Peter Schorsch
First in Jax Bold – Poll shows competitive race in CD 5 – Corrine Brown 42%, Al Lawson 37% – A new survey conducted by FloridaPolitics.com for Jacksonville Bold readers reveals just how competitive is the Democratic primary in Florida’s 5th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Brown, essentially the incumbent in the seat, is at 42 percent, while former state Senator Al Lawson is at 37 percent. Twenty-one percent of those surveyed remain undecided. Here’s a link to the findings from this exclusive poll.
“Brown-Lawson race will be decided in Washington D.C.” via John Burr – As one local commentator characterized it last week, U.S. Rep. Brown’s string of 11 straight victories against “bum-of-the-month-club” opponents is about to end. This time, she’s up against a polished adversary in former State Senator Al Lawson from Tallahassee in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 5th Congressional District. But that’s not Brown’s toughest opponent.
Brown faces a House Ethics panel investigation and a probe by the U.S. Department of Justice over her fundraising involvement in an obscure Virginia-based charity whose executive director will sentenced in June on charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud, according to news reports.
Brown has said she is “clean,” and called the investigation part of an organized effort by unspecified enemies to destroy her. Time will tell, and the timing is everything.
Here’s the race in a nutshell: If Justice Department prosecutors move against Brown, she will lose to Lawson. If not, she will probably win her 12th term in the U.S. House.
Four reasons: Brown’s African-American constituents in Jacksonville are loyal to the extreme; she will raise more money than Lawson; the Jacksonville power structure appreciates Brown’s track record of winning appropriations for Northeast Florida and don’t want the District to be controlled by a politician from Tallahassee; and finally, Lawson is not the political juggernaut that supporters paint him to be.
Lawson has lost two consecutive bids for Congress after being term-limited out of the Florida Senate in 2010. He’s a solid guy with a distinguished record in the Florida Legislature, and certainly not a member of the bum-of-the-month club.
But to continue with the Joe Louis metaphor, Corrine Brown cast as the Brown Bomber looks like a winner on points if she can avoid further legal fisticuffs.
“Hans Tanzler III exploring CD 4 GOP run” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics – Tanzler, son of the first post-Consolidation mayor, former CEO of the St. Johns River Water Management District, and former CFO of the Haskell Company, is ‘actively considering’ a run in Congressional District 4 … As a third-generation Jacksonville resident with a legacy on both his mother’s and father’s sides, Tanzler sees himself as a ‘businessman and tax lawyer’ who wants ‘to be able to make a difference in D.C.’ Can Tanzler get the money he needs? The ground game? If he can get the resources to ‘lay out the facts,’ he’s in. He will decide this week.
“JAX Beach leaders back one of their own for HD 11” via a press release – Tom Taylor, who served eight years as a Jacksonville Beach City Councilman, rolled out endorsements from the current Jacksonville Beach leadership: Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham, Jacksonville Beach Council members Christine Hoffman, Keith Doherty, Phil Vogelsang and Lee Buck. Also endorsing Taylor is Jacksonville Beach Council member and former Chief of Police Bruce Thomason.
On the campaign trail…
The #BeanTeam rocked the Opening of the Beaches Parade! Thx to everyone who came out! pic.twitter.com/LasUqpPho6
— Aaron Bean (@AaronPBean) April 24, 2016
Thanks to the NE Fla Beaches for allowing me to walk in their parade! #Jaxbeach #NeptuneBeach #AtlanticBeach pic.twitter.com/W4tSif3YG5
— Lake Ray III (@lakeray3) April 24, 2016
#TeamShirk was out in full force today at the Opening of the Beaches parade w/ thousands of our closest friends! ??? pic.twitter.com/sgsrgx8GT9
— Matt Shirk (@mattshirk4) April 24, 2016
Happening Thursday: State Rep. Dwayne Taylor, a Daytona Beach Democrat running this year in Congressional District 6 will be part of a meet-and-greet event with St. Johns County Democrats beginning 5:30 p.m. at the St. Johns County Democratic headquarters, 71 South Dixie Highway, Suite 6, in St. Augustine.
