Story by: Malorie Aldrich

The story behind Jacksonville’s newest team is a unique one. The idea of the 95ers came only a few years after the former minor league team, the Giants, left the city. 95ers President Kevin Waters and the rest of the team’s owners came together with the thought of bringing a basketball team back to Jacksonville.

Enter the 95ers; the name comes from the highway that runs through the first coast, I95. The team opened their season in March 2024 at the Swisher gymnasium at Jacksonville University. 

Many of the 95ers players have played basketball their entire lives. “I love the sport. Basketball took me through college and now brings me to the professional leagues. I’d dedicate my life to the sport. And clearly, I’m still going to love it, and I’m hoping to have a long career,” said player Osagi Osifo. 

As a child, Osifo fell in love with basketball. When he got the call to join the 95ers, the decision was as easy as making a free throw.

“I love playing for Jacksonville. I played at this university in this gym. You know its history and honor; it’s a great city. They have a lot to offer; the basketball programs are successful here, and they have a lot of history in basketball. So, it’s just an honor. I love being in Swisher; I love being in Jacksonville,” said Osifo.  

To find more information about the 95ers, you can visit their website, jacksonville-95ers-dot-com.

Story by: Leslie Bowers

The Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol is taking to the beach as nesting season commences on the first coast.  

Jacksonville Beach is home to loggerhead, green, and leatherback sea turtles and their eggs from May 1st to Oct 31st each year. While keeping plastic out of the ocean is a big help, BSTP goes around teaching beachgoers how to help turtles on dry land.  

“One of the things that we try to do to educate the kids is we have lessons down on the beach, and there are groups of people who actually go to the elementary schools, and they hand out these turtle patrol books that educate them on the three types of turtles that nest in our area,” said BSTP volunteer Suzie Miller.  

A valuable lesson at the BSTP is the phrase “clean, dark, and flat.” Trash in the ocean is harmful, but trash left on the beach is equally as bad. Leaving the beach clean after visiting prevents turtles from becoming entangled. Dark addresses lighting, which could be potentially harmful for mother turtles and hatchlings. Lights from phones and buildings cause grown turtles to flee back into the ocean and hatchlings to move away from the ocean. Finally, flat means to fill in all holes left on the beach so that turtles have a flat surface to make their journey to and from the ocean.   

This season will be especially crucial since future dredging efforts will already cause stress to the turtle community in Jacksonville.  

“All parties need to stay in constant communication. We all want these protected animals to have the best chance of continuing the species. In the past, all parties involved have worked well together; I do not expect that to change,” says Kevin Brown, Field Supervisor for BSTP.  

To get further information on how to help, how many nests are currently on the beach, and upcoming BSTP events, please visit bstp.net. 

Story by: Daria Mironova

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to different forms of expression and speech. One of those rights is the freedom to peacefully assemble and express one’s ideas or disagreements, gather, raise awareness, and fight for change. Not all countries have these rights. In modern Russia, even a vigil in memory of the Kremlin’s opposition politician or social media tag #NOWAR will lead to prosecution. 

Local Team Navalny supporters, a global pro-democracy social movement organized by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony in February 2024, hold occasional meetings in Jacksonville, FL. The group raises awareness about international conflict and its potential consequences on United States security, expresses their pain, and supports political prisoners. Only here, in the United States, do they have a voice. 

George, who asked for anonymity for safety reasons, firmly believes that Russians should unite and continue to wait for their chance. “We would like to change a lot and to see our country free,” George said. “The current goals are to release political prisoners and stop the war in Ukraine.”

Just recently, Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-born American, was arrested in her hometown of Yekaterinburg for making a small donation to an American-Ukrainian fund while visiting her family in Russia. Any form of support for Ukraine, money, social media posts, or a picture of the Ukrainian flag, is considered an activity directed against Russia’s security.  

According to OVD-Info, 19,645 people were detained at anti-war protests after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine across Russia. In the first four months of 2024, over 945 criminal cases were opened against antiwar dissidents. The Kremlin’s crackdown on expression is focused on the LGBTQ+ community, its supporters, human rights activists, journalists, opposition leaders, Putin’s critics, and ordinary Russians who disagree with the regime.  

However, the distance of 5,502 miles between Jacksonville and the Kremlin can’t separate Russians from reality: no fundamental freedom rights, regressions and arrests, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, forceful patriotic events and school classes for children, and assassinations of opposition. But the hope is here. As Navalny once said, “Don’t give up!”