The Florida Department of Health in Marion County has a new Community Health Improvement Plan. A year-long effort to craft the plan produced the four strategic areas of Healthy Aging, Access to Care, Wellness and Primary Prevention, and Behavioral Health. Craig Ackerman, operations director of DOH-Marion County, said specific goals …
Read More »Hidden violence: Elder abuse was already hard to track – then a pandemic made it more difficult
Amy Thomas wasn’t new to social work. She had been helping vulnerable children and adults for more than 20 years when she started working at Elder Options, a Gainesville-based nonprofit designated by the government to serve elders in 16 north-central Florida counties. What was new to Thomas was the COVID-19 …
Read More »Gainesville stocks public restrooms with free menstrual products
After facing initial supply shortages, the City of Gainesville now says it has 85% of public restrooms stocked with free menstrual products. “It’s a matter of basic healthcare and human dignity,” Commissioner Reina Saco said. “This is an extra expense that is handled by only part of the population. A …
Read More »SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of …
Read More »Alachua County Board approves Water Conservation Month proclamation
WUFT · April is one of the driest periods of the year for Florida April is now Water Conservation Month in Alachua County. “Alachua County is seen as a leader in the field of water conservation,” said Stacie Greco, Water Conservation Coordinator at Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. “We …
Read More »Santa Fe College holds crisis response dog training this weekend
The Institute of Public Safety at Santa Fe College is hosting crisis response dog training. Training is presented by HOPE-Animal Assisted Crisis Response, an organization that has provided its services nationwide for free since 2001. “Once a year we do a workshop,” said HOPE-AACR Florida area coordinator Terry Biehl, “where …
Read More »Florida House Bill threatens gender-affirming care for minors, adults alike
House Bill 1421, a companion bill to Senate Bill 254, bans gender-affirming healthcare — including hormone replacement therapies and puberty-blocking medication -- for Florida residents under the age of 18. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine and Rep. Ralph Massullo, both Republicans from Lecanto.
Read More »NASA’s 1st moon crew in 50 years includes 1 woman, 3 men
NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly to the moon by the end of next year, including one woman and three men. The three Americans and one Canadian were introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation’s astronauts as well as Mission Control. “This is …
Read More »Hillel looks to grow student mental health and wellness initiative
The UF Hillel Wellness Initiative seeks to promote the implementation of mental health practices in the lives of students, especially within the Jewish community. Events officially began this semester.
Read More »Gainesville’s kratom community weighs in on state legislation to raise the minimum age to 21
The Florida Legislature’s second recent endeavor in regulating kratom, an herbal extract that creates effects similar to stimulants and sedatives, won unanimous approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday and is on its way to the Senate. HB 179, named the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” will establish the …
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