“Angela Corey trumpets key endorsement from Clay County Sheriff” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics – Corey trumpeted another in a series of key endorsements, this from Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler … “Angela Corey is the ultimate crime-fighting partner for Clay County, and I am proud to support her for four more years as State Attorney,” Beseler said. “Angela and I have worked together for three decades, particularly in her eight years as State Attorney while I’ve been Sheriff. She is dedicated to keeping our community safe and will do absolutely anything she can –including taking difficult cases to trial – to get justice for victims’ families.”
Here comes the judge? – Florida Times-Union reporter Larry Hannan notes that state Rep. Charles McBurney is one of the finalists for 4th Judicial Circuit judgeship. McBurney, chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Florida House, would follow the example of his predecessor, Chief Judge Mark Mahon. McBurney replaced Mahon in the Florida House.
“Lenny Curry back on the campaign trail with ‘Yes for Jacksonville’ pension sales tax extension referendum” via Max Marbut of JaxDailyRecord.com – Speaking to The Jacksonville Bar Association, Curry described the referendum to be placed, pending City Council approval, on the Aug. 30 ballot as “the most important vote this city has faced in a long time.” He said the association was the first group he’s spoken to about the vote since the tax extension was approved by the Legislature and a bill was introduced to council to put the question on the ballot … Voters should expect a campaign for the pension proposal similar to that which occurs before a general election with a team of Democrats, Republicans and Independents making a “get out the vote” effort.
Pension tax like consolidation decision via the Florida Times-Union – The bottom line is that funds will be freed for other pressing city needs like hiring more police and firefighters, paying for sewer construction or building roads. Most importantly, the city needs to start putting new employees on a more affordable pension plan. As the saying goes, when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. The pension task force led by Bill Scheu reported that dealing with the city’s pension crisis “is the single most important issue facing the city today.” This is as great a decision as consolidation was in the late 1960s. Jacksonville needs the Curry plan.
“Curry did the right thing by reining in John Keane’s pension” via the Florida Times-Union editorial board – Congratulations to Curry for forcefully seeing that Keane is paid a fair pension from his service directing the Police and Fire Pension Fund. General Counsel Jason Gabriel strongly underscored his office’s previous opinion that the special pension carved out for Keane and two others was illegal — and that Keane deserved the same benefits as other members of the city’s General Employees Pension Fund. The size of Keane’s pension still is extraordinary, which has more to do with the generous salary the previous board gave him. The difference in pension payments was a 20 percent decrease from $234,000 to $187,000 a year. And here’s the bottom line: This has more to do with the previous members of the pension board than it does Keane.
Where’s Lenny Curry this week? “Local Nonprofits to Receive $55,000 for Service to Veterans” – City of Jacksonville officials and representatives of the Jacksonville Jaguars will announce the nonprofits slated to receive the 2016 Jacksonville Veterans Resource and Reintegration Center community grants … $55,000 to veteran serving organizations throughout the community. In its third year of a five-year $1 million commitment from the Jaguars, the funds allow the City to support veterans and military families. The announcement will be held during a news conference in the City Hall atrium at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. “Mayor to honor employees and organizations for service” – Curry will host a proclamation presentation ceremony highlighting a few of these organizations who have recently received proclamations recognizing their efforts. The event will also include a pinning ceremony honoring City of Jacksonville employees with a pin for milestone years of service. The ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Lynwood Roberts Room at City Hall.
“Department of Justice investigating city’s decision to block Springfield apartment complex for homeless” via Christopher Hong of the Florida Times-Union – The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the city of Jacksonville committed housing discrimination by blocking a proposed apartment complex for homeless people in Springfield, adding another wrinkle to the controversial issue that’s already wrapped City Hall in two lawsuits. The investigation focuses on the city’s special zoning policies for Springfield that it’s using to prevent a local nonprofit from opening a 12-unit apartment complex at 139 Cottage Ave. near Main Street. The nonprofit, Ability Housing, promoted the project as a way to house the city’s chronically homeless and disabled population and provide them access to mental health treatment, job training and case management services. The city’s planning department found in 2014 that Ability Housing’s plans to provide its residents with rehabilitative services was “a cut above” normal housing arrangements and similar to those found in group homes and other similar “special uses” that Springfield’s zoning policies don’t allow. Since then, it has refused to issue Ability Housing the paperwork necessary for it to move forward with the project.
