The Gainesville Iguana

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.”

by Joe Courter

I was at a music show at First Magnitude last Saturday (my motto for a better life: “you gotta leave the house” ), and an Iguana reader who knew me came up and earnestly asked “Do you have any hope?” I said a qualified yes, but it got me to thinking about the feeling of hope I do have, what it is focused on besides just a general feeling and attitude toward this one life I get to live, and trying to enjoy every day.

by Janice Garry and Jay Rosenbek, WYCD co-chairs

Worried about national and state events? Concerned about the chaos of executive actions and a silent legislature? Want to do something but can’t figure out how? 

The What You Can Do (WYCD) campaign (formerly affiliated with the League of Women Voters of Alachua County) has a series of action plans. They are intended to encourage you to respond to the daily breach of the rule of law and the separation of powers. That separation has nourished and guarded this nation since its inception.  

Gainesville with my stuff, starting a new chapter in my life. And it has been a great ride. This town was a perfect fit and the opportunities just came my way. Publishing the Iguana since 1986 was not a planned effort beyond the initial mailed newsletters but here we are, printing 5,000 copies this issue.

Since 2012, I have been doing a Publisher’s Note, and I figured this was the time to compile them into a book, so that is the plan. Wednesday, Oct. 1, First Magnitude Brewery, 1220 SE Veitch St. (right off S. Main St.), will be the place for a book launch/celebration of this anniversary, starting at 6 pm. 

I played an ICE agent for three hours. I got face to face with people on the street and asked for their ID. When they said they had a driver’s license, I barked at them, “So do immigrants — I need to see your passport or birth certificate.”

I told people holding protest signs that they were un-American and to put them away, or they were going with me. I watched as people’s faces changed color and their jocular attitudes faded, and more than one person told me that even knowing I was an actor didn’t keep the experience from being frightening or uncomfortable.  

The September 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.