The photos above were taken of animals at the Alachua County Humane Society (ACHS), a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to finding homes for adoptable pets. “When you adopt a dog, you’re saving a life and helping us get a step closer to ending euthanasia,” said Eric Van Ness, the humane society’s executive director.

ACHS initially gets all their animals from Alachua County Animal Services just before their last day on death row (AKA the euthanasia list). Adopting a pet from ACHS is less expensive than patronizing a pet store, and all the money is directed toward saving as many lives as possible. Since 2000, ACHS has worked hard to reduce its own euthanasia rate by 98 percent.

“People don’t realize that when they buy dogs from pet stores, they’re only adding to the overpopulation problem,” Van Ness added. Any dog or cat adopted from a shelter is always spayed or neutered, healthy and up to date on its shots. At no additional cost to adopters, ACHS provides a veterinary exam, a dog training session, a 30 day gift of ShelterCare Pet Insurance and a microchip for detecting the animal’s location if it ever gets lost.

ACHS is the leading agency of Maddie’s Pet Rescue, a coalition of five local shelters that have worked to reduce the city’s euthanasia rate from over 7,000 animals each year to under 3,000. The coalition’s goal is to completely wipe out the city’s need for euthanasia by 2015. Unfortunately, the road is paved with obstacles and can’t be crossed without an increase in volunteers. Read more >>

Reporting by Barbara Bermudez. Photos by Erik Knudsen and Ashley Crane.

Local startup engages the community with composting services

Compost! I bet you’ve heard the word. And if you’re a hip n’ happenin’ green mean environmental machine, it’s probably one of your favorites. But what is this magnificent pile of brown stuff that gardeners hail as “black gold”? Essentially, compost is a mix of organic food waste, dry leaves, paper and cardboard, harmoniously decomposing into the best soil food your garden could ask for.

The most indispensable compost ingredient, food waste, is also the most abundant — the United States produces 34 million tons in one year alone, and Gainesville is no exception. So, it was only a matter of time until environmentalism and entrepreneurship met, fell in love and married into a little local business named Gainesville Compost.

Chris Cano, the Compost Guy

Gainesville Compost began this September when 25-year-old UF graduate, Chris Cano, turned his passions, sustainability and gardening, into his own business. The goal was simple: to turn waste into food using local resources. Having reaped the benefits of composting in his own garden, he decided to expand the operation into the community. With the help of friends employed by local restaurants, he developed a pilot program that included various local joints, such as Karma Cream, Reggae Shack, The Midnight and The Jones.

By participating in Gainesville Compost, restaurants are able to cut down on the amount of waste their businesses produce. Food scraps are collected in old ice cream containers donated by Karma Cream and carried back to Cano’s home and composting site using a bike trailer as carbon-neutral transportation.

Science!

So, is it as easy as throwing a bunch of leftovers and dried leaves into a bucket and letting the magic happen? Hardly. Composting is a process. It takes a minimum of six weeks for the raw composting goodness to turn into useful organic fertilizer. But, the longer it stays in the process, the better the results.

Here’s how it works. In large containers, food scraps, which supply the nitrogen and water, are mixed with dried leaves, paper and cardboard, which supply the carbon. The mix is then aerated by being turned periodically.

This procedure creates the perfect environment for microbes to start breaking things down. The energy created by the working bacteria generates heat that reaches temperatures as high as 145 degrees Fahrenheit, giving off steam as a visible side-effect of the process. The heat contributes to decomposition, decreasing the volume of the original compost material.

Because the food is naturally deteriorating rather than rotting, compost gives off a pleasant, earthy scent, not the stinky smell of your kitchen garbage can. The resulting compost is sifted and should resemble crumbly, dark brown potting soil when ready for the garden. As opposed to the inorganic fertilizer sold at generic home improvement stores, a good pile of compost has the quality of being a soil-builder — a time-consuming but valuable long-term benefit.

From a Healthy Garden to a Healthier Economy

In addition to creating and selling compost to restaurants, Gainesville Compost also has plans to extend its services to the homes of environmentally-conscious Gainesville residents interested in growing their own food. This new project would be based on the farm Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) model, where paying members receive fresh seasonal produce each week. In this case, Compost CSA members will receive nutrient-rich, local compost products, educational resources for gardening with compost and weekly face time with local compost experts. The program will launch early next year, likely operating from the weekly Farmer’s Market at the Bo Diddley Plaza.

Cano’s complete vision for Gainesville Compost goes beyond the vertical business model, which tends to exploits resources to turn a profit and be unfavorable to laborers and the environment. The objective is to create quality compost out of available waste resources, while engaging the Gainesville community in the process. The beauty of this “pedal-powered, community compost network” is its potential long-term effects in the sustainable urban agriculture movement, as well as in our local economy.

Creating your own job, especially one that speaks to your interests as well as to the greater good, sounds impossible in today’s economic climate. But it’s not. Cano threw out the Classified ads and started a business that corresponds to his own interests. It’s not just about wonderful soil food; it’s about creating an alternative way of doing business that is both environmentally and financially sustainable. Now, that’s an idea worth recycling.

If you’re interested in becoming a Gainesville Compost CSA member, contact Chris Cano at GainesvilleCompost@gmail.com.

Photos and illustration by Diana Moreno.

Above: Bea (left) and her Sylvia (her teacher) knead dough at Morning Meadow, an alternative preschool and kindergarten in Gainesville that utilizes a century-old but still uncommon teaching method. Photo by Erik Knudsen.

At 5, Sylvia Paluzzi had to complete a task, putting pegs in their proper holes, before she could join her friends outside. At 6, teachers pulled her out of class for coloring outside the lines. They told her she was careless and couldn’t draw.

Some kids withdraw from school because of incidents like these, Paluzzi said, now a teacher herself. Positive preschool experiences can make children think school is wonderful, while negative ones can make them lose their natural love of learning, she said.

Paluzzi hopes this never happens at her school.

“I think we as human beings are unlimited,” she said.

All children can be artists, musicians and growers and can understand chemistry and math, she said, if they are exposed to the material in a pleasant way by a teacher who helps them find their natural talents, strengths and passions.

Paluzzi, 48, is the founder and director of Morning Meadow Preschool and Kindergarten, an alternative private school in Gainesville for children aged 2 1/2 to 6. For almost 20 years, she has been igniting her students’ fire for learning using the Waldorf method. This century-old, nonreligious educational system emphasizes not only children’s intellectual development, but also their emotional, physical and spiritual growth.

Although the number is growing, the United States has fewer than 200 Waldorf schools, so Paluzzi’s approach to education is far from common. So is the way she dresses. Paluzzi teaches and plays with her students wearing long, flowing skirts, an apron and bangles that cover her forearms. She frames her big, brown eyes with thick, black eyeliner, loosely wraps her long black hair with a headscarf, and pins flowers in the back.

She looks like a gypsy, said Cristina Eury, a friend who used to teach with her.

Nina Hofer, a friend whose children attended Morning Meadow, said she was overwhelmed when she first met Paluzzi 15 years ago. She said Paluzzi is “the most amazing and insightful person I’ve met in my life, by far.”

Discovering Waldorf

Growing up in Miami, Paluzzi was one of six children. At 17, she gave birth to her first son.

While at the University of Florida in the early 1980s, Paluzzi drifted through pre-med courses she didn’t like, then took a year off. Back home in Miami, her mom pointed out that every job she picked involved kids. Upon returning to UF, Paluzzi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.

After having her second son, Paluzzi’s best friend introduced her to the Waldorf School of Gainesville, open from 1979 to 1996, where Paluzzi could bring her baby with her to work.

She became an assistant teacher and was struck by how happy the children were. They still fought from time to time, she said, but they were laughing and singing and the teacher wasn’t micromanaging them like some from her childhood.

At a traditional school where she worked previously, Paluzzi saw kids brought to tears when learning fractions. But at the Waldorf School, they seemed vibrant, harmonious and carefree.

A few months later, the teacher she assisted left, and Paluzzi was asked to replace her. She spent three summers training to be a certified Waldorf teacher at Sunbridge Institute in New York while also teaching at the Waldorf School in Gainesville.

That’s when she met Edy Zettler, a mother of one of Paluzzi’s “original families.”

“She’s a fabulous person, but that’s obvious. You’re able to tell right off the bat,” Zettler said. “She’s very straightforward, honest, no nonsense.”

In 1993, Paluzzi left the Waldorf School and started her own school out of her house with five students. After nine years, Morning Meadow moved out of her house, and five years ago, it settled at its current location. Paluzzi’s school has grown to 48 students in two classes, each with two teachers who are encouraged to bring their young children with them to work.

This fall, the first-, second- and third-grade students left Morning Meadow and moved to Heart Pine Elementary, a new outgrowth of Morning Meadow that is renting space at Highlands Presbyterian Church. Heart Pine is run by a board of parents, including Paluzzi, whose 7-year-old son attends the school with 14 other students.