“Jax Uber drivers protest working conditions, ask City Council for help” via Melissa Ross of Florida Politics – Some North Florida Uber drivers continue to grouse about their working conditions taking fares around the biggest city in America (measured by land mass) and are appealing to the Jacksonville City Council for relief. As Twitter’s @jaxuberlady has explained in a very pointed email to city officials (she won’t give her name, for fear of retaliation, she says): “Councilman Joost told us, go and register, get inspected, get your medallion. Purchase the costly commercial insurance and get legal. We did. Councilman Crescimbeni called us out, compared us to taxis, and then gave us the same marching orders. The Black Car Drivers have done what you asked us to do … Now that many of us have invested tens of thousands of dollars, the City Council has failed to protect us. Failed to discern between the ‘gypsy’ cab drivers (UberX & Lyft) that are driving around Jacksonville in their own private non-inspected vehicles, without proper business registration papers, without proper insurance, and without regard to the laws that were specifically put on the books in Jacksonville in 2013 to accommodate this new disruptive technology.”
“Suspended officer: Instagram posts ‘taken out of context’” via The Associated Press – A Jacksonville Sheriff’s lieutenant who was suspended over online posts that were deemed racist has told internal affairs investigators they were taken out of context. Lt. Trudy Callahanwas suspended for 10 days. She is appealing the decision, and says her posts were “twisted and turned to fit people’s agendas.” The investigation began in January after complaints that postings on her then-publicly accessible Instagram account were insulting and potentially racist. One of the posts included an image of a black man lying in a broken chain-link fence, which was declared a “hood hammock” that was a good spot to “chilax.”
“How FDOT is preparing for Northside traffic — especially ahead of what could be Amazon” via Jensen Werley of Jacksonville Business Journal – The proposed fulfillment center near Jacksonville International Airport — most likely Amazon — will probably drive consumption as Jacksonville residents get access to faster shipping. But it will also drive traffic, with 1,500 new jobs and the cars and people that come with them, all hitting the area at I-295 and Duval Road … the Florida Department of Transportation had anticipated increased commercial activity on Jacksonville’s northside and has planned accordingly … FDOT is working on a Jacksonville International Airport north access road, which will stretch from Airport Road to Pecan Park Road. That $14 million project will help access in and out of the airport … But one of the biggest projects FDOT has planned is a new flyover at the I-95 and I-295 North interchange. Redoing that interchange will be a $170 million project that will begin later this year and be under construction for the next several years.
“Bill Nelson to Navy: ‘Bring new drone program to Florida’” via Ryan Benk of WJCT – Jacksonville is one of three sites currently in the running. Two of the three sites being considered for the new squadron of unmanned aerial surveillance drones are in Florida — Naval Air Station Key West and Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville. NASA Flight Facility in Virginia is also being considered. Nelson, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus saying the Sunshine State is best positioned for the program. The new drones called MQ-4C Tritons and they can survey 2.7 million square miles in a single mission, providing the Navy with real-time intelligence. The base that’s ultimately chosen will receive eight drones and 400 additional sailors connected to the drone program.
“Free dental care event brings out thousands in Jax” via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – Nearly 3,000 needy people received $2.7 million worth of free dental care this weekend in Jacksonville. The event, Florida Mission of Mercy 2016, was sponsored by the Florida Dental Association Foundation. It was held at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center. This year’s event drew 2,400 volunteers … including almost 600 dentists and nearly 300 dental hygienists. Dentist and state Rep. Fred Costello … treated patients. And state Sen. Aaron Bean and state Rep. Mia Jones were “patient ambassadors.” The event came less than two weeks after Rick Scott vetoed a state-funded dental care program for the poor. Scott said he could not “support a program that does not place appropriate safeguards on taxpayer investments.”
