Sydnie Espro

The No. 1-seed Florida Gators left the swamp for Tampa — to play in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Gators face 16-seed Prairie View Friday in their opening game at the Benchmark International Arena.

While alcohol and other substances can play a role, it’s not the main contributing factor for fandom behavior, according to a psychology professor. When people are caught up in a crowd, it is easy to make decisions that you would not typically make, he said, largely because of mob mentality.

The first annual plant festival took place Saturday at Waldo City Town Square. Vendors set up tents and sold plants and herbs, as well as other items like toys, quilts, clothing and even farm animals.

Located on the UF’s campus, Wilmot Botanical Gardens offers therapeutic horticulture, a program like the one Laurent experienced.

Monica Benson, a special education teacher at Sidney Lanier Center, was named the 2025 Alachua County Teacher of the Year on Thursday.