook event: https://tinyurl.com/Iguana2058

Shelita Burns, an African American editor, publishes Bee-luther-hatchee, the autobiography of a reclusive 72-year-old black woman named Libby Price. Shelita has never met Libby, and when the book wins a prestigious award she decides to deliver it to her in person. To her profound shock, the actual author of the book is a white man named Sean Leonard. Furious and resentful, Shelita accuses Sean of perpetrating a hoax, while he defends the book as a truthful work of imagination.