Teaching at Morning Meadow

Instead of labeling their cubbies and art projects with their names, preschoolers in Paluzzi’s class use their spirit symbols.

She tries to pick a symbol, like a tree, cat or heart, that fits the child’s personality. One student, Maya, was a “light-filled, ethereal being, flitting from one activity to the next,” she said, “and you felt like if you tried to hold her, she would flutter away.”

Paluzzi chose the butterfly as Maya’s spirit symbol.

Sometimes she assigns symbols to the children before meeting them. Most of the time, she said, they unknowingly go to the cubby labeled with their symbol.

Although her students are very young, “She really sees them,” Hofer said. “She’s really listening.”

The school day begins outside.

“I think it’s important for children to have an experience with nature,” she said, “to dig, and look for worms and bugs, and plant seeds and watch them become something.”

Most kids today have lost their connection to nature, she said — a connection that is important if society wants responsible adults who appreciate the environment and fight for its preservation.

Surrounded by a tall wooden fence covered in chalk drawings, her kids sing, crawl and jump around the trees, monkey bars and vegetable garden. In their minds, they are gourmet chefs, truck drivers or puppies.

Paluzzi walks among them, solving disputes, offering words of wisdom and engaging in their fantasies.

As a gentle signal, Paluzzi and her co-teacher sing to their class of 4- to 6-year-olds, and they line up to wash their hands. Paluzzi sits with a large ceramic bowl in her lap and scrubs their hands. Then, the two teachers and the preschoolers form a circle on a large rug. They hold hands, dance and sing about the wonders of nature, tasks like washing the floor and baking bread, and make-believe creatures.

Then, it’s snack time. The children sit at tiny tables, where they thank Mother Earth and Father Sun and bless their friends and families before eating. Blessings said throughout the day are often earth-based, Paluzzi said, “because I wanted the children to have an experience of reverence without an attachment to any one religion.”

The school has parents from many religions and cultures, so in addition to more general blessings, Paluzzi also chooses fairy tales from cultures around the world.

While parents pack their children’s lunches, the school prepares their snacks. Students eat a vegan meal of whole grains and vegetables, such as rotini sprinkled with broccoli and nutritional yeast.

Though not a vegan, Paluzzi buys organic food when she can and supports local farmers at the downtown farmers’ market.

At school, her kids use glass cups and ceramic bowls instead of more kid-friendly disposables, because Paluzzi said she likes to live by a Native American saying: “Whatever you do, do it with the seven generations after you in mind.”

After the preschoolers clean up, Paluzzi sings again to signal playtime. Her classroom is filled with “open-ended toys” — objects like colorful cloths, shells and wood that students can transform into whatever they want — which Paluzzi said encourages creativity and imagination.

The boys and girls ask, “Miss Sylvia, will you help?” and she pulls out art supplies or ties cloth around their bodies to make costumes. Waldorf teachers make toys in class so students see the time and effort involved, and thus, have more respect for toys when they play with them, she said. All their toys are made from biodegradable materials.

Waldorf ideology discourages plastics as well as TVs and computers around young children, so Paluzzi encourages her Morning Meadow families to find other avenues of entertainment.

Creating an Extended Family

The school doesn’t have room for all the children who want to attend. Paluzzi is trying to find a larger property so she can enroll more students and give them “a more wild setting” with less urban noise, where they can explore nature.

Friends of Morning Meadow Preschool, a nonprofit devoted to establishing a permanent Waldorf school in Gainesville, found a 14-acre property that Paluzzi said would be convenient for families because it’s only 10 minutes from University Avenue, but “you can still go into the woods and hear the sounds you should hear.”

The nonprofit’s Waldorf initiative keeps attracting more supporters, she said, and every year it raises more money than the year before. Last year, it raised about $35,000.

But the organization still doesn’t have enough to buy the property and build a facility that unites the growing preschool and elementary school.

Paluzzi said she’d like Morning Meadow to outlive her, and might someday pass the school on to one of the younger teachers. But for now, teaching and running Morning Meadow has her up at 6 a.m. every day.

“I really, really love it,” she said, “so to me it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. It feels like a blessing.”

Paluzzi seems to embody the spirit of Waldorf education; parents talk about her and the school’s ideology as if they were one and the same.

After almost 20 years in the Gainesville community, Paluzzi says Morning Meadow is more like an extended family than a school. Parents whose kids are long gone from the school still volunteer, and former students return to help with summer camp or holiday parties. Paluzzi keeps in touch with several students who are now in their early twenties.

She takes pride in knowing her students leave Morning Meadow with “a sense of openness and possibilities awaiting them.”

After teaching children, Paluzzi said teaching parents is her second favorite thing.

They come to her with their questions and concerns, said Ashlee Sharpe, a mother and Morning Meadow teacher.

“She’s good at listening, thinking about it, picking apart the issues and helping you figure it out,” Sharpe said.

It’s not always obvious, said Peter Polshek, a Morning Meadow parent, but Paluzzi has an incredible depth of understanding of each child. And not only does she understand the children, he said, but she also understands the families and the parents.

Hofer agreed.

“She’s not just a teacher for my child,” she said. “She’s a teacher for me.”

The photos above were taken by Erik Knudsen at Morning Meadow Preschool and Kindergarten. Interested in learning more? Check out their website.

Above: Stefanie Samara Hamblen, owner of the now-legal “Illegal Jam Company,” cans a batch of her locally-sourced jams.

Recent legislation enables entrepreneurs to sell homemade goods

Ruthann Macheski used to drive 40 miles from her farm in Williston to Gainesville, just to bake in a commercial kitchen. Some did not have the equipment she needed, so she lugged pounds of large-scale pots and pans, baking sheets and springform pans back and forth.

When House Bill 7209, commonly referred to as the Cottage Food law, passed on July 1, the breads and cakes made in Macheski’s own home kitchen became legal to sell.

“[Before] I would go wherever I could get space,” she said. “It was a hassle. Now I don’t have to leave the farm.”

Before the law passed, any food for sale had to be cooked in a commercial kitchen. These kitchens are inspector-certified and guarantee a government-approved level of sanitation.

Macheski, who formerly worked as a kitchen inspector before permanently moving out to her farm, can now sell homemade breads and cakes under her company name, Ruthie’s Country Kitchen, at the farmers’ market.

Food sold under the Cottage Food law must be a direct sale. It can be sold from the seller’s home, at farmers’ markets and at roadside stands. Macheski now sells baked goods in addition to meat, dairy and produce from her farm and at local farmers’ markets.

The law does not cover indirect sales, such as providing for a restaurant. Selling online is also not allowed.

Although some rules are well- detailed, the entire law is not clearly explained. The pamphlet printed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was not explicit enough, said Macheski. Her copy of the brochure is covered in penciled notes and questions.

She called the lawmakers in the Florida Senate with a list of questions.

Did “homemade pasta” refer to fresh or dried noodles? Did dehydrated soups fall under the category of “dry herbs, seasonings and mixtures?”

“I burned up the phone line to Tallahassee,” she said. The government workers were stumped. Although they promised to call back, her questions remain unanswered.

The guide says to check with local municipal, city or county government for official requirements. The problem? Not all of these officials are even aware the law exists.

With her calls and questions, the local officials who oversee this new law have realized they may have to address it within their business structure.

“I have brought this to the attention of so many county and city inspectors,” Macheski said.

She had followed the law as it went through the house and legislature. After it passed, she began spreading the word to her friends. For farmers already selling at markets, baking, say, a zucchini bread out of the squash that didn’t sell, allows them to effectively double their profit. They can make more money without growing more produce.

In addition to baked goods, the Cottage Food law covers jam and other fruit products like vinegars, pasta, dry herbs, granola, nuts and honey. The product must be labeled with the name of the Cottage Food Operation and product, all ingredients, the net weight and any allergens.

The new law does not cover many food items, including meats, dairy products, ketchup and canned pickled products. If these products aren’t made properly, they can cause salmonella or botulism. To prevent any sanitation disasters, Macheski recommends that anyone interested in selling from a home kitchen take an online course in food handling.

“My worry is that too many people will get involved, who don’t know what they’re doing,” she said.

Stefanie Samara Hamblen, who owns the Illegal Jam Company, understands the importance of food safety. She gets a certain satisfaction out of the noise the jars make when they are properly suctioned, guaranteeing that they won’t spoil.

“It’s that ping you hear when you know they’re sealed,” she said. “That’s when you know it’s done.”

Her jam hobby started four years ago, when she took the excess figs from her neighbor’s trees and re-created her grandma’s preserves.

By this summer, jam had grown from pastime to obsession. She was able to give some jars away to friends and family, but her jam-making outstripped her gift-giving. By June 30, there were 160 Bell jars of homemade jam stacked in her kitchen, overflowing out of the pantry and on to her front hall table.

“It was out of control,” Hamblen said.

