Category Archives: May-June 2021

by Gary Gordon

For many people my age (68) the Kent State Massacre on May 4, 1970 was a pivotal moment in American history. An eye-opener. A lesson on how far the government would go to quell opposition to the Vietnam War. For those of us (like me) who would be going to college that fall, it packed the additional wallop of being a warning to campus protesters.

But as time marched on and further knowledge of history is gained, one learns Kent State, while important, was not a singular moment. Anyone familiar with the history of the labor movement, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement (AIM) and more, knows or learns the truth of Frederick Douglass’s dictum: Power concedes nothing without demand. And demand has consequences.

by Chris Lake and Debi Martinez, WGOT Board Members

Thanks to everyone who donated during the Amazing Give. 

Without donations, we wouldn’t be here, since we depend solely on listener donations and business underwriting. 

All contributions are directly invested in WGOT. There are no board members with a cushy six-figure job. In fact, there are no board members with a cushy one-digit job. WGOT raised $455 in one day through the Amazing Give and we appreciate everyone who made it possible.

These are outdoor events. Mingle distantly with fellow humans. Please, masks required!

Mondays and Thursdays: Farmer’s markets with live music, 4-7pm
Mondays at Cypress & Grove (1001 NW 4th St.)
Thursdays at Heartwood Soundstage (619 S. Main St.)

Saturday, May 22: Celebrating Maura’s life, 2pm, Florida School of Massage

Sunday, May 23: Vintage market, noon-5pm, Cypress & Grove Brewing 
(1001 NW 4th St., across from Afternoon and Working Food)

Saturday, June 5: Bazar a La Carte, Outdoor market, 4-10pm, Seagle Building

Sunday, June 6: Bazar a La Carte, Sunday version of above, 12-5pm

Sunday, June 6: Chuck Ragan, High Dive, masks mandatory

Saturday, June 12: Artisans Guild Event, Eco-Art, 11am, at their new location, 224 NW 2nd Ave

Saturday, June 12: Pop-Up Market, noon-5pm, AUK Market (2031 NW 6th St.—behind Curia on the Drag) hosts outdoor pop-up markets on 2nd Saturdays; support local artists and makers!

Saturday, June 12: Tommy Emmanuel, Heartwood Soundstage, 7:30 pm

by Homer Jack Moore

Like many rural communities, Micanopy is rimmed by rural blight. Bombed-out vacant buildings are especially prevalent at the I-75 exit. 

The only building there that was ever successfully repurposed was an old Stuckey’s store, now the Cafe Risque, an escape place for lonely men who come to be titillated by naked girls.

Yet right across town on the other side, the minions in service to the multibillion-dollar Dollar General Corporation are warming up the heavy equipment to rip up trees at the corner of an Alachua County Scenic Road, and make way for a convenience store. You would have thought that one of those already distressed properties would have been cheaper and more suitable. But, no.

by Gainesville Veterans for Peace

Veterans for Peace will be hosting a virtual Memorial Mile this year to remember those who have died in the wars in Afghanistan since 2001 and in Iraq since 2003. The virtual commemoration can be viewed at http://www.vfpgainesville.org/ starting on Saturday, May 29, through Memorial Day, May 31, at dusk. 

This is the 14th year that VFP has held a commemoration, as there are a continuing number of deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

by Dmitry Podobreev, ACLC coordinator

The Alachua County Labor Coalition (ACLC) held a protest on Monday, May 3, in front of the Collier Companies offices to respond to Collier’s illegal discrimination against tenants using Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) and Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV). 

Around 30 people came to register their complaints with Collier, which owns over 11,000 housing units across the state of Florida including 21 apartment complexes in Alachua County. 

Following is the April 20 transcript of Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech on the Minnesota guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin, followed by relevant comments by Joe Courter, Iguana publisher

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Good evening. First I want to thank the jury for their service and I want to thank Mr. Floyd’s family for your steadfastness. 

Today, we feel a sigh of relief. Still, it cannot take away the pain. A measure of justice isn’t the same as equal justice. This verdict brings us a step closer, and the fact is we still have work to do.

We still must reform the system. Last summer, together with Senator Cory Booker and Representative Karen Bass, I introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This bill would hold law enforcement accountable and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities. 

by Joe Courter

We seem to be emerging into a brighter future. The masking and distancing practices we at first felt awkward about became accepted, and now with the vaccines becoming widely available, we can start loosening up a bit, and get a sense of normalcy returning. 

Careful living vaccinated people can finally see each other’s faces and even share some well appreciated hugs. Those practices worked, as made obvious by the incredibly low flu rates during the same period. Looking forward we need to hope that our reopening won’t be compromised by the self-centered among us who won’t accept the science or the ethic of cooperation and enable the virus to continue to mutate and spread.  

By Sarah Goff, Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Repurpose Project

The most wonderful and amazing thing happened during The Repurpose Project Building Expansion Fundraiser: the bank loan that we were relying on fell through. 

Sure, those first few days were not wonderful. I sat in the office after that bank phone call, completely overwhelmed with emotion and unable to hold back tears as my mind visited each and every disappointed face. 

We were 36 days into our 60-day fundraiser and had raised an astounding $115,000 of our $200,000 goal. Our community was supporting us in a major way, plus they were shopping in our store.We experienced record sales, and we were gaining confidence that we would be able to bridge a fundraising gap with this extra revenue.

Burnett Oil takes steps toward oil drilling in Everglades

by Vickie Machado

The weather was warm though not sweltering in the Everglades on the afternoon of Saturday, April 10. The region was dry, about a month away from the daily afternoon thunderstorms that are a mainstay of South Florida summers. White billowing clouds hovered over 50 to 60 demonstrators gathered along the grassy shoulder of Alligator Alley, near the Collier County rest-stop in the upper-reaches of the Big Cypress Swamp. 

The crowd and the signs they carried were hard to miss on the interstate stretch connecting Fort Lauderdale to Naples. Carefully painted capitalized black lettering on the yellow, blue, and lime green fabric of banners proclaimed: “SPEAK UP FOR NATURE’S RIGHTS,” “RESPETE LOS EVERGLADES,” and, announcing the central sentiment of the protest, “DEFEND THE SACRED.” A range of other signs of various shapes, sizes, and colors read: “Speak up for Nature,” “Say NO to Burnett Oil,” “Oil and Water Don’t Mix.” South Floridians from both coasts and between converged in the middle of Big Cypress for Signs Across the Alley, a rally to protect the glades from oil drilling. 

The May-June issue of the Iguana is now available, and you can access it here! If you want to get your hands on a hard copy, check out our distro locations here.