The heart of Florida news
1)
City, county clash over CRA
·
The county commissioners passed a bill that
mandates 4 out of 7 seats in the Gainesville CRA be held by county commissioners
to control the allocation of funds.
·
The county has committed a “hostile takeover” of
the CRA according to city officials. However, as the county puts forth 2/3rd
of the cost for the CRA the decision is messy.
·
The problem is with the two boards of commissions
the county and the city.
2)
Point-in-Time survey tallies Alachua County’s
homeless
·
The yearly tally of homelessness in North
Central Florida is complete. We are at 819 homeless people in Alachua County
alone.
·
The homeless population in Alachua rose
drastically in the housing crisis and has fluctuated since. Many efforts have
been made to combat homelessness however the problem is still present.
·
The homeless population who live in the street,
and the people who work to take care of them.
3)
Disparity study: Alachua County blacks face
bigger hurdles
·
A research on disparities in the Alachua County Public
School Systems have found a larger disparity than state and national levels.
·
African American students face a large uphill
battle as they combat a startling unequal opportunity in Alachua County education.
·
The African American community of Alachua is the
one affected by this problem. As Gainesville is one of the cities with the
largest income inequalities in the nation.
4)
Wetlands ordinance passes despite some
opposition
·
A new ordinance to improve the water quality has
been passed despite opposition from developers and some city commissions.
·
The issue of large cities wanting cleaner water
and smaller cities wanting to be better developed came to a head in this vote
with the vote to pass the ordinance won over the cries for cheaper development
costs.
·
Smaller cities like Newberry and Hawthorne will
face higher costs to develop their cities to compete with Gainesville and Alachua.
5)
For Gainesville activists, a slow boil on rising
seas
·
Gainesville activists are starting to fight for
more attention to rising sea levels.
·
While Gainesville and Alachua county has made
strides to be more carbon neutral and cleaner more must be done to save our
coasts and environment.
·
The problem faces activists and businesses who
wish to continue to better protect the environment as time is running out.
Esteban,
ReplyDeleteI thought all of your articles were very interesting to read. One thing that I thought could have been better was to go into more detail on your articles and to make sure the readers know what part of the assignment you are completing. One of your articles that I found very interesting was your second article on how homelessness has risen dramatically. This is an opportunity for people to come together and make a difference while helping the people in need. I understand how realistically it will always be an issue, but to let it continue to rise is unacceptable.