Tag Archives: poverty

Energy comes at a much greater cost for Gainesville’s poor, from the portion of income spent on utilities to the number of days without power after Hurricane Irma. A special report on why the poor pay more, and what we can do.​

Noting that the economy is improving post-Great Recession, some Republicans are moving a bill through the Florida House that could cut off food stamps for more than 200,000 residents.

The Alachua County Labor Coalition is working to raise the county's minimum wage to $14.57 per hour by 2020. The Alachua County Commission approved a new living wage ordinance for county employees, but the coalition plans to make sure all Alachua County residents have the opportunity to make a living wage.

The 2015 scores for the National Assessment of Education Progress exam (NAEP) are out, and the overall results were low for Florida and the nation as a whole. The scores for Florida's eighth graders in the national math exam were lower than two years ago. Despite these low scores, Duval County Public schools were ranked among the top districts in the U.S. in both reading and math.

Celseste Mergens, founder and CEO of Days for Girls International, presented her lecture, Turning Passion into Action, on finding sustainable solutions for feminine hygiene in developing nations at the University of Florida in cooperation with Bob Graham Center for Public Service and the Alachua County Medical Society.

Putnam County School Districts Clothing Closet partnered with Dignity U Wear to provide clothes for underprivileged students. The program aims to help cloth students who are living below the poverty line in the county.

Both sides of the struggle over the downtown statue of the Confederate soldier protested feet away from each other Thursday night. Over 100 people crowded at the foot of the statue with chants, talks and conversation over the statue's symbolism.