“Rick Scott, Cabinet to consider St. Johns Land Buy” via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – More than 5,000 acres in St. Johns County could soon be set aside for conservation. Scott and the Florida Cabinet Tuesday will consider spending nearly $6 million toward the wooded land. State officials want to add the tract to the St. Johns River Blueway Florida Forever project. The state isn’t buying the property outright, but getting a “conservation easement.”
Reappointed: Helga Van Eckert, James “Jimmy” Johns and John Drew to the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council.
“Clay County community health improvement plan targets residents’ needs” via Teresa Stepzinski of the Florida Times-Union – The 2016 Community Health Improvement Plan for Clay County details proposed strategies intended to improve access to quality medical care and mental health services in the county as well as promote healthy behavior while also reducing or preventing obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, suicide and chronic disease. Officials with the Florida Department of Health Clay County and seven-county regional Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida unveiled the plan April 19 to a gathering of about 45 people including residents, stakeholders and community leaders at Orange Park Town Hall. Priority health issues are mental health, access to health care and healthy behavior and prevention of disease, according to the 30-page plan that evolved from last year’s in-depth Clay County Community Health Assessment. The plan addresses needs identified in the assessment, which also was done with input from stakeholders such as residents, health care professionals, social service agencies nonprofits, elected officials and community leaders.
“Fast settlement triggers county policy review” via Jessica Waters of the Nassau County Record – A 3-year-old sexual harassment complaint against Tax Collector John Drew and a settlement agreement with the woman who made it has prompted County Attorney Mike Mullin to review current policies and procedures. On April 14, 2013, Teri Murray – a customer service representative working in the Nassau County Tax Collector’s office since June 2012 – tendered her resignation. During an exit interview with two office supervisors, Murray reported she had been subjected to repeat acts of verbal sexual harassment. According to case documents from the resulting investigation, Murray told department manager Tracy Bazar and then-Finance Director Michael Love, who also handled human resources, that she was resigning because of the harassment, but at first refused to identify who harassed her. At a follow-up meeting, she alleged Drew made the comments. No record of Drew being formally interviewed by investigators for his side of the story was included in county records or the insurance claim case file. Per the stipulations of a 2013 settlement agreement, the tax collector’s office paid Murray $20,000 and covered $1,652 in attorney’s fees for a mediation session. The settlement bears no evidence of approval or personal input from Drew, the county attorney or county commissioners. The county’s liability insurance company approved it. According to Mullin, his goal now is to ensure a thorough investigation of allegations before entering into a settlement agreement for any similar cases. Although he was not the county attorney at the time of the mediation and settlement, he has looked into the matter, and said there are several procedural policies and actions he will be discussing with FMIT [Florida Municipal Insurance Trust.]
“Retired general’s new mission is restoring trust in Wounded Warrior” via David Bauerlein of the Florida Times-Union – Retired Maj. Gen. Charles Fletcher’s military career brought him to Jacksonville to help manage a global network for moving military equipment to hot spots and bases. He’s back now on a new mission with a military angle, but his task is harder to quantify. The Wounded Warrior Project’s board picked Fletcher to step in as interim chief operating officer so he would — in the words of the board chairman — “restore trust” in the Jacksonville-based charity after scathing news reports highlighted criticism of how it spends its donors’ money. Fletcher, 66, said he didn’t expect the assignment, but he quickly accepted. He started work April 11 at the organization’s Jacksonville headquarters, which had been void of top executives since the Wounded Warrior board ousted CEO Steve Nardizzi and former COO Al Giordano March 10. Donors’ trust in an organization is closely tied to its ability to raise money. On that score, Wounded Warrior’s annual revenue shot up from $18.6 million in fiscal 2007 to $342 million in 2014, the most recent year for which financial reports are available.
