Avery Lotz

The Independent Florida Alligator • 25th October 2020

Four wheels makes a family: Gainesville Roller Rebels focus on inclusion

At least two nights a week, Lily Jane Woodard would slip out of her work clothes and put on pads, a mouth guard, skates with red wheels and a blue helmet detailed with a glittering white star.

The 37-year-old OPIE Software saleswoman followed this routine for eight years, never missing one 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. practice at the Alachua County Fairgrounds. Other evenings, she traveled across the state to compete with her team.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Woodard to take a break from

The Independent Florida Alligator • 23rd September 2020

‘It’s not raining everywhere’: Gainesville resident continues mentoring boys despite COVID-19

Five-year-old Zyon Scott ran through the front door one summer evening. He looked up at his mother, Nakita Scott, with wide eyes.

“Well, Mommy, you know, if I lose something, I'm gonna have to be more responsible, and I have to grow up,” he told her.

The lesson, Scott said, came from Je’rod Sheppard, the 26-year-old founder of Boys 2 Men, a youth mentorship program. She chose to enroll her Idylwild Elementary School Kindergartener in the program so he can interact with other children despite g

The Independent Florida Alligator • 20th June 2020

Inside a changing industry: Music and art

Four times a day, Nolan Koskela-Staples sets up his bass. At the same time, he opens Facetime, Zoom or Skype on his MacBook Pro to provide a socially distanced learning environment for his students.

While his spruce and maple wood bass sits in front of him, he pulls up a metronome app on his iPhone to help students keep rhythm, despite the miles between them and the lag from their computers.

This is the new normal for Koskela-Staples. The 28-year-old is a music instructor at Hoggtowne Music, l

The Independent Florida Alligator • 4th June 2020

Inside a changing industry: Tattoo and Piercing Parlors

It’s been months since some Gainesville tattoo artists have had a blank canvas in front of them. Now equipped with masks and thermometers, they can once again put needle to skin.

The Alachua County Commission voted May 19 to clarify that tattoo and piercing shops were allowed to reopen along with other nonessential retail businesses.

Guidelines and restrictions have been set for nonessential business through Alachua County’s May 17 emergency order. These mandates include the use of facial cove

The Independent Florida Alligator • 4th June 2020

The Swamp is closing, but not for good

Civilization. Leonardo’s. Burrito Brothers. Southern Charm Kitchen. Gainesville staples are disappearing or facing closure as big development and COVID-19 threaten their existence. The list grew larger last week.

The Swamp, located at 1642 W. University Ave., announced on Tuesday that after failed negotiations with the property’s landlord, the restaurant will close on June 30 and be torn down in late July. The land will be sold to a development group, and a high-rise apartment complex will be b

The Independent Florida Alligator • 20th May 2020

Inside Gainesville gyms’ first week after reopening

All it used to take to go to the gym before COVID-19 was a pair of tennis shoes and a pinch of motivation. After gyms reopened Monday, gymgoers find themselves facing new limitations.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order to reopen the state economy allows gyms and fitness centers to welcome back members, but these facilities are required to limit their capacity to 50 percent and ensure social distancing.

The Florida Department of Business and Regulation’s list of mandatory safety measures also requires gy

The Independent Florida Alligator • 16th May 2020

Inside a changing industry: Weddings

Gainesville’s wedding industry began the year preparing for “Wedding Christmas,” a period of heightened business from late December to late May. Instead, the season ushered in cancellation after cancellation as COVID-19 spread.

Alisha Alsbrook, the owner of The Wedding Cycle, a local bridal shop, said she began to feel the changes in February.

Shipments of wedding dresses began to take longer to arrive – nearly four weeks longer. Requests for wedding planning and officiating decreased by 70 pe

The Independent Florida Alligator • 4th November 2020

‘Dogs will never leave you’: Local business owners reunite man with his best furry friend

Keith Miller had his cell phone pressed to his ear as he stood outside of his restaurant, Big Mill’s Cheesesteaks, located on 13th Street.

A man approached the 52-year-old and asked to borrow the phone for an important message. The stranger, Danny Morris, sat in a wheelchair. He explained his struggle with homelessness in a soft voice, but he expressed his desire with conviction.

When Miller asked who he wanted to call, Morris gave him the number for a dog shelter and said only one thing was o

The Independent Florida Alligator • 13th November 2021

‘Be bold’: UF student becomes youngest elected official in Florida

Nate Douglas shuffled into his family’s kitchen one morning in 2008 to greet his mother and father.

The then-8-year-old said he found them standing still at the counter. The three didn’t talk but instead communicated through stares. He followed the invisible line from their forlorn gaze to a stack of unopened envelopes in front of them.

The tower of paper grew every day, taunting the family of five supported by the salaries of a teacher and a landscaper. The memories of the Great Recession sti

The Independent Florida Alligator • 26th July 2020

Crystal balls and Zoom calls: Psychics during COVID-19

Flames lap through the windows of a gray tower on the background of an ominous sky. Two people can be seen jumping from the building toward the icy ground.

One may imagine the Tower card as a sign of immediate doom, but it’s quite the opposite, said evidential psychic medium Bernadette King.

“That card is about true disaster,” she said. “It's like the saying, ‘If you're going through hell, keep going,’ so once you get through the hell, on the other side of it is a deeper spiritual understandin