Savannah Rude

Interim, resigned, and fired has been the fates of the past half-dozen Alachua County superintendents, each of whom have had relatively short tenures.

When Bethanne Blinder moved to Micanopy from Gainesville in 2015, she became one of many community members to get free uncooked food from a local pantry. She could make her own meals with it at home, but she noticed that many other people could not.

At the workshops, a small group of women with a love of both crafting and community come together to handmake greeting cards. The shared activity offers them an escape from their life’s concerns.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, music stores nationwide have closed amid an increase in online retailers. But Leon Barrows has kept Music Junction in Alachua open through strategic decisions.

Padgett paints the winding rivers, waterside forests and old-timey shrimp boats of Florida’s rural Gulf Coast. Yet, like many other artists who paint landscapes of nature in Florida, Padgett fears the myriad of threats chipping away at the very subject of his work.

Many University of Florida students throw away the items they don’t need when moving out of dorms or apartments each year, creating what some local residents see as a unique opportunity.

Save Our Rural Areas also fights to keep development in the county within the urban growth boundary. Tim Gant, the group’s president, got involved when his home was threatened by the development of a subdivision.

Thom Parham is on a mission to uncover parts of Florida’s buried past — with his metal detector. The 64-year-old history teacher is devoted to finding remnants of the Seminole Wars, and has also found kindred spirits along the way.

Soldiers Freedom Outdoors owns and runs Camp Freedom, offering a safe haven for veterans to heal in the outdoors. It’s a nonprofit that aims to provide nature therapy to veterans from all walks of life by hosting no-cost retreats.

University of Florida students have until Dec. 15 to sign up for the opportunity to win $25,000 in the 2024 Big Idea Gator Business Plan…