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GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr. and his team are excited to present the latest graduates from our Teen Driver Challenge program which was held at the Institute for Public Safety this weekend.

The Florida Sheriffs Association Teen Driver Challenge is a free advanced driving class designed to help Alachua County high school students become safer, more confident drivers. This one-day class is taught by certified law enforcement driving instructors, and involves exposing the teen drivers to many different situations they may encounter while driving on the open roads.

The Teen Driver Challenge is an advanced driving class. Applicants are required to be at least 15 years old and possess a valid, state-issued Learner’s License or Driver License. In addition, applicants should already have basic driving knowledge and abilities, with enough practical driving experience to feel comfortable behind the wheel.

You can learn more about the program by visiting our website at https://acso.us/teen-driver-challenge or calling the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Relations Bureau at (352) 367-4099 between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm. There will be additional classes in January, February and March of 2023. To reserve a seat for an upcoming Teen Driver Challenge class, please e-mail your contact information to: teendriver@acso.us.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ The University of Florida’s Harn Museum of Art is excited to introduce Art After Dark. Thanks to a private grant of $300,000 the museum will remain open to the public until 9 pm every Thursday beginning Jan. 5, 2023. The extended hours offer Harn visitors more time to explore the permanent collection, experience special exhibitions, shop in the store and enjoy food and drinks while listening to music in the museum’s rotunda.

“The Harn is a campus and community destination, and we are pleased to be able to extend our hours every Thursday night thanks to generous private funding,” says Dr. Lee Anne Chesterfield, Director of the Harn Museum of Art. “In addition to offering free admission, the Harn strongly believes that the museum will be accessible to more visitors by staying open later these evenings. Providing more hours outside of the museum’s currently offered Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm schedule will allow our visitors additional opportunities to spend time at their art museum.”

This change also arrives just in time for the Harn’s upcoming exhibition Posing Beauty in African American Culture, allowing visitors more time and opportunities to engage with world class art. Included in these extended hours, the Harn will continue its monthly Museum Nights program, which occurs the second Thursday of every month from 6 – 9 pm. The Camellia Court Café will be open and feature food and drink in a casual setting. The Harn Museum Store, offering art-related merchandise from books and jewelry to notecards and home accessories, will also be open.

Admission to the Harn Museum of Art is free.

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Photo by BREANNA BREAULT PHOTOGRAPHY

Three women were crowned as part of the Miss Gainesville Scholarship Competition's 15th anniversary.  All three will represent the Gainesville area at this summer's upcoming Miss Florida competition in Lakeland, Florida, an affiliate of the Miss America program.

GAINESVILLE, FLA., Jan, 16, 2023 – On Saturday evening, Alexandra de Roos, age 19, was chosen as the new Miss Gainesville. Held at Lincoln Middle School, the Miss Gainesville Scholarship Competition featured 16 candidates from around our state.

Moments after being selected, de Roos shared her excitement about winning the Miss Gainesville title. “I am already looking forward to my year of service in this wonderful city, traveling, meeting new people, and getting the word out about bridging the gap in funding for the fine arts through my non-profit, Peace Love Leotards, Inc.”

As Miss Gainesville, de Roos receives a $1,000 scholarship and the opportunity to compete for the Miss Florida title later this summer in Lakeland, Florida. Currently a student at Columbia University, de Roos is majoring in psychiatry as part of her pre-med studies and one day hopes to work as a sports psychiatrist. During her year as Miss Gainesville, de Roos will travel throughout the area advocating for her social impact initiative.

As a classical ballerina who has was trained at the School of American Ballet in New York City, the issue of funding the fine arts in our schools is an issue of great personal importance. She will talk to various government representatives, business leaders, community groups and citizens-at-large, urging them to get involved in the fight for funding of the fine arts.

“Alexandra de Roos embodies the qualities a role model for all young women and girls should have,” said Rachel Dickhaus, local executive director of the Miss Gainesville Scholarship Competition. “She is talented, ambitious and accomplished. We are excited about working with her this year, especially after her Top 15 finish at last year’s Miss Florida Competition. I have no doubt that she would not only make a fantastic Miss Florida, but a fantastic Miss America.”

Crowned alongside de Roos was Anna Katherine Risalvato, age 19, who was crowned Miss Gainesville’s Outstanding Teen, and Amelia Grace McDonough, age 17, who was crowned as Miss Florida Gator’s Outstanding Teen.

McDonough returns to Gainesville after previously serving as Miss Florida Gator’s Outstanding Teen from 2020-2021. A competitive dancer, McDonough hopes to one day serve her community as a surgeon. She rejoins Gainesville after a successful Top 5 finish in last year’s Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen competition in Lakeland, Florida.

Risalvato joins the Gainesville area titleholders for the first time after being selected as first runner up for Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen over the past two competition cycles. A competitive dancer, Risalvato hopes to work as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall and to earn a doctorate in Kinesiology.

Established in 2008, the Miss Gainesville Scholarship Organization provides opportunities for young women to achieve their personal and professional ambitions. Candidates participate in community service activities and develop leadership skills that help them excel in their chosen career and life goals. A not-for-profit affiliate of the Miss America Organization, the Miss Gainesville Scholarship Organization has made available more than $30,000 in scholarships and in-kind funds to dozens of young women throughout the State of Florida.

