In a 20-minute speech, Poe shared the city’s accomplishments and failures, with occasional cameos from city commissioners and local leaders. He discussed topics from homelessness to social justice.
WUFT News fact checked and added context to some of the statements the city included in the address:
(Mayor Lauren Poe:) In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, organizers worked cooperatively to work with city community members, including the Gainesville Police Department, to hold peaceful and powerful demonstrations, continuing Gainesville’s long-standing commitment to protecting our neighbors’ right to peacefully protest.
Fact check: Gainesville was one of about 30 U.S. cities that held a “March for Our Freedom” protest in May following Floyd’s death. Organizers urged the community to stay peaceful and use the event as an opportunity to spark awareness of police brutality. After the event, William John Connelly drove his car into protesters, according to police.
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UF students drop off saliva samples on the ground floor of the Broward/Newell garage, one of UF’s COVID-19 testing sites.
Halfway through the spring semester, questions such as Why are students cleared for campus before receiving their COVID-19 test results? remain largely unanswered.
University of Florida faculty members continue to raise concerns over UF’s COVID-19 testing protocols.
The concern consists of questions like: Why are students cleared for campus before receiving their COVID-19 test results? Why are some students cleared for campus even after being exposed to someone who has since tested positive for COVID-19?
So far, their questions remain largely unanswered.
Home/Coronavirus/Nearly Halfway Through Spring Semester, Some UF Faculty Remain Concerned With UF’s COVID-19 Testing Policy
UF students drop off saliva samples on the ground floor of the Broward/Newell garage, one of UF’s COVID-19 testing sites. (Victoria Someillan/WUFT News)
Nearly Halfway Through Spring Semester, Some UF Faculty Remain Concerned With UF’s COVID-19 Testing Policy
By Victoria Someillan
February 23, 2021
University of Florida faculty members continue to raise concerns over UF’s COVID-19 testing protocols.
The concern consists of questions like: Why are students cleared for campus before receiving their COVID-19 test results? Why are some students cleared for campus even after being exposed to someone who has since tested positive for COVID-19?
Alachua County won t work to lower the number of customers that can be served in bars and restaurants at least for now.
It’s unclear whether the Gainesville City Commission will now decide to take that step on its own to reduce the odds of coronavirus transmission.
Most bars and restaurants are inside the city, and city commissioners have been waiting to see what their county commission counterparts will do before making a decision.
The county has been gathering data that would be necessary if officials were to consider such a move.
On Sept. 25, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order that said local governments cannot issue orders that would lower bar and restaurant capacity more than 50 percent.
Alachua County leaders outline COVID-19 vaccination plan
Gainesville City Commission approves plan for distributing vaccine at first meeting of the year January 9, 2021 | 7:32pm EST
Mike Foley, UF journalism professor, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 5, 2021. Photo by Chasity Maynard | The Independent Florida Alligator
Gainesville is still a month or two away from having the COVID-19 vaccine becoming widely available, but city leaders are starting to make plans for when it is.
The Gainesville City Commission voted unanimously Thursday to pass a four-part plan that will help the Alachua County Health Department mass administer the COVID-19 vaccination.