From the Independent Florida Alligator

C.J. Pruner, Alligator Staff Writer

After a year marked by new innovations, budget cuts, hot-button issues and a national standoff between the city and a controversial local church, Gainesville has much to look forward to in the upcoming year, Mayor Craig Lowe said in his address Tuesday.

In his first State of the City address, held at the Hippodrome State Theatre, Lowe praised the community for its character and its resilience in the face of what he described as “tough choices.” 

“The obstacles of the past year were not easy to overcome,” Lowe said. “But we addressed them head on and moved forward because we are committed to making this city great.”

Some of the toughest challenges facing Gainesville residents involve the tightening budget.

Despite slicing $10 million in spending, the city is projected to run into an $8.3 million deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal budgets.

“It’s safe to say that the low-hanging fruit has been harvested,” Lowe said. “We were left with few choices for balancing the budget and none of them were easy.”

Instead of dwelling on these figures, Lowe spent most of his time propping up his vision of a city saving taxpayers money, pointing to the city’s traffic management system and the upgraded traffic light system as examples, while still funding services and programs, such as afterschool and mentoring programs.

He also hinted that the city may re-examine some of the cuts made in the past year.

One of the issues that is non-negotiable, Lowe said, is the preservation of the Gainesville Police Department.

As talks of consolidation between Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office heat up, the mayor told the audience where he stood.

“Any attempt to abolish this integral part of our city is an attack on our home rule. In short, we must save GPD,” Lowe said as he was met with cheers and applause.

In regard to what was arguably Gainesville’s most contentious event of the year, the proposed “International Burn a Koran Day“ on Sept. 11 by the Dove World Outreach Center, Lowe praised residents for coming together to combat what he described as “inflammatory rhetoric.”

“When the eyes of the world were upon us,” Lowe said, “You, the citizens, expressed our city’s true character.”

Lowe also spent a good chunk of his 22-minute address discussing future plans like the development of Innovation Square, a project involving UF, the implementation of a bus rapid transit system in Gainesville and the continued battle to clean up the Superfund site.

While he acknowledged a sense of uncertainty for the upcoming year given the calls from the governor’s office and the state legislature for an adherence to stricter fiscal policy, Lowe remains optimistic for Gainesville’s future.

“We have faced the challenges of the past year head on and moved Gainesville forward through innovative thinking and proven strategies gathered from across the nation,” Lowe said. “But the successes we have engineered, even in light of these difficult times, are not the pinnacle of our city’s potential.”

Kaitlynn Floyd, Alligator Contributing Writer

Although Gainesville was ranked as the fifth-meanest city toward the homeless in the U.S. in 2008, developments on the City of Gainesville/Alachua County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness are taking steps in a positive direction.

The next big step is the construction of the One-Stop Homeless Assistance Center. The center will house 68 homeless people and offer several different services.

Alachua County’s Poverty Reduction Program Director John Skelly helped start the initiative. Skelly said several of the plan’s objectives have had a slow start, but the center is beginning to take action.

“It’s not only adding more beds, which is important … but the transitional house will allow them to stay for six months to a year, and the services will help end their homelessness,” he said.

Construction on the center, which will be built on Northwest 53rd Avenue, is planned to begin this summer and completion is expected summer or fall of 2012. The public will be able to help create this home after construction begins.

Skelly said plans exist to start a website for the center that resembles a registry. People will be able to buy from a list of specific items the center needs.

Christy Finnegan, executive director of Arbor House, said the center is needed very much and will offer several services including food stamps and support. With the downturn of the economy, Finnegan has noticed homelessness is a growing problem.

“Some people used to volunteer at these organizations, and now they are clients,” Finnegan said.

In 2010, Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry counted 1,292 people in Gainesville without adequate housing.

Hannah Winston, Alligator Writer

Regional Transit System is trying to make a bigger impact on the Gainesville community by updating current programs for its passengers.

RTS is continuing its close work with UF by extending its Employee Bus Pass Program to more than 2,200 retired UF faculty and staff who live in the Gainesville area, according to  RTS spokesman Chip Skinner.

The program, which began in 2000, allows businesses and companies with more than 100 staff members to purchase year-round, unlimited passes for employees. The cost per individual with the program is $6.75. Individuals not on the program must pay $35 a month.

RTS is also continuing its environmentally conscious campaign by adding a decorative wrapping on its hybrid Ford Escape to make the public aware of its work. The car, with the image of vines sprawling from the gas cap, is used by RTS for employees to go to various meetings and public outreach events. Skinner said they are looking to buy more hybrids for the future.

“It shows that RTS and Gainesville are trying to help the environment not only locally but globally,” he said

Elliot Evans, Alligator Contributing Writer

The blues are back.

From hearing the electric blues riffs of The Black Keys in commercials to the various projects of 21st century bluesman Jack White, blues music is making its way back into popular culture.

It’s all part of a century-long trend of ebbs and flows in popularity for the genre, according to John Rogers, a Gainesville resident who’s played guitar for more than 40 years.

Rogers, 67, presented part of “The Roots of American Music” program at a Writers’ Alliance of Gainesville meeting to 38 people on Sunday at the Millhopper Branch Library. He developed the presentation as part of North Central Florida Blues Society’s “Blues in the Schools” program.

The presentation gives a brief history of the origins of blues music through storytelling and songs, including some of Rogers’ originals, as well as other blues standards.

He started playing guitar when he was 19 while recovering from a foot injury. He bought a $29 guitar and played the popular folk music of the day.

After graduating from Dartmouth College with an English degree, he moved to Greenwich Village — the famed musicians’ haven — to attend New York University. He was exposed to the music that stirred something in him.

“The blues grabbed me by the lapels, spun me around, slammed me down on the ground and said, ‘This is the music you’re going to play, boy,’” he said during his presentation.

While in New York, he saw famed blues musician Mississippi John Hurt perform at the Gaslight Cafe, which he said was the best way for him to learn the style.

“I did what every love-struck guitarist does,” he said. “I started copying others.”

 Last year, Rogers recorded his second album, “Old and New, Borrowed and Blue.” 

In addition to selling his albums at CDBaby.com, he sells them for $10 at Satchel’s Pizza, 1800 NE 23rd Ave., where he performs monthly. Although he said he has no immediate plans to record any new material, he’s trying to expand his “The Roots of American Music” presentation as he approaches retirement from his corporate job.

He said he’ll perform a lot during April and May when the music festivals go into full swing. As he continues writing and performing his music, he has also started working on a novel, which he said is just another part of his creativity.

“Nobody really understands the creative process,” he said. “As far as I can tell, everyone does it different.”