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UNF's #1 Student-Run News Source

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Local News

A screenshot of the EPA's Fire and Smoke air quality map as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Canada wildfire smoke stretches low across U.S., far as North Florida

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Jul 19, 2023

Raging wildfires in Canada have sent smoke rolling across the U.S., negatively impacting air quality in cities as far south as North Florida.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s Fire and Smoke...

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The Chabad of Southside's new "Model Family Terrace by the Lake" will be dedicated on Sunday, June 4. (Courtesy of the Chabad of Southside)

Chabad of Southside to unveil new outdoor event space amid rise in antisemitism across Florida

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Jun 2, 2023

The Chabad of Southside — an organization providing religious, educational and social services to the Jewish community in Jacksonville — will unveil a new outdoor space on Sunday.  Its new “Model...

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The header of President Moez Limayem’s letter to David Szymanski on Feb. 28, 2023, notifying him of his reassignment from MedNexus CEO to a tenured faculty member. Graphic created by Spinnaker.

UNF reassigns MedNexus CEO; gives him year of paid leave to find new job, documents reveal

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief May 15, 2023

A few months away from his two-year anniversary of becoming MedNexus's CEO, documents acquired by Spinnaker reveal that Dr. David Szymanski's last day in that role was April 30.  The former CEO is...

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference to sign several bills related to public education and increases in teacher pay, in Miami, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

DeSantis signs bills imposing new guidelines for teachers’ unions, bans social media in classrooms

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief May 10, 2023

New requirements are on the horizon for teachers’ unions and Florida schools after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of five bills on Tuesday.  One of the bills (SB 256) introduces new guidelines...

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DeSantis

Florida legislature passes two bills targeting diversity, pronoun use in state education, leaving UNF’s diversity efforts in limbo

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief May 3, 2023
The Florida legislature passed two bills to ban diversity programs in higher education and restrict the use of preferred pronouns in schools Wednesday afternoon. 
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Limayem smiles on the podium during his speech.

“Thank you”: Limayem officially inaugurated as UNF’s seventh president

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Apr 14, 2023

Hundreds filled the Lazzara Performance Hall Friday morning for Moez Limayem’s official inauguration as the University of North Florida’s seventh president. Guests ranged from students, faculty and...

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Protesters stood in the rain, continuing chants and speeches regardless of the weather.

Student activists call for change in Florida capitol ‘rain or shine’

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Mar 28, 2023

Rain poured down in slanted sheets, and thunder clapped overhead as protesters stood on the very edge of the Florida A&M University’s Amphitheatre green Tuesday afternoon, their chants echoing off...

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Duval County Public Schools logo.

Duval County told to discontinue youth behavior survey, loses $500,000 from CDC grant

Mallory Pace, News Editor Mar 3, 2023

Duval County Public Schools have canceled their decade-old Youth Risk Behavior Survey at the urging of the Florida Department of Education and will lose their half-a-million dollar federal grant that helps...

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Ordinance 2022-0574, the name of the newly passed panhandling bill in Jacksonville, written on a piece of cardboard.

No stopping, sitting or standing: New restrictions force the homeless from public spaces, critics say

Aubrey Lowery, Multimedia Journalist Mar 1, 2023

In the past few months, new restrictions on what can and can’t be done in public have made living on the streets as a homeless person a potentially criminal offense. Jacksonville passed the Panhandling...

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Donna Deegan in a red shirt

Deegan leads race for Jacksonville mayor and crime is at the forefront of voters’ minds, new UNF poll shows

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Feb 28, 2023

Democrat Donna Deegan leads her opponents by 18% in the crowded race for Jacksonville’s next mayor, according to a new poll released by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab...

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Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry (back right), UF President Ben Sasse (close right), UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini (close left) and another official. (Photo courtesy of the City of Jacksonville)

UF, Jacksonville propose new graduate campus focused on health administration and AI

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief Feb 7, 2023

The City of Jacksonville and the University of Florida announced a new partnership on Tuesday that would bring a new graduate facility specializing in medicine, business and engineering to the city.  Courses...

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Ben Frazier, president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, center, participates in a public rally by his coalition in front of city hall before a Jacksonville City Council meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 18, 2023. A protracted legal fight over how city council districts were drawn in Jacksonville, Florida, reflects an aspect of redistricting that often remains in the shadows. Political map-drawing for congressional and state legislative seats captures wide attention after new census numbers are released every 10 years. No less fierce are the battles over the way voting lines are drawn in local governments, for city councils, county commissions and even school boards. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

AP: Florida city highlights conflicts over local gerrymandering

AYANNA ALEXANDER, Associated Press Feb 3, 2023

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Not far from the postcard images of Jacksonville -- the white sand beaches, the riverfront fountain, the upscale shopping district — is another side of the city. Here, neighborhood...

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