Winners of the annual Miss Gainesville Competition are eligible to compete in the Miss Florida Competition, held every June in Lakeland, Florida. The Miss America Organization, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, is the nation’s leading advocate for women’s education and the largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women in the United States, awarding millions of dollars annually.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. ‒ Starting in January, the University of Florida will reinstate road restrictions that reduce vehicular traffic in the academic core of campus.

The restrictions, designed to improve pedestrian safety, will begin Jan. 9 during peak traffic hours between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays when classes are in session. The four entry points to the vehicle-restricted zone will be visibly marked with a sign and flashing red light. 

Prohibited vehicles include: 

• All privately owned motor vehicles, including personal cars, scooters, motorcycles and those with official business passes
• Vehicles with temporary signage, such as pizza delivery vehicles
• Rideshare vehicles, such as Uber, Lyft, etc. 

Authorized vehicles include: 

• Transit vehicles 
• Government vehicles  
• Emergency vehicles 
• Permanently and conspicuously marked commercial vehicles, such as UPS, FedEx etc. 
• Bicycles and micromobility devices (unless otherwise indicated in specific areas) 
• Official university vehicles, including golf carts and other utility vehicles  

These vehicle restrictions will be enforced by the University of Florida Police Department. After an initial educational phase beginning on Jan. 3, officers will move into the warning phase on Jan. 16. Officers will shift to the enforcement phase on Jan. 23. Although law enforcement efforts will primarily focus on education, repeated violations may result in citations to encourage compliance with traffic laws. 

The campus community is encouraged to review the map below, which illustrates the vehicle-restricted zone entry points, along with alternative routes of travel.  

The restricted zone will include: 

• Stadium Road, beginning at the intersection of Fletcher Drive eastbound 
• Newell Drive, beginning at the intersection of Inner Road northbound 
• Union Road, beginning at Criser Hall westbound 
• Buckman Drive, beginning at Buckman Hall southbound 

Additionally, the UF campus closures map can serve as a resource for navigating campus during active vehicle-restricted zone times. The site provides information and time frames for all current campus construction impacts. 

If you have any questions, please contact businessaffairs@ufl.edu. 

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• A 2021 study showed that breast milk of lactating mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 contained a significant supply of antibodies that may help protect nursing infants from the illness.
• A new follow-up study found these antibodies in the stool of infants who consumed the breast milk of vaccinated mothers.
• These findings are another piece of evidence suggesting that the breast milk of those vaccinated against COVID-19 may help protect babies from the illness.

GAINESVILLE, Fla., J an. 12, 2023 ‒ A new study from the University of Florida provides more evidence that the breast milk of people vaccinated against COVID-19 provides protection to infants too young to receive the vaccine.

This latest study follows up on findings published in 2021 showing that the breast milk of vaccinated people contained antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new study, published in the Journal of Perinatology, analyzed the stool of infants that consumed this breast milk and found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies there as well.

“Our first study showed there were SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the breast milk, but we couldn’t say if those antibodies were getting through the babies’ gastrointestinal tract and possibly providing protection there,” said Joseph Larkin III, senior author of the study and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.

Using a technique called a neutralization assay, the researchers showed that the antibodies found in the infants’ stool offered protection against the virus. The assay begins by isolating antibodies from the stool and adding them to a special line of cells that have the kind of receptors the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to enter the cell. The researchers then introduce a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, which acts like the virus that causes COVID-19 but is safer to use in the lab. The pseudovirus is fluorescent, so when it binds to a cell, the cell lights up.

“We saw that when the antibodies were present, there were fewer fluorescent cells compared to our controls where no antibodies were present,” said Lauren Stafford, one of the study’s first authors and a UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences doctoral student in Larkin’s lab.

“The antibodies run interference and don’t let the virus get to the cells,” Larkin added.

While the virus that causes COVID-19 is often thought of as mainly affecting the lungs, it can also invade the gut, which is why finding antibodies there is significant, the researchers said.

“The antibodies ingested through breast milk may provide a protective coating in the infants’ mouths and gastrointestinal tract,” said Dr. Vivian Valcarce Luaces, the study’s other first author and a postdoctoral fellowship trainee in neonatology.

The study also measured and tested antibodies found in the mothers’ blood plasma and breast milk soon after vaccination and then again about six months later. The researchers found that the antibodies in the plasma and milk of vaccinated people were better able to neutralize the virus, though they also observed that antibody levels decreased at the six-month mark, which other vaccine studies have found as well.

Dr. Josef Neu, one of the study’s co-authors and a professor in the UF College of Medicine department of pediatrics, division of neonatology, said the first and second studies together give a more complete picture of how vaccinating against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be protective for parent and child.

“In our research, we’re following the journey of the antibodies, from the time they are produced in mom after vaccination and now through the baby’s digestive system. The next question is whether those babies are less likely to get COVID-19,” Dr. Neu said.

The researchers say larger studies are needed to answer that question, as this latest study included 37 mothers and 25 infants, a relatively small number of participants.

However, this study adds to a growing body of research revealing how vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may protect newborns, the researchers say. Currently children under sixth months of age cannot receive the vaccine, so breast milk may be the only avenue for providing immunity.

The study was funded by grants from the Children’s Miracle Network and The Gerber Foundation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccination for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant or who may become pregnant in the future. According to the CDC, as of late November 2022, just over 70% of pregnant people in the United States had completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, though only 14% had received the bivalent booster.

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