Since the jams were made in her home instead of a commercial kitchen, Hamblen couldn’t sell them. She dubbed her enterprise the “Illegal Jam Company” in the July issue of Hogtown HomeGrown, the monthly newsletter she writes and publishes that promotes local eating and home cooking.

But after the Cottage Food law passed – ironically, the day after she published the newsletter – her homemade jam became legal. Suddenly, Hamblen’s passion for preserves had the potential to become a profitable business.

“I realized I was sitting on a gold mine,” she said.

Hamblen keeps her operations as simple as her recipes.

She uses her “plain old four-burner” stove to make the jam. Her part-time job as a nanny provides her with toddler taste-testers.

Hamblen sells her jams at the Alachua County and Haile Village Farmers’ Markets and from her house.

Though at one point she was making more jam than she could give away, Hamblen doesn’t anticipate selling over the profit limit of $15,000 per year.

Macheski, however, is considering building a separate commercial kitchen on her farm within the next two years.

Although the Cottage Food laws cover her current operations, a commercial kitchen eliminates restrictions. She could start selling homemade pickles, tomato sauces and other products not covered by Cottage Food laws and would not be subject to the profit limit. She would also be able to sell these products in restaurants and specialty food stores.

These new laws work well for simpler operations, but a commercial kitchen still allows for a wider range of options.

Correction (1/4/12): Currently, Stefanie Hamblen does not sell her jams at the Alachua County or Haile Village Farmers’ Markets. We apologize for the error. For more about the “Illegal Jam Company,” check out its Facebook page.

Gainesville’s downtown post office was already shut down in September, and now its sorting facility is on the chopping block. USPS will make a final decision on May 15, and if the currently proposed plan goes through, mail will be shipped to Tampa and Jacksonville to be sorted and then shipped back to Gainesville to be delivered.

What is at stake?

Gainesville is set to loose 232 good, local jobs. And because the national American Postal Workers (APW) Union reached a new four-year agreement last May, the majority of these employees cannot be laid off or transferred more than 50 miles away. Those currently under this contract would be sent to other cities to work, most likely Jacksonville or Tampa.

Postal workers at a Dec. 1 town hall forum stated concerns that workers in Jacksonville are still waiting for the placement from downsizing earlier this year. The new increased capacity in Jacksonville will open more jobs, but Gainesville postal workers are worried about becoming surplus labor as Jacksonville workers will get first priority for placement.

Closing the sorting facility would also mean no more overnight local mail. All mail would take 2-3 days minimum.

According to plant managers, closing this sorting center would lead to a net $5.8 million in savings. But, there will also be an increase in $2.3 million for transportation costs. Many have pointed out that the price of fuel is expected to increase, meaning the savings will be lost in the coming years. There is also the unnecessary environmental toll from driving mail out of town and back.

Fiscal irresponsibility or manufactured crisis?

The yearly operating budget of $75 billion per year has been met (or nearly met) until 2008 by a nearly identical revenue. Because of falling volume, revenue has been declining since 2008 hitting a $5.1 billion operating deficit for 2011.

But this crisis traces it’s roots not only to falling demand but also to the 2006 passage of H.R. 6407: Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). This law forced the postal service to pre-fund future health care benefit payments to retirees for the next 75 years. The pre-funding of retirees benefits for workers who have not even been hired yet is something unknown in any government or private industry.

Without this bill, the postal service would have a $1.5 billion surplus today.

Postal workers at the Dec. 1 town hall forum speculated as to why the bill was passed. Some expressed concerns about “bleeding USPS into privatization by FedEx lobbyists.”

The current narrative has been captured to make it seem that the postal service is a greedy, irresponsible dinosaur that needs to adapt to the times.

Not so, according to Brian O’Neill, president of American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Local 3525. According to him, Congress can act to save the post office.

The passage of H.R. 1351: United States Postal Service Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011 would allow USPS to use money that it overpaid into the retirement systems to pay toward its deficit. This bill currently has 227 cosponsors, does not use any tax payer money, and would save more than 28,000 jobs nationwide.

Congress has already started to act. A decision to close the Gainesville sorting facility was to be made by mid February but the actions of 15 senators has postponed any facilities closing until May 15. This agreement was reached in order to stall, allowing time to pass comprehensive reform that could save the postal service.

How You Can Get Involved

To help get H.R. 6407 repealed and pass H.R. 1351 in order to allow the postal service to make itself solvent, you can write to or call your Representatives.

He doesn’t even treat his crops with the few substances permissible under USDA certified organic standards, so he considers Swallowtail “beyond organic.”

“We’re a community farm and, as such, it’s a direct-to-consumer, trust-based relationship that exists between us and all the people we’re feeding,” Noah said.

In June, Florida Organic Growers (FOG), a Gainesville-based nonprofit that works to promote sustainable community farmers like Noah, joined 82 other plaintiffs in a preemptive lawsuit against Monsanto, the world’s leading producer of genetically modified seeds. Plaintiffs claim Monsanto’s predatory patent enforcement tactics threaten the future of organic agriculture. Read more >>

Reporting by Lily Wan. Photos by Ashley Crane.

An Inside Look Into the Dove World Outreach Center

“Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.”

“Sometimes, it’s not true,” Faith Sapp said. When people call you ugly, it stays with you.

Faith has had a lot of close friends change their mind and talk badly about her.

Kids at school didn’t bother to ask her why she wore a shirt that read “Islam is of the Devil.” They just thought it was mean.

“They don’t know how else to express it,” Faith said. “They think ‘If I ask her, I’m going to seem weird, so I’m just going to curse her out.’”

She and other young members of Warriors of Christ, a branch of the Dove World Outreach Center, stand on the sidewalk outside the All Women’s Health Center.

Luke Jones, son of the infamous pastor Terry Jones, drove them here in the church’s lumbering white van. Luke said the center provides a variety of services, one of which is referrals for abortions.

Luke assumed head pastor responsibilities at the church since his father is often traveling on behalf of his political group, Stand Up America. Luke’s administration is called Warriors of Christ.

The young people on the sidewalk held vinyl signs that read “Fear God” and “Repent and Live!”

Some of the men in the group, led by Luke, take turns preaching repentance.

“You’re not pro-choice because you don’t give the baby a choice,” they shout over traffic.

After a few minutes standing by the road, it’s possible to decipher a supportive honk from a condemning one. Drivers reacted to the signs and half of them threw a thumbs-up or a middle finger out the window.

***

“My youngest daughter, Faith, has had some pretty disappointing days,” Wayne Sapp said in an interview at the church. Faith had close friends who started hating her because of who her father is.

Sapp sees the impact of their work in a positive light.

“I think it’s drawn us together as a family,” he said.

Sapp used to manage restaurants. He would leave at 5:30 in the morning and come back at 10:30 at night. His wife would put the kids to bed early and wake them up so he could see them for an hour.

Now he sees his kids every day. He knows what’s happening in their lives, and he gets to mentor them and talk to them.

His kids were at the church during International Burn a Koran Day. They were there when people were coming onto the church property, vandalizing. Sapp and his son were running on the lawn together, chasing people away.

“We were laughing,” Sapp said.

So many families grow up without knowing each other, he added.

“At least my kids know me. They know what I believe in, what I stand for, and that I’m there for them. I think a lot of families don’t have that at all.”

Sapp was a partier who married young. His wife came from a deeply religious background. She pestered Wayne about getting back into church. She said if he’d come to the Dove World Outreach Center once, she’d stop asking.

“I knew this was my chance to get her to shut up and leave me alone,” Sapp said.

He came to church and reluctantly sat in the first row with his wife. There was a guest preacher.

“The most famous verse, everyone knows, is ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only son,’” the preacher said. “But you know, even if it was one person, even if it was one person that had sin in their life that was going to die, go to hell, be separated from God the father forever, Jesus still would have died for that one person.”

Sapp grabbed hold of that thought and dwelled on it.

“If that’s true,” he thought. “Would you have died for me?”

“If so, show me.”

The service was ending and the speaker was praying for people in the church.

“That’s it,” Sapp thought. “I came. Nothing.”

From somewhere across the room, the preacher stopped praying. He walked through the crowd, looking at people.

“This man has lost his mind,” Sapp thought.

The preacher walked up to Sapp and said: “It’s you.”

“You don’t know me,” Sapp said. “I don’t go here.”

“But it’s you.”

“What about me?”

“God wanted me to tell you he would have died for just you. He loves you that much.”

Sapp stood up. The preacher led him in prayer. Now, no one can ever convince him that there is no God.

He came a long way since then, and he carried out the burning of the Koran at the conclusion of a trial presided over by Terry Jones last spring.

***

Terry Jones said he got saved in his living room.

He was a hotel manager in Nashville, Tenn. He married very young and because of that, they had their share of problems. His wife had gotten saved and Terry saw the changing force in her life.

He put on a cassette tape about how to get baptized in the holy spirit by a man called Don Basham. He knelt down in his living room, repented out his sins, asked God to forgive him, stood up and felt like a changed person.

