Category Archives: Articles

by Janice Garry

Something just ain’t right. 

I don’t pretend to know everything, but I know when something just ain’t right. What’s going on in our city, specifically in the Department of Doing (silly name, I know, but that’s what it’s called), just ain’t right. 

A city that listened.

Four years ago I was involved in the city-wide revision of the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code. Were you there? Do you remember how great it was to participate with the city? 

Starting January 8, 1.4 million Floridians with completed sentences will be able to register to vote, the single-biggest enfranchisement of voting rights since passage of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If you or a loved one are planning to register, make sure to connect with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) on Facebook and at https://floridarrc.com/. They successfully passed Amendment 4 to automatically restore the rights of 1.4 million returning citizens. They are led by directly impacted people, and will stand up for your rights.

After the success of Amendment 4 giving ex-felons the right to vote, it is time to remedy another Florida injustice, the inability of low income Floridians to obtain health insurance coverage.  At present no adult without dependent children can obtain Medicaid insurance coverage.  Those with dependent children can get it if their income is less than 33 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, amounting to $6857 for a family of three. About 400,000 people are in this coverage gap.

When: Thursday, February 7, 6pm 

Where: Matheson History Museum

Admission: Free, pre-registration required.

We are honored to welcome author and historian Lizzie P.R.B. Jenkins on Thursday, Feb. 7, to share about the storied history of African Americans in Alachua County. 

Alachua County’s African American ancestry contributed significantly to the area’s history. Once enslaved pioneers Richard and Juliann Sams settled in Archer as early as 1839. They were former slaves of James M. Parchman, who journeyed through the wilderness from Parchman, Mississippi. They and others shaped the county’s history through inventions, education, and a work ethic based on spirituality. 

When: Feb. 7-8

Changeville is a two-day social change festival to be held on Feb. 7-8, in partnership with the UF College of Journalism and Communications annual frank conference in downtown Gainesville. It brings together students, professionals and local and national artists from a variety of platforms, united by a passion for social change. The festival includes music, comedy, award-winning films, tech, poetry and discussion panels/workshops.

by Joe Courter

We will have more next issue for sure, but be aware there will be a City of Gainesville election on March 19. 

This will be for District 4, currently held by Adrian Hayes-Santos, who at press time is unopposed, and for the office of Mayor, currently held by Lauren Poe, who has already drawn two opponents. They are Jenn Powell, a progressive grassroots candidate who in prior years was a bigtime Bernie Sanders supporter and also recently ran against Helen Warren, and a total newcomer and self-described conservative Jennifer Reid. 

The candidate filing deadline will be at the end of January, so others may jump in, and the picture will be clearer when we next print at the end of February.

by League of Women Voters

The League of Women Voters – Gainesville/Alachua County is excited to announce our second solar cooperative. Alachua County residents and business owners are forming the cooperative to save money and make going solar easier, while building a network of solar supporters.

Alachua County residents interested in joining the co-op can sign up as a member at the Cooperative web page: www.solarunitedneighbors.org/alachua. The solar co-op is free to join and joining is not a commitment to purchase panels. Once the group is large enough, Solar United Neighbors will help the co-op solicit competitive bids from area solar installers.

by Chris Kennard

Floridians For Freedom (FFF) is a statewide non-partisan volunteer group of committed citizens intent upon legalizing cannabis in Florida.

We can collect one million petitions we need by January of 2020, to turn in to the State of Florida to verify, and thereby create, approve and enact our own legal-cannabis law. 

Fully legalizing personal use cannabis and hemp crop cultivation and economic opportunities has broad support, here and around the country. This move helps to heal America by ending an open sore infecting our nation for over 100 years, beginning with racial and regional prejudices against Mexican-American and Black citizens.

by Joe Courter

There is a weird irony that I begin writing this on the day Governor DeSantis is sworn in, as I wrote the last publisher’s note when that race, and, as well, the races for Senate and Ag Commissioner, were still undecided and in recounts. Well thankfully Nikki Fried got in, but the fact of Rick Scott being Senator and that close, close loss by Andrew Gillum really hurts.  

I listened to DeSantis’s speech and sadly thought how different it could have been with a Gov. Gillum. Worst is the prospect of the huge change in the State Supreme Court where three liberal justices will be replaced by conservatives due to term limits. We here in Florida had better be ready to organize, because they will be coming after legal abortion, union organizing rights, immigrant rights, public schools, you name it. 

by Marcela Mulholland

Two days after the 2018 midterm elections I packed up into a car with some fellow climate activists and drove from Orlando to Washington, DC. My comrades and I had just spent the past several months working to help elect climate champions and were still recovering from Florida’s dismal election results. (@RickScott) 

We were going to DC to participate in a sit-in, organized by Sunrise Movement, at Nancy Pelosi’s office. During the sit-in I was arrested alongside 51 other young people for demanding that all Democratic leaders commit to a Green New Deal that would create thousands of good jobs for working class people and transform our economy away from fossil fuels over the next decade. 

The January-February 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.