Category Archives: Articles

by Adam Reinhard

Overall our goal is to create a restaurant that we would like to patronize. We have always loved restaurants, and most definitely love Gainesville, its community vibe, its nature. Plans have been in the making for several years, and when Louis Lunch became available, it all came together. The three owners have been working for over two years to create our vision of Daily Green. John Arana and Adam Reinhard, general manager/owner and business manager/owner, respectively, are transplants from south Florida for over 20 years. Eddie Cromer, owner/executive chef is all local. Eddie has developed the entire menu and food creations. The idea, which the three of us definitely need due to our schedules, was a healthy quick place to eat lunch.

Daily Green is a counter service establishment. The kitchen is open to customers so they can see and smell the goodness of what we do. Daily Green offers a unique experience where everyone can find something to eat. We serve unique waffles, sandwiches (in both waffle cones and on various local breads), homemade soups, salads, and also have fresh vegetable juices and smoothies. Our menu has been developed to offer something for everyone. Regardless of what one’s eating regime is, they should be able to find something to their liking. Although, it is more labor intensive, all of our food is hand-cut and prepared fresh daily. We believe in the benefits of eating food that is prepared fresh from healthy ingredients.

Most of our items are made with organic ingredients. When cost or availability are prohibitive, we choose natural ingredients before anything else. We also use as many local individuals and businesses to help us achieve our goals as possible. From the development of our logo, website, and menu, to choosing our suppliers and selecting our building materials, we strive to be as local, regional, and natural as we possibly can.

Daily Green is a space that will further enrich Gainesville’s unique food scene and culture. Patrons will see local art work in the building and will eventually enjoy outside seating and local music. We love the idea of developing something for Gainesville as well as ourselves. We are so happy to be able to use this unique and historic building that previously held Gainesville’s oldest restaurant.

Please come by and visit. Take a seat in a rocking chair and enjoy some fresh food and pleasant atmosphere. Daily Green is located at 436 SE 2nd Street in downtown Gainesville. We’re open from 10a.m.–3p.m., Monday–Saturday. For more information, visit www.dailygreendowntown.org.

by Melissa Elliott, Save Loblolly Woods

On Aug. 27, Nathan Collier withdrew the bid he presented to the Gainesville City Commission in May to purchase 5.17 acres of Loblolly Park. Collier led the idea of the purchase of city park land with privacy concerns, as the proposed parcel runs the length of his home’s eight-foot fence.

The city commission agreed to move ahead with the sale, and declared the land as surplus, but limited it to less than five acres to ensure that the parcel would not be developed.

At the time, there wasn’t a lot of public information being released, apart from Collier and his representatives. For one local resident, it became crucial to increase community awareness.

The Save Loblolly Woods group began in early June with one Facebook page. Within the space of a month, that page garnered over 500 fans and became a hotbed for local activists who wanted to help.

The original aim of the page was to provide a forum in which concerned locals could learn about more about the proposed sale. Not surprisingly, a small working group began to form.

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by Lisa Renner

The Gainesville Chapter of the United Nations Association invites you to join us for our annual UN Day Meeting on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 9a.m.–1p.m. at the Gainesville Woman’s Club.

Our theme this year is “Why the World Still Needs the UN and Why the UN Needs the World.”

Our UN Day Chair is Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, Adjunct Associate Professor of African-American Studies at the University of Florida. The program will open with a panel discussion by Dr. Linda Cottler, Professor and Chair or the Department of Epidemiology, College of Medicine and College of Public Health and Health Professions, and Brian Mitchell, who worked with the non-profit Peacekeeping Operations Training Institute.

The Keynote Speaker is Stephen Karnik, Chief Administrative International Officer of the Baha’i Community at the United Nations and the European Union.

There will be a luncheon at the event as well, and co-sponsors and community organizations will have information tables set up.

If you are a member of an organization that would like to be a co-sponsor of the program, please send a suggested $25 donation to Lisa Renner at P.O. Box 358361, Gainesville, FL 358361, along with your completed Luncheon Reservation Form, no later than October 5.

As a Co-sponsor, your name will be listed in the program. Tables will be available if you wish to set up a display to inform the community of your activities. For access to a copy of the co-sponsor form and luncheon reservation form, email Lisa Renner at ejrenner@hotmail.com.