From kneeling in that living room, he rose to the international stage. He was forced to leave a church he was preaching at in Cologne, Germany for somewhat mysterious reasons. The Gainesville Sun reported it was for fraud charges. Der Spiegel said he was expelled by a congregation that found him too extreme. Terry Jones is banned from entering the United Kingdom. Wayne and Luke are on that list too.

Terry grew up in the sixties. He misses the fighting spirit of that time and sees apathy in today’s society.

“Most Americans don’t really live,” he said. “They just exist.”

In Terry’s opinion, if you’re not really making a mark, if you’re not working to improve society, it doesn’t matter if you die at 40 or at 80. You will have just had 40 more years to eat at McDonalds. But most people are satisfied with their station wagon and their wife and kids and gold watch after 50 years. A rare few hunger for more.

***

Luke Jones was born in Germany. He grew up in church, a pastor’s son, but he didn’t live a Christian lifestyle. Around the age of 12 or 14, he started experimenting with soft drugs, marijuana and a little speed.

The Joneses lived in Cologne, Germany, about an hour from Holland. Luke and his friends would drive across the border to buy marijuana cheaply and in copious amounts. They smoked almost every day. One day he was at a friend’s house and took a heavy rip from a gravity bong. He went home and his parents saw him, red-eyed and stoned.

“We know what you’re doing,” his parents said. They were aware that Luke smoked cigarettes out of his bedroom window.

“You need to do something with your life,” they said. “You need to experience God.”

“We can’t do it for you…we can’t help you,” they added.

“I didn’t know what to do with my life,” Luke said. “I was smoking dope. My friends were losers.”

Luke went to bed that night and cried out to God.

“If you are real, I want a sign,” he said.

The next day was church Sunday. Luke went with his family. The church held about a thousand people. Luke got into church and straight away, a pastor named Rob came up to him and said “God heard you yesterday.”

Rob kept talking, but Luke didn’t hear the rest. That was all he needed.

***

Terry Jones, Luke Jones and Wayne Sapp each said the large misconception the public has about their church is that they hate. They said they don’t hate, and they’re worried about the vast numbers of people who are on a path to damnation.

Wayne Sapp explained that it’s similar to what he told his wife’s parents when they were engaged. They thought Wayne didn’t like them.

“If I don’t like you,” Sapp said. “I won’t waste my time talking to you.”

“I’ll keep my thoughts to myself and go down the road and whatever happens to you, happens to you.”

Sapp believes that Jesus is the only way to the father. That means 1.5 billion people are going to hell because they don’t know Him.

“If I hated them, I’d just keep my mouth shut,” he said.

Maybe people don’t get saved when they hear the message of the Dove World Outreach Center. Maybe they get mad. But Wayne hopes that people ask themselves why he and the other church members would take on the wrath of the world and take a minute to think about the message.

Above: An inside look into the Dove World Outreach Center, including its controversial trial and subsequent burning of the Koran. Photos by Andrew Ford. Click any image to start a slide show with captions.

For another side of the story, check out Why Dove World Outreach Matters, Even Though It Shouldn’t.

Above: Pat Fitzpatrick, a longtime advocate for the homeless and hungry, keeps a close eye on the relationship between big developers and the City of Gainesville. (Photo by Erik Knudsen)

Criminal background checks replace meal limit at St. Francis House

After years of protests by activists, supporters and the needy, the meal limit at the St. Francis House, which allowed only 130 meals to be served per day, was finally repealed this November. Now St. Francis House can serve unlimited meals to the hungry men, women and children who line up every day within a three-hour window.

But on the first Wednesday without the limit, The Gainesville Sun reported that only 81 people received meals. Why?

An end to meal limits only meant there were new regulations to be made. The end of one restriction ushers in another.

Recipients of any St. Francis House service are now required to have a police clearance form and picture ID upon arrival at the front desk. Previously, this requirement was only for those who needed to stay overnight at the facility.  Now, it applies to anyone who wants a meal or even just wants to use the bathroom.

Every 30 days, anyone who plans on going to the St. Francis House for food or shelter must first go to the police station to receive a clearance form that states they are cleared from any warrants for arrest. They must also show valid ID, something many homeless people cannot provide. Because of this, the meals that were once expected to increase after the recent repeal have actually dwindled.

Unlike the meal limit law that was part of the City of Gainesville’s City Ordinance, these new rules stem from the St. Francis House’s own board of directors.

After the meal limit repeal, a series of meetings were held among downtown businesses and neighbors and the board members of the St. Francis House. Kent Vann, executive director of the St. Francis House, called the new rule “compromise.”

We were going to be serving more people, so we needed to monitor the people in a safe manner,” he said. “Increasing the crowds calls for increasing responsibility on our part.”

Vann said he had to present the city with a management plan that would address the safety issue. He says that’s when the extension of the background checks was proposed. The St. Francis House already has close to 500 current police clearances on file.

But, not all agree with the new “compromise.”

Arupa Freeman is the the director of The Home Van, a group of volunteers who drive to serve food to people in Gainesville.

As of November 2, the 130-person meal limit at the St. Francis House soup kitchen came to an end. It was replaced by requirements so harsh, so difficult to meet, and so humiliating and demeaning that St. Francis House is now serving lunch to between 70 and 90 people a day,” Freeman said on her blog.

She also addressed the ID requirement issue, citing how problematic it is for homeless people to get the documents they need.

Under the new laws passed as a result of the Homeland Security Act, it has become a long and complicated nightmare for homeless people to obtain state of Florida IDs or even to obtain the documents, such as birth certificates, necessary to obtain a state ID. Many homeless people do not have such IDs and have given up trying to get them,” she said.

Pat Fitzpatrick, a passionate advocate for Gainesville’s homeless, keeps a close eye on the relationship between big developers, like the McGurn and Collier families, and the City of Gainesville. McGurn Management Company is responsible for, among other things, the Union Street Station, the Sun Center, apartments and parking garages. The Collier Companies own and manage more than 9,600 apartments in Florida and Oklahoma.

It was Ken McGurn who, in March of 2009, presented data at a meeting with the City Planning Board indicating the St. Francis House was giving out more meals than was allowed in the permit.

Shortly thereafter, the limit was enforced.

If it seems odd that a homeless shelter would agree to more seemingly self-imposed restrictions on its meal giving, Fitzpatrick says one doesn’t have to look much further than the might of Big Business and developers promoting their interests.

It’s not St. Francis’ fault. They have to stay in good graces with the city. And the city — they just bow down to downtown developers.”

The self-regulation of the St. Francis House seems to be the only way the city would even agree to repeal the limit. And while many don’t like what’s happened, the need for compromise between the St. Francis House and influential forces was necessary in order to change the meal cap.

Ronald Young, 51, is a Gainesville resident who has been hanging around the St. Francis House for years. He says Vann’s a good guy and understands he had to make negotiations with the city.

However, Young knows the deeper implications of the requirements and how they will deter many from getting a police clearance form.

A lot of homeless people have warrants just for some petty 1s [first misdemeanor]. I mean, they have an open container on their record, they’re not about to go down to the Gainesville Police Department. They’re going to try to stay far away from there,” he said.

He says St. Francis House seems anti-homeless now, and that it almost feels like a jail.

This is a homeless shelter, you know? You can’t even use the restroom without a form. What if you just got in town and hopped off the bus?”

Young says these policies are pushing people away, and the long line of people that once stood outside St. Francis House before the limit was repealed has now disappeared.

You’ll still see a little bit of a crowd in the morning. But, it’s not like it used to be.”

The struggle between the homeless and the city has been going on for years.  Unfortunately, the St. Francis House receives a lot of the spotlight due to its mission to feed and shelter the poor.

Providing services to those confronted with homelessness or hunger is never an easy task. But it is even further complicated in a city like Gainesville, where downtown businesses and wealthy developers have strong, conflicting interests with Gainesville’s own population, including the poor and homeless.

Coalition of local pet shelters works to eliminate euthanasia by 2015

The lobby of the Alachua County Humane Society is small and clean. Dogs are barking from the kennels outside in the background. There are black and white portraits of different animals on the walls, pictures children have drawn of their adopted pets and a cork-board advertising the need for various donations: cleaning supplies, 13-gallon bags, and most of all, volunteers.

Next to the cork-board is a small piece of paper with the Humane Society’s goals and policies. First and foremost on the sheet — Alachua County Humane Society is a no-kill shelter.

Alachua County is currently working toward becoming a no-kill county, ending the euthanasia of healthy and adoptable pets. The Alachua County Humane Society is the leading organization of this movement by Maddie’s Pet Rescue.

Maddie’s is comprised of five shelters in the county dedicated toward reaching no-kill status by 2015. The combined efforts of the Humane Society, Haile’s Angles, Puppy Hill Farm, Gainesville Pet Rescue and Helping Hands Pet Rescue have lowered the amount of animals put down from 8,063, the 2000 baseline, to just under 3,000 this past year.

