The Gainesville Iguana

by Autumn Johnstone

In Lois Lowry’s 1993 book, “The Giver,” most of its characters relinquished their ability to see color. In favor of conformity and to eliminate conflict, their individualities were reduced to blank canvases. A repressed, dull, gray world that forgot how beautiful life can be beyond regulations and order. 

Lowry’s book echoes back to us as we say goodbye to the rainbow crosswalks that paint Gainesville’s streets. On June 30, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) expressed safety concerns in a statement that said there are to be no “non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly contribute to traffic safety or control.” As of August 25, most of Gainesville rainbow crosswalks have been removed. 

This month, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida features excerpts from a May 23, 2001 interview with Johnny Jones [J], who was the Executive Director of the Florida Wildlife Federation and a prominent environmental advocate in Everglades and Big Cypress swamp preservation. He was interviewed by Brian Gridley [G]. Excerpt edited by Beth Grobman. For the full interview go to tinyurl.com/Iguana2217

G: Tell me about your professional background up to the time when you joined the Florida Wildlife Federation. 

J: I finished the tenth grade, and I quit school. My father was a plumbing contractor, and there is a school you have to go to become a plumber. You know, it takes two years to become an engineer, and it takes five years to become a plumber [which I became]. 

by Susan Bottcher

As you’ve heard, there will be a Special Election this coming November to repeat the GRU governance referendum from last year. Everyone thought that this was a done deal, and it should have been. After all, a historic turnout (70%) of voters for that city referendum issued the mandate (73% Yes) that we demand to retain control of our locally owned public utility.

by Victoria Machado

In only three months, Alligator Alcatraz, the migrant detention center in the Everglades, has turned into a roller coaster of fraught debate. 

In June, with no input from local government, Gov. Ron DeSantis assigned hundreds of millions of Florida taxpayer dollars to fund and quickly open the doors of the South Florida Detention Facility, commonly known as Alligator Alcatraz, at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport site. This is the same location that was saved from development in the 1960s, thanks in  large part to conservation efforts. 

by Amy Trask

They asked us to pray. To bow our heads and believe in mercy. To trust in grace. Then they broke it.

Dr. Sarah Rockwell made a mistake. One comment, that many disagree with, posted on her personal page, was ripped from context, inflated by outrage, and weaponized. It was a moment of human error in a lifetime of service. She apologized — publicly, repeatedly, and sincerely. That’s more accountability than many elected officials show after voting against school lunch programs. (Ed. Note: Rockwell’s controversial comment related to her feelings about WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan’s death. Hogan was a Trump supporter involved in union busting. Rockwell was not a fan.)

by Donna Waller, President, League of Women Voters of Alachua County

The League of Women Voters of Alachua County is looking for a few (well, more than a few) good women (and men — we are into diversity) to join us in participating in the League’s 105-year mission to enroll, educate, and mobilize voters and to advocate for issues that support democracy, home rule, and political equality.   

The LWV is a federated organization that is non-partisan. The state LWV is one of the most active state chapters and has led the charge for voting rights and fair districting in Florida. 

Defending democracy from the grassroots starts at the local level — and our locality offers multiple opportunities for making a difference by anyone who can make an effort. Alachua County, for instance, has citizen advisory boards working on everything from environmental protection to enabling the “disabled” — with more than 250 volunteers having their say without having to run for office or kowtow to oligarchs.

At last report, advisory vacancies include agencies addressing animal welfare, health care, programs for the handicapped, public safety, rural concerns, historic preservation, land conservation, veterans’ services, and aid for rape survivors. 

Wednesday,  Sept. 17 –  6:30-8pm EST on Zoom – Register at: tinyurl.com/Iguana2233

Abortion pills have become central to reproductive healthcare access today. Join National Women’s Liberation for a discussion on this important topic. Our panelists will share their unique insights on public perception and offer strategies for how we can effectively navigate and organize in this moment. 

We are honored to have the following panelists join us:

• Dan Grossman, MD, Director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the University of California, San Francisco
• Ms. Nancy Cárdenas Peña, Campaign Director of Abortion on Our Own Terms
• Ms. Rebecca Wang, Esq., Senior Research Counsel with If/When/How

Learn more at womensliberation.org or visit us on Instagram (@nationalwomensliberation and @nwlgainesville).

by Greg Mullaley and Pierce Butler 

Florida recently became (even more) notorious for the jury-rigged concentration camp known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” at present under a closure order from a federal judge, which our governor and state attorney general are appealing. (See page 16.) So of course the state has doubled down by planning to create another detention center — in Sanderson, about 40 miles north of Gainesville.

Gov. DeSantis proposes re-opening the Baker County Correctional Institution, which had about 1,300 beds, for up to 2,000 of the many detainees being scooped up by masked ICE agents across the nation. (White House aide Stephen Miller demands that the US deport 3,000 “illegal aliens” per day.) 

by Teresa M. Goff

When a Gainesville mother reached out last spring, her voice trembled with desperation. She wasn’t calling about a broken pipe or overdue rent. She was calling because her 10-year-old, shaken by a traumatic experience, needed help. But the soonest appointment available with a counselor was three months away. Three months for a child in crisis. Three months of sleepless nights. Three months when despair only deepens. In a community still healing from the upheavals of recent years, that kind of delay isn’t just unfair – it can be devastating.

by Jason Bellamy-Fults, Recording Secretary, IBEW Local 1205, proud member of the North Central Florida Central Labor Council

On a rainy August morning, dozens of Alachua County citizens, dismayed at the decisions that their elected state and federal representatives have been making, made the trek to Newberry’s municipal building for a “town hall” hosted by Newberry Mayor Tim Marden. The event had advertised the appearance of state Rep. Chad Johnson, state Senator Stan McClain, and Congressional representative Kat Cammack, though the fine print noted that speakers were “subject to change without notice.”