Transcript edited by Pierce Butler

This is the sixteenth in a continuing series of transcript excerpts from the collection of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida.

Dr. Alan Bean [AB] & Mrs. Nancy Bean [NB] were interviewed by Jessica Taylor [T] in 2012.

NB: We were run off from this church in Derby, Kansas. The kids were in good schools, but there was no community. We decided to move back to my hometown. We quit our jobs and moved to Tulia [Texas].

What was a Ph.D. in church history going to do in this little bitty town? He said, I’ll finish my novel and I’ll get part-time, interim pastorates. I was able to get a job teaching. Lydia headed off to college and the boys came with us. We had in mind this family reunion: quilting bees, re-introducing the kids to living in community and belonging. That kind of backfired.

The first few months, we actually got invited to the quilting bees — which my family still does — and family dinners. Then we read about this kid named Jamie Moore who received a 75-year sentence for rape. I said to Alan, is he one of my kinfolks? My mother’s mother, one of her family’s names is Moore. We were attending the Baptist church at the time. So, on Wednesday night, I said, I can’t sleep at night because I read about this boy who was 17, 18, given a 75-year sentence.

The pastor says, the victim of the rape is our pianist’s daughter, and he might be your relative, but he’s black, and a thug. I put it out as a prayer request, and, poof. I could feel all the curtains closing.

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by Joe Courter

Every year about this time there is an infusion of new people to Gainesville, and to them we say WELCOME. This goes out to them especially, but is also for everyone: You have landed in an amazing little city, with many hidden treasures. Do get out and explore, be it nature-related, food-related, music-related, or whatever. Spread your wings and fly from the campus cocoon, the malls and the familiar corporate logo-ed businesses. Hey, you’ve already found the Iguana!

Supporting local businesses is important to the vitality of this town. Money spent in a local business stays in town and circulates around. Lots of small shops, be it clothes, bikes, restaurants, groceries, books, music; can provide you with what you need. Talk to natives.

Get out and explore yard sales on weekends for economical goods, from kitchen to recreational; i.e., cheap bikes, etc. There has been a great expansion of bike lanes, get a decent bike, a good lock and you’ve got a way to get around.

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by Joe Courter

As we’ve been planning this edition of the Iguana, the over-riding question has been “What are we gonna do about Syria?” In a country that is a mess, in a region that is a mess, Syria exhibits all the problems so many others in the area have: decades of authoritarian rule, a legacy of international power games, stockpiles of ever more potent weaponry, a rise in social media and technology both within the country and out to the world, destroyed infrastructure, inflamed religious rivalries and now, with all the death, injuries and refugees, enough bad blood and bitterness that peaceful resolution seems impossible. So tragic.

NPR’s series “Back Story” on Aug. 31 had a show devoted to the impact of ethics and technology on conflicts over time, and it is a depressing commentary on what humans are doing in our time on the planet. Ever more powerful weapons affect not only the devastation but also the distance at which conflict is carried out. That distance also allows for a dehumanization of the “enemy,” with distance not only meaning proximity but cultural, too; a particular characteristic of white Europeans fueled with a religiously based sense of superiority. In the show they talk about a conflict between two Native American tribes in the New England area, and how one of the tribes allied with some English colonials. They went on their raid and were horrified when their white allies just devastated the other tribe with firepower. It talked about how Germans justified using poison gas in WWI as more humane than leaving enemy wounded and dying slowly in trenches.

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by Jack Price

Sept. 11 has an additional significance. That date in 1973, now 40 years ago, marked a coup in Chile, which overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. The coup, a project of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, ushered in 17 years of the Pinochet dictatorship.

Official human rights reports have established that more than 3,000 people were killed or disappeared during the Pinochet years. Some 40,000 more were tortured, among them Michelle Bachelet and her mother. Dr. Bachelet became president after the restoration of democracy and is currently a presidential candidate. Thousands more went into exile, several of whom became friends of mine.

I have been deeply involved with Chile solidarity and human rights since 1977.

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Check out our near-comprehensive calendar for Gainesville and surrounding areas here: September 2013 Community Calendar. Print it out and stick it on your fridge!

Want to submit an event to the Iguana Community Calendar? Email gainesvilleiguana@cox.net.

Can’t get into town for the print Iguana? Or did you make it to the box a little late this month?

Well, don’t worry! We have the whole September 2013  issue here for your perusal.