The formation of Maddie’s was brought about by the need to stop euthanasia at Alachua County Animal Services.

The Humane Society, and other local shelters, cannot take animals directly from citizens. Animals must first go to Animal Services.

“Animal Services does all the enforcement work; it’s where strays go,” said Eric Vanness, the executive director of the Humane Society.

It’s the middle-man for Alachua County animal shelters. Since all strays first end up at Animal Services, and not all are able to be taken in by the no kill-shelters in town due of lack of space and workers, space at Animals Services is a constant problem. Euthanasia is one option to continuously open up room for incoming animals.

Before turning to euthanasia, when space is getting slim at Animal Services, its employees send a list of animals on “death row” to the no-kill shelters in Alachua County. Vanness said that his shelter picks last, and they try to take as many animals as possible based on space-to-staff.

The Humane Society relocated in February of this year. With more than double the space of its previous facility, the shelter would be able house more animals and keep more off of the euthanasia list. However, the society was forced to reduce its staff by about half, due to lack of funding and the $400,000 spent beyond projected costs for the new building.

A total of four full-time Animal Care Service Workers, the society’s paid staff, and one of the two administrators were lost in the move.

Opening shifts at the Humane Society are strenuous on staff. They must open the building and ensure that supplies and animals are in order. They oversee distribution of medicine to animals and check in on dogs and cats in quarantine or special care areas.

Cages need to be cleaned, dogs need to be taken out and played with, cats must be groomed and cared for, and food and water must be replenished. Opening shifts pick up where the evenings leave off, and employees must also make sure there are no problems throughout the building in the midst of these tasks. With the aid of volunteers, these tasks can be completed while employees work on their other duties.

The more volunteers there are, the more interactions they can provide with each dog and cat and the more area they can clean and maintain. Thus, the more volunteers, the more animals that can be saved. Vanness said that there are about 900 volunteers on file, but only 60-70 actually come to volunteer. And there are even fewer regulars.

People fill out a volunteer application online and then need to go through an orientation training session. But not all who fill the application follow through with orientation.

Another issue lies in those only trying to fulfill a community service obligation.

“They have 15-hour requirements and they can honestly do that in three or four days,” said Vanness. “It’s not the easiest to recruit past that.”

Audrey Geoffroy, a volunteer since September 2009, said that it doesn’t have to be a difficult thing to volunteer and that anyone should try. Geoffroy is one of the Humane Society’s regular volunteers, and she brings her daughter with her to look after the cats.

“I enjoy it, all [the cats’] personalities, you really get to know them,” she said.

While caring for animals is always on the surface at the Humane Society, economic constraints struggle in the background, dictating what the society can accomplish with its staff and volunteers.

Eric Vanness said maintaining the payroll for his staff continues to be the biggest obstacle the society faces. Without the proper funds, the society can’t hire more hands to help, in turn reducing the amount of animals taken in.

“Everything comes back to staff,” he said.

Donations help, but they can’t fully cover the $130,000 mortgage from the new building, salaries, supplies and expenses.

“People donating don’t want to pay someone’s salary,” Vanness said. It’s easier for someone to donate an old dog bed or toys that the Humane Society’s Thrift Store can sell.

The Humane Socetiy’s Thrift Store is its main source of income. The store offers retail, pet food, flea care and spay/neuter vouchers. Donations are taken and resold for affordable prices, though Vanness did chuckle a bit as he recounted some of the more questionable conditions of a few donations.

Zach Toundas, an Animal Care Service Worker, spoke adamantly about the Humane Society’s mission. He said that with the community’s efforts, the goal of becoming a no-kill county could be reached.

“Volunteers are the only reason we can do what we do here.”

How you can get involved…

To join the Alachua County Humane Society volunteering staff, go to alachuahumane.org and fill out a volunteer application. You’ll be contacted by the Humane Society’s volunteer coordinator and can then sign up for an orientation time.

If you would like to donate, the Thrift Store accepts lightly used donations, or you can give money directly to the Humane Society.

Interested in adopting a dog or cat yourself, check out this story for tips on responsible pet ownership.

All photos taken by Ashley Crane at the Alachua County Humane Society.

Update: We have more photos from ACHS. Check them out >>

Above: Luz Reyes, the owner of Bella Headbands, synthesizes headbands to be sold later as holiday gift options. (Photo by Henry Taksier)

Supporting local businesses is a small way you can make a big impact on our local economy. So this holiday season, skip the generic gifts from corporate monstrosities and consider what’s made right here in Gainesville.

Check out these unique, crafty items to inspire your holiday shopping. Just now seeing this and the holidays have already come and gone? These guys aren’t going anywhere. You can check them out anytime during the year for gifts, or just to spice up your own life.

Armadillo Chocolates

This locally owned chocolatier offers a large selection of chocolates that are made with responsibly sourced, high-quality chocolate as well as organic butter, cream and nuts.

“The Ocho” would make a great holiday gift. There are four varieties in this box of hand-crafted delectable treats, including chocolate-dipped caramels sprinkled with Maldon smoked salt.

Armadillo Chocolates are available at Volta Coffee, Tea and Chocolate, The Jones Eastside, Alcove Bar and Citizen’s Co-op. A limited selection is also available online for Florida residents.

Lucky Elephant Designs

When Ana Haydeé Linares, 22, graduated from the University of Florida’s School of Art and Art History, she decided to open Lucky Elephant Designs and pursue her passion for making jewelry. From her travels around the world, Ana found that many cultures, including her own Cuban culture, had adopted the elephant as a symbol of prosperity and good luck.

Lucky Elephant Designs creates one-of-a-kind necklaces and earrings out of locally sourced, vintage and new components. The necklaces cost between $15 and $30. In addition to her re-purposed jewelry designs, Ana also sells a collection of Tarot card designs, handmade rosaries and international good luck charms, which are all featured and available for purchase at www.luckyelephantdesigns.com.

Dragonfly Graphics

Dragonfly Graphics, established in 1976, is a full-service screen printing business. The company gives back to the community through discounted school rates and donations to Camp Crystal Lake, a local outdoor education facility and recreational summer camp owned by the School Board of Alachua County.

The company will soon be launching a line of graphic T-shirts with vintage logos of area businesses, available atdragonflygraphics.com/spirit326. On Dec. 23, Dragonfly is hosting the Loco Bizarre where customers can watch live screen printing. Dragonfly Graphics is located at 319 SW Third Ave.

Moksa

Haskell and Melanie Martin founded Moksa Organics, Inc. on a simple idea: to provide people with bath products made from organic, chemical-free ingredients and responsible packaging.

Moksa has gained national attention for its soaps, bath salts, body oil and body butter. This locally based company has been featured in several publications including Country Living and TreeHugger. Their products are available for purchase online at moksaorganics.com as well as the Citizen’s Co-op on Main Street.

Bella Headbands

Luz Reyes, the owner of Bella Headbands (pictured above), makes each handcrafted creation herself.

Since each headband is made-to-order, customers are able to decide which colors they’d like.

Headbands start at $7. For a few extra dollars, she will add additional accessories, such as bows, decorative gators and faux flowers. You can place an order on www.facebook.com/bellaheadbands or by calling Luz at 352-792-7193.

Gift Cards

Sometimes the best gifts are experiences, not things, whether it’s a pair of tickets to a performance at the Hippodrome State Theater or dinner at a favorite restaurant.

DIY

If you are feeling particularly crafty, there are many places in Gainesville that will help you channel your creativity.

At Do Art, you can paint your own pottery and make mosaics. Once you pick your “raw” piece of pottery, you choose your paint colors and stencils. When you’re finished, your piece gets fired in the kiln. You can also create a mosaic including items such as mirrors and picture frames.

Bead All About It and Gifts of Avalon are two bead shops in town to check out if you want to make your own jewelry.

For Other Great Ideas

Be sure to check out local vendors on Etsy.com. Just type “Gainesville, FL” in the search bar.

Many vendors also offer affordable items at a monthly craft market at The Doris, located at 716 N. Main St. For more information, visit the Facebook event page “Monthly Craft Market” or email Zoma, the market creator and director, at mama.zoma.la@gmail.com.

Also, be sure to check out the “Buy Locally, Gainesville!” Facebook page. This page is used to post news and specials from many local business owners.

In the early morning hours of Nov. 29, a female student was raped somewhere between midtown and Fraternity Row. The 20-year-old victim said she accepted a ride from a man she did not know after leaving 101 Cantina and the man then sexually battered her in his car. She was able to escape from the car afterward and was picked up by a female driver passing by who saw her running from her attacker. The driver called the police and took the victim to the hospital.

In both the UF news release of the attack and an e-mail alert sent to the entire university listserv, the University Police Department took the opportunity to remind people of some “basic safety considerations.” The list included: “Avoid walking alone” and “Stay in well-lighted areas away from alleys, bushes, and entryways.”

These “safety considerations” are rape myths. According to a 2005 National Crime Victimization Study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, 73 percent of all sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, not strange masked men lurking in the shadows.

“Most of the cases we see are not the stranger jumping out of the bushes,” said Chris Loschiavo, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution at UF.

Loschiavo said almost all sexual assault cases at UF involve “two students who have had a lot to drink and the issue is, was one person able to consent to sexual activity.”

In addition to perpetuating false advice and rape myths, every link on UPD’s website that is supposed to lead to UF policies and procedures concerning sexual assault as well as links to rape awareness resources are broken. One link directs to UF’s own rape awareness group, CARE, which is not only a broken link, but is a group that no longer exists on campus.

Despite the public image that UPD presents today, this was not always the case. At one time, UF was a national leader in rape awareness and prevention tactics. Now, in light of the fact that local and national rape statistics have not improved in decades, UF is beginning to make an effort to once again learn and implement effective ways of preventing rape.

STRIVE, UF’s current rape awareness program, reports on its website that one in four female college students will be victims of sexual assault — defined as any unwanted sexual contact. The U.S. Department of Justice confirms this statistic, and states that once women graduate college, the ratio widens to one in six.

STRIVE has also been able to bring that one in four statistic closer to home.

“When we give an anonymous poll in a classroom of 500 and ask ‘Have you experienced a sexual assault?’ it matches up. We’ve asked every time and it’s always in the 20 percent to 25 percent range,” said Ron Del Moro, peer educator in the STRIVE program.

STRIVE, which stands for Sexual Trauma/Interpersonal Violence Education, aims to educate the university community by holding “open, non-judgmental forums where we explore questions such as ‘Why does this happen?’ and ‘What can we do?’”

This January, STRIVE plans to expand by implementing a new program modeled after the University of New Hampshire’s successful program called Bringing in the Bystander. This program has a heavy focus on bystander intervention.

“A lot of people stand around and see a lot of shady stuff go down,” Del Moro said. “We want to get those people involved.”

According to the UNH Bringing in the Bystander website, under the tag line, “Everyone in the community has a role to play in ending sexual violence,” the program “approaches both women and men as potential bystanders or witnesses to risky behaviors related to sexual violence around them.”

UNH developed this program through in-house research conducted by Prevention Innovations, a consulting, training and research unit that develops, implements and evaluates programs, policies and practices to end violence against women on campus. Vice President Joe Biden spoke at UNH in April on the success of the program and called on everyone to take responsibility. Biden, a long-time proponent of rape awareness, co-authored the Violence Against Women Act that passed in 1994.

Back in the 1980s, cutting-edge and innovative rape awareness programs like the current one at UNH were few, but UF had one of the best.

SARS, Sexual Assault Recovery Service, and COAR, Campus Organized Against Rape, were both founded by therapist Claire Walsh in 1981 and 1982, respectively. Throughout the ‘80s, Walsh and COAR representatives spoke on at least a dozen national TV talk shows, supplied information to more than 500 universities and media organizations and served as models for similar programs at other schools.

In the 1988 book titled, “I Never Called It Rape,” one of the first extensive studies of rape on college campuses, COAR was called out as “one of the nation’s most comprehensive programs,” which included a rape-myth quiz, a slide show of sexual stereotypes in the media, and discussions of body language and assertiveness in dating. COAR also made it a point to discuss the societal and cultural attitudes of men, women and relationships that may lead to rape situations as well as ways to enhance general communication between men and women.

Walsh credited COAR’s success to its unique approach to involve both men and women as its target audience. Half of COAR’s members were men.

“We see males as absolutely crucial in helping to change attitudes that are put out by the culture,” Walsh told the Gainesville Sun in 1986. “Women can’t do it by themselves, males can’t do it by themselves — we need to work together.”

However, this nationally recognized and successful program came to an end in 1991. A mess of differing politics, separate budgets and general bureaucracy crippled, defunded and eventually disbanded COAR entirely. SARS was redistributed from the Infirmary, where SARS counselors were able to focus specifically on rape victim counseling, to Mental Health Services, which left rape victims to check in as mental health patients and be randomly assigned to a general counselor, regardless of the counselor’s specialization. Basically, both programs were eliminated

Since COAR and SARS, UF has seen a few half-hearted and not nearly as passionate attempts at rape awareness. The names change almost yearly and are hard to research and keep track of.

“It could change names as the mission evolves and as funding changes,” said Jennifer Stuart, coordinator of STRIVE. “But there is a mandate that any university has to have education on sexual assault. So that will happen.”

That mandate is the Campus Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights of 1992, which requires all federally funded schools to provide sexual assault prevention programs as well as provide information on what to do if an assault occurs and who victims can contact. The mandate is a part of the 1990 Clery Act, named in memory of a sexual assault and murder victim of 1986. The Clery Act also requires every university to publish an annual report of its past three years’ worth of campus crime statistics.

The sexual assault definition used in these reports is “forcible rape,” defined as: “The carnal knowledge of a person forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not forcibly or against the person’s will where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of his/her youth). This offense includes the forcible rape of both males and females.” It also includes “forcible sodomy,” “sexual assault with an object,” and “forcible fondling.”

Between 2008 and 2010, 17 “forcible rapes” were reported at UF. This seems more than a little bit shy of the one in four statistic reported by STRIVE and most rape advocate groups.

“The reality is that these kinds of cases go woefully under-reported,” Loschiavo said.

This past summer, in an effort to increase reporting and awareness, the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights sent a “Dear Colleague Letter” to universities and school districts nationwide. The letter clarified exactly how Title IX should be interpreted and what misconduct code guidelines to abide by, specifically in sexual misconduct cases. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education or activity.

Though the letter does not have force of law, the 19-page “policy guidance” outlines the standards that will be considered if a sexual assault case in a school or university is investigated by the Office of Civil Rights. But, if the same sexual assault case is brought to state court, the standards may be different.

“State law has some different standards and so the institution now is forced to choose: do we want to lose in state court if an accused appeals and says these regulations are invalid and violate my due process rights, or do we want to lose in an OCR case? That’s really the choice we have,” Loschiavo said.

In light of how few cases of sexual assault are actually reported and prosecuted, the Bringing in the Bystander program aims to reduce the number of victims overall. Loschiavo is optimistic about the new program, though he does think it’s going to take a long time to effect change.

“We’re working against the culture,” he said. “Even when there were minimal consequences to the bystander getting involved, bystanders have chosen not to get involved. As a campus, we’re trying to have a culture shift to empower bystanders to intervene.”

Legal systems, police departments and rape awareness groups can only go so far in prevention and recovery tactics. The Bringing in the Bystander program affirms that encouraging people to speak up is the most effective way to help reduce sexual violence.

Illustration (top) by Susie Bijan.

On the surface, Destiny is like any other four-year-old — easily bored, energetic, and unaware that her future hangs on a thread. Cantrice, her 28-year-old mother, left Chicago last year in search of a better place to raise her kids. In Gainesville, she struggled to find an adequate place to sleep at night. Destiny’s father, who had been “missing in action” for years, wasn’t going to help. On July 10, she entered the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Gainesville, a nonprofit dedicated to sheltering homeless parents and children.

For more journalism documenting homeless children in Gainesville, check out Transient Children of Alachua County, where this story was originally posted. If the topic interests you, check out their event this Friday at Plaza of the Americas.

David Tran, the owner of a Loving Hut vegan cuisine express truck, is providing inexpensive, convenient and delicious food to Gainesville residents with the intention of showing people how easy eating a plant-based diet is and how it can greatly reduce global warming.

“People typically think of driving less or not owning SUVs, but not eating meat would actually have a greater impact,” said Jay Shooster, vice president of the UF Student Animal Alliance. “Not only does it reduce global warming, it also means that we’re not going to be destroying rainforests to make room for cattle.”

In the Amazon rainforest alone, 80 percent of deforestation is due to an increase in cattle ranching, according to a 2009 Green Peace report.

In addition, “producing one calorie from animal protein requires 11 times as much fossil fuel input — releasing 11 times as much carbon dioxide — as does producing a calorie from plant protein,” according to a report by PETA. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for global warming.

Tran is trying to decrease global warming by changing people’s misconceptions about vegetarian or vegan food being expensive and not easily available, said Paula Ziadi, secretary of the Student Animal Alliance.

The photos (above) were taken at Adventure Outpost and Ichetucknee Springs. To learn more, check out When the Springs Run Dry: Independent Researchers Fight to Save Florida’s Springs.

The Citizens Co-op, a community-owned market, aims to open in the first week of May, three years into the project. Unlike traditional grocery stores, the co-op will be owned by the consumers who, after becoming members, have the power to vote for the board of directors.

Founded by Elizabeth Nesbit and Gretchen McIntyre, the co-op was created to act as a network for local farmers and to establish a closer relationship between producers, workers and consumers. Members, producers and staff can join committees or the board of directors to have a say in the co-op’s operations.

One goal of the co-op is “to provide a transparent food chain for the consumer so they can really understand where their food is coming from,” Nesbit said.

The store will provide its members with local, organic and natural food, as well as products that haven’t been tested on animals. Goods purchased in the store will support the local economy and the local farmers who are part of the co-op. Members are also eligible for discounts at co-ops across the country.

The co-op project is also behind planting fruit trees in available green spaces around town, most recently at the Porters Community Garden on a corner lot in southeast Gainesville. Members can get involved in the community by participating in local projects through the co-op.

By raising money through investors, member fees, shopping cards and local fundraising events, the co-op has already covered most of their start-up costs.

They received the final push they needed on April 23 when they met their goal of raising $15,000 through Kickstarter.com, an all-or-nothing, deadline-based fundraising site. The money will go toward stocking the inventory, paying employees and purchasing equipment.

Samantha Campostrini, a member of the co-op who moved to Gainesville last year, is excited about the opening of the store.

“I’m looking for good food and community engagement,” she said.

Campostrini works for Florida Organic Growers, an education and certification program where she first learned about the co-op.

“Everyone else is [just trying] to make money,” she said. “They completely forget about what’s important. [The co-op] is a group of people who dedicate their lives to improve things for everybody else. You have to support them.”

She is particularly interested in the transparent food chain the co-op plans to offer.

“I know everybody. This gives me a lot of trust,” Campostrini said. “You can count on the members of the co-op because they have the right mindset.”

Though the co-op was expected to open on April 15, they are two weeks behind due to renovations. They recently hired five staff members and a produce manager, but they’re still looking for a grocery manager.

“We’re getting ready to make our first purchases,” Nesbit said.

Nesbit and Gretchen McIntyre share a seat on the board of directors, and they work with the in-store managers who are hired by the board to oversee operations.

The newly elected board exists to protect the long-term vision of the co-op and to develop policies, Nesbit said. Under the Board are committees, which handle day-to-day tasks. These are made up of general members, some of the staff and any board members who want to have extra responsibilities. Currently, the co-op consists of over 700 members.

The nominating committee chooses potential candidates for the board, which members of the co-op would then vote for. Yearly elections are coming up in June, with the voting taking place online.

“People can use money to control how their living environments are structured,” Nesbit said. “And food is an easy way to start because everyone needs it.”

The co-op will will be located at 435 S. Main St. For more information, check out their website.

They call him the “herb man.” Since the 1970s, James Steele was Gainesville’s first local provider of herbs.

Perched behind the Gainesville Farm Fresh stand at the Union Street Farmers’ Market downtown every Wednesday afternoon, rocking a ponytail and a thick white beard, Steele is confident that if people need herbs, they’ll come to him.

“One can’t ask for more, to make a living doing what you love,” he said. “And what I love is to grow things and pass that knowledge onto others.”

After 39 years of growing, seeding, composting, harvesting, canning, preserving, harvesting eggs, baking breads and quiches for bartering and teaching, Steele continues to grow herbs and vegetables. He’s the man behind Gainesville Farm Fresh, an online community market that promotes sustainability by connecting farmers with consumers.

“James promotes the idea of buying locally produced food,” said Pat Stevens, a fellow grower and a close friend of Steele. “He is both computer savvy and personable and is able to get his message across to people on a one-to-one basis or through his websites.”

Steele was recently elected to join the board of directors at Gainesville’s Citizens Co-op, a soon-to-open grocery store that provides its members with affordable food, freshly delivered from local farms. His role is to directly connect growers to the board, answer any questions people might have about selling their goods to the co-op and generally act as the “in-between man.”

But really, who is this elusive man, and how did he become the person he is today?

Steele’s journeys in Europe ultimately taught him what he really wanted to do with his life. In the 1960s, he received a degree in surveying law and traveled the world as a mapmaker for the U.S. military. His time in Amsterdam led him to shift his primary focus to herbs (no, not that kind).

He met a man in Amsterdam who had a shop filled with dried teas, fruits and a variety of spices. Steele remembers scooping up some of the herbs, taking a whiff and being in awe. He lived in Europe for a few more years and made a decision.

“I’m going back home, getting my degree in horticulture and making herbs my profession,” he said.

Now he sits downtown every Wednesday afternoon, eager to chat with his customers. Steele appreciates the Gainesville culture of college kids and people of all ages who really seem to push for a tight-knit community and a thriving local economy.

Steele manages The Herb Garden in Melrose, supplying north central Florida with herbs since 1989. Besides hopping between farmers’ markets and managing his multimedia website, Steele teaches gardening classes and works as a chef at a restaurant in Melrose. The Whole Earth Catalogue, Mother Earth News and Organic Gardening Magazine have guided his pursuit of living closer to the earth.

Steele wants consumers to understand the external costs of shopping at a corporate supermarket, where products are shipped over great distances, with high carbon footprints, and sold cheaply as a result of extensive government subsidies. He’s not judgmental or preachy by any means, but he believes education would lead many people to support their local economies.

“Soon, I’m going to get some chickens,” Steele said, excited to take control over where his food and resources come from. His passion for nature, herbs and local food has shaped his lifestyle, but it’s not the only thing he lives for. Steele has a son, a musician in Gainesville, and a daughter, a model in Los Angeles.

He can disprove the notion that older people aren’t technologically savvy like the ‘young-ins’ around him. He does web design not only for his own sites, but also for a handful of local bands. He’ll whip out his iPhone to show a video clip of his daughter in one of P!nk’s music videos shot in the streets of L.A. He’s exceptionally proud that his daughter played a character in the “So What” video (check it out on YouTube).

Steele recommends living in the moment and never looking back.

“That’s all we have,” he said. “Just live your life with no regrets. I never regret a thing that I do. But don’t slack off. That’s what I’m always telling my kids.”

At the thought of slowing down or retiring, Steele insists that he’s got to keep sharp and stay active in the game or else someone else will come in and take over the herbs.

It’s Steele’s game though. He’s the father of the trade and loves to see the people he’s taught over the years come around and sell their own stuff at the market. The name James Steele floats around the community plaza. Other vendors say, “Oh yeah, I know James. Everybody knows James around here.”

“I’ll always be growing herbs,” he said. “That’s me.”

On Jan. 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, highlighting the population’s vulnerability after years of political corruption and ineffective or nonexistent building codes and water treatment facilities. 1.5 million people were left homeless. Thousands are still living in “tent cities,” where 30 to 40 percent have no access to toilets or drinkable water.

In Oct. 2010, overcrowding and a lack of sanitation led to an irrepressible outbreak of cholera in the camps. The Pan-American Health Organization estimates the outbreak could kill up to 10,000 people and infect almost 200,000 in the upcoming year. To date, over 171,000 people have been infected and over 3,600 have lost their lives.

Barrels of Hope (BOH), a local non-profit, is directly addressing housing and sanitation issues by training workers in Haiti and organizing volunteers in Gainesville to construct earthbag houses for victims of the earthquake.

Ryan Scott, Director of Operations for BOH, spent a month of his summer clearing rubble in Haiti. He quit his full-time engineering job so he could join the reconstruction efforts. “I feel that my time is better spent delivering solutions to those in need,” he said.

Earthbag houses cost-effective, easy to build, energy efficient and sustainable; an entire house can be built by a small group of people within a week. The foundation and walls are made from bags filled with soil, which are stacked and compacted, one on top of another. Water is not required in the mixture, thus conserving the island’s scarce resource.

Last December, Scott led the construction of a demo earthbag house in Gainesville in order to train team leaders. A typical 10-person home consists of two 10-by-10-foot rooms, a living room area and a bedroom. Additional rooms can be added cheaply. So far, the group has built two earthbag homes in Haiti. They carried unfilled earthbags in their luggage and purchased the remaining supplies upon arrival.

BOH is also working to address the issue of water access. The group plans to send its first shipment of rain barrels, filled with enough supplies to build an earthbag home, in the next few months. Since many homes in Haiti do not have indoor plumbing, it’s a common practice to get water from wells and streams. Even though the rain barrels lack filtration units, the water they collect will still be cleaner than the island’s surface waters and can be used for drinking, as well as in the home and garden.

Providing Haiti’s people with a new skill empowers and prepares them to address housing issues in the future. BOH is working with the Reinforced Earth Bag (REB) Project group of UF’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders to test the strength of their construction techniques.

“We are addressing the question, ‘Will it stand up?’” said Brandon Ross, founder of the REB group.

Prior to the REB group, researchers have tested other earthbag structures, like Superadobe, which are able to withstand earthquakes with a factor of up to 8.0 in the Richter scale.

The REB group’s results are encouraging. They have already surpassed some of the Florida Building Codes in a recent test of a small-scale earthbag wall. The “Sun House,” home of resident Father Marc Boisvert, exemplifies the durability of earthbags. After the 2010 earthquake, it was one of the few structures left standing.

Following the earthquake, attention was focused on reconstruction efforts, but the recent cholera epidemic has refocused attention on Haiti’s continued lack of water treatment. In 1997, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) declared that only 46 percent of Haitians had access to potable (drinkable) water and that Haiti’s water systems are vulnerable. About $54 million in loans were then approved by IDB for potable water and sanitation projects.

According to numerous reports from Partners in Health and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU, continued political manipulation by the U.S. has resulted in many of the promised loans being only partially dispersed or withheld altogether. Since then, $1.15 billion in aid relief promised in March 2001 has been tied up in Congress by stipulations for Haiti to first prove its commitment to fighting corruption.

While politics are debated, thousands of people are left in tent cities, vulnerable to cholera. Many don’t have the luxury of turning on the tap and accessing clean water. There is no viable sanitation system to treat water contamination.

Clean water is a right. The politicking of governments should not supersede access to clean and healthy water or interfere with international loans. While the people in charge of dispersing financial aid struggle through red tape, you can help make a difference now.

If you would like to put words into action, there will be a spring break building trip to Haiti. You can find out more about the trip and other ways to help by visiting Barrels of Hope or From Gainesville with Love.

Paul Ortiz won’t turn on the TV or the radio on Veteran’s or Memorial Day. He doesn’t want to hear it.

“You’ll see it on Veteran’s day. Some politician will get up and speak about the meaning of military service,” Ortiz said. “Then you’ll look at his or her record, and they haven’t even been in the military. They have no idea what they’re talking about.”

A veteran who served in Central America in the Reagan era and a member of the Gainesville chapter of Veterans for Peace, Ortiz also directs the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at UF.

As part of his work with the program, Ortiz is gathering a collection of stories from Florida’s veterans, ranging from WWII to the present. His purpose is to shed light on the reality of war.

“With every veterans project that we’ve embarked on, we’ve emphasized the costs of war and the ways in which people do not normally think about those costs,” Oritz said. “These costs continue to resonate beyond the time that the war takes place.”

The project is part of a research collaboration with the US Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, created in Oct. 2000.

The accounts Ortiz gathers will be available via the archives of the George A. Smathers Libraries at UF and presented amongst hundreds of others on the Veterans History Project website.

The national collection includes video interviews, photo memoirs and documents from service men and women like Frank Buckles, 109, the last known surviving American veteran of WWI.

“It’s best for anyone who’s been in the military service if he’s had some disagreeable experiences [...] to talk about it and get it out of his system and then forget it,” Buckles says in an audio interview.

However, it is unlikely that Vietnam veteran and local activist Scott Camil will forget.

“We would come into a village, and all the people would have fearful looks in their eyes,” Camil said. “They would bow their heads. They would put their hands in front of their faces in that praying position. Sometimes we would kill them and sometimes we wouldn’t.”

Camil threw away his war medals in 1971 during Dewey Canon 3, a protest by Vietnam Veterans Against the War in Washington D.C.

“I would never want to see that look on the faces of my friends, my loved ones or my neighbors.”

Camil testified during the Winter Solider Investigation of ‘71, exposing US atrocities in Vietnam. At the 1971 UF homecoming parade, he was one of the “Gainesville Eight” who marched, rifles in hand, carrying coffins draped with American flags and waving signs calling for no more war. Camil now serves as president of the Gainesville chapter of Veterans for Peace.

As Ortiz continues to interview local veterans, he hopes that the project will serve as a microphone for those not as outspoken as Camil.

Ortiz is interviewing WWII veterans who kept quiet for 60 or 65 years because they wanted to protect their loved ones from the horrors of war.

“When they returned home in 1945 no one wanted to talk to them,” Ortiz said. “The media wanted to focus on the positive stories.”

Ortiz criticizes Hollywood for doing the same.

“It tends to glorify and to sanitize the experience that people have, both as soldiers and civilians, in wartime,” Ortiz said. “This is something that as historians we can work to correct.”

To Hell and Back: A Veteran’s Tale from Fine Print on Vimeo.

To learn more about the politics and implications of meal limits, read the original story that inspired this video.

130-Meal Limit Takes Its Toll on Gainesville’s Homeless

Steve Dennis has a slew of numbers floating in his head. When you ask him about poverty, they all come pouring out.

It took two years serving in the Vietnam War and one bag of feces thrown at him from an anti-war protester for Dennis to realize he wasn’t exactly welcomed back. It took three war-related health conditions (diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and post-traumatic stress disorder) and zero job opportunities during the 1970s recession to land him in debt. It took almost 40 years of homelessness for Dennis to call the woods his only home. And it takes 130 people arriving before him at the St. Francis House for Dennis to be turned away.

“Even when they have enough food for me, if I don’t get in line before the 131st person, then I just don’t eat that day,” he said, “unless I choose to go to the grocery store and shoplift something, but I’m trying to be a law-abiding citizen.”

A speaker for Alachua County’s chapter of the National Coalition for the Homeless, Dennis is most concerned about the number 131 now that he’s back on his feet with assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Through a sturdy, 60-year-old former Marine’s frame, Dennis managed to project a soft-spoken voice from the steps of City Hall on the night of Thursday, Oct. 21, a voice that barely captures his frustration with the city’s 130-meal limit on soup kitchens.

He’s one of about 30 citizens who rallied at City Hall and told the Gainesville City Commission to get rid of the limit, an ordinance meant to disperse the homeless population currently concentrated downtown.

“It doesn’t work,” Dennis said. “If they get denied from St. Francis, the homeless are just going to panhandle around downtown until they collect enough money to eat something. You’re not dispersing them anywhere. You’re just starving them.”

The commission passed the ordinance in 1992 but never enforced it until last year, which long-term homeless advocate and social worker Pat Fitzpatrick says coincided with the August 2009 opening of downtown’s Hampton Inn.

“Some of these older men are giving up their place in line so kids and pregnant women can eat,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s just bizarre. When is the city going to put people before profits?”

But City Commissioner Jack Donovan said prioritizing is a balancing act. He said the ordinance is the best compromise among the city’s varying interest groups, and “sometimes that includes the neighborhood businesses.”

The businesses complained of homeless people urinating in their bushes and panhandling around customers. Donovan said much of the damage downtown, however, is done by students but blamed on homeless people.

He said residents and businesses support the ordinance because of people using the homeless as a cover for criminal activity. A 2008 report on Gainesville’s homeless conditions stated 45 percent of respondents said unemployment and job loss caused their homelessness, and the majority of respondents said this was their first homeless episode.

“Unfortunately, what most of us have as an image of homelessness is what we periodically encounter downtown: the chronically homeless,” he said. “As opposed to the temporarily homeless, these people tend to have a lot more problems and can sometimes even be dangerous. But for the most part, homeless people aren’t any more likely to misbehave than the rest of the community.”

Donovan favored lifting the 130-meal limit until the city eventually completes its construction of a one-stop homeless center five miles north of St. Francis, which will feature about 60 beds, showers, telephones, healthcare services and counseling services. The commission, however, rejected the moratorium. Donovan said they’re doing their best, but he’s seen commissioners influenced by the funding they depend upon for re-election.

“Sometimes economic interests and getting campaign funding weigh more heavily than some of us would wish,” Donovan said of other commissioners. “But it’s a matter of balancing and asking yourself, ‘Will I get campaign money from wealthier business owners or not?’ We’re at a temporary stalemate until we see what happens with the one-stop center.”

But the issue isn’t completely dead in the water. Joseph S. Jackson, a UF legal skills professor and long-term homeless advocate, said the Bo Diddley Community Plaza has become even more concentrated with people hoping to beat the 131st rejection, and the best alternative is to grant the St. Francis House longer hours of operation.

“It makes so much more sense to provide meals only during certain hours,” Jackson said. “Then people wouldn’t have to crowd downtown during its opening hours. It would allow for food to be given in an orderly fashion with fewer external impacts on the downtown community.”

On Oct. 21, the commission allowed the St. Francis House to begin petitioning to extend its hours of operation, feeding more people throughout the day but keeping a 130-person capacity.

Jackson said opening more soup kitchens would also ameliorate the crowding, but zoning restrictions “make it impossible for other soup kitchens to be established.” The effect, he said, has been to prevent services from being provided instead of dispersing the homeless population.

Fitzpatrick said despite all the legislation tangled in the issue, it boils down to a simple question: “Are these people going to eat or are they not going to eat?”

Fitzpatrick will host a fast on the steps of City Hall during the three days before Thanksgiving to raise awareness that food sharing is not a handout but a basic human necessity.

Dennis says he prefers calling it a leg up. Of all the homeless people he’s met in the past 40 years, he said most are more than willing to work their way out of poverty if given the chance, and the only thing the city can disperse is the act of one homeless person helping another.

“It multiplies,” he said. “I got mine, so why can’t I help others now? These commissioners think when they look at us that they’re looking at crap, but what they don’t see is that with a little help, a pile of crap turns into a garden.”

To learn about Steve Dennis and his personal struggle with PTSD, watch our documentary video.