“Making the grade: Find out how your hospital scores on patient safety” via First Coast News – A new report card on hospital safety gives good grades to most Jacksonville area medical centers, but one received a “D” grade. UF Health Jacksonville received the worst score of the 12 hospitals listed in a search of the “Jacksonville area” from hospitalsafetyscore.org. Their “D” grade is the lowest score the hospital received in the past three years. UF Health received a “C” grade twice in 2015 and “B” grades in 2013 and 2014. The report is done twice a year by The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit group that advocates for public access to quality and safety data from U.S. hospitals. Five local hospitals, St. Vincent’s Southside, Baptist Beaches, Baptist Nassau, Mayo Clinic and SE Georgia Health-Camden, all scored “A” grades. Three others, Memorial, Orange Park and St. Vincent’s Riverside, received “B” grades. Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine also received a “B” grade. The report looks at errors, injuries, accidents, infections and hospital-reported safety practices in several areas.
“Sears closing and the death of Regency Square Mall” via John Burr – A few says ago, the failing retailer Sears announced that it would shut down its failing store at the failing Regency Square Mall. This is one of those bellwether moments that are at once completely predictable because they happen in slow motion over years, but still shocking, as they clearly illuminate great changes rocking our world.
Sears and Regency Square Mall. Thirty years ago, the mid1980s, both were at the tops of their game. Sears was where America shopped, Regency Square was where Jacksonville shopped.
For sure, the mall has been on life support for years, but not dead, not as long as that hulking Sears stood open at the west end of the mall. Now the mall is dead.
Commercial real estate people quoted in the paper talk of putting a church in the space, or maybe a school or community college. But retail? – forget it.
The history of Jacksonville malls is a story of cannibalization … Regency killed the Gateway Mall, and Downtown shopping, The Avenues Mall killed Regency, the St. Johns Town Center is starving off The Avenues.
But this analysis only goes so far. In the past 15 years a new disruption has exploded in popularity, that being online retail in general, and Amazon specifically.
Remember when Wal-Mart was thought to be the big gorilla that would destroy all the other retailers. How quaint. The cracks in Wal-Mart are now showing, just as they appeared in Sears and K-Mart decades ago.
History is all about rises and falls, it just seems that everything has accelerated since the Internet came to life. Buckle up, the fun has just begun.
“Jacksonville Jaguars sign sponsorship deal with Harbinger Sign” via Drew Dixon of the Florida Times-Union – Harbinger, based in Jacksonville, will be the official sign provider for the team during the upcoming football season. Harbinger has had experience with the Jaguars before as the company produced the stadium signs for the team in 1995, the inaugural year of competition for the Jacksonville franchise. Additional work for the franchise by Harbinger included signage for the Bud Zone in the south end zone of what is now EverBank field among other projects.
“Jacksonville Suns make a play for more fans” via WJCT – The Jacksonville Suns’ new owner has invested a million dollars to create a better fan experience. That’s on top of $25 million to acquire the minor league team last year … as it is at all minor league parks, attendance continues to be a challenge for the Suns during the Monday through Thursday stretch … To attract fans all week long, [Ken] Babby lowered the general admission price to just $5. “We’re in the business of affordable family fun $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, dollar beers on Thursdays. And the Jacksonville Suns will be the epicenter of affordable family fun in Northeast Florida, and that’s what we’re setting out to build,” he says. “We’re in the business of affordable family fun $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, dollar beers on Thursdays. And the Jacksonville Suns will be the epicenter of affordable family fun in Northeast Florida, and that’s what we’re setting out to build,” he says. Babby is also working on getting to know his customers personally … stadium improvements, like a Tiki bar and an expanded menu of food and drink offerings.
“Armada blow opportunity to secure all three points in Fort Lauderdale” via Kartik Krishnaiyer – The Jacksonville Armada FC faced off Saturday night with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in an intra-Florida duel. The Armada FC had lost to Fort Lauderdale in all three previous meetings and came into the match having still not won an away game in club history. But the opportunity to do so against a struggling Strikers team presented itself Saturday. The Strikers, despite being at home, started the match poorly and Jacksonville struck first with a goal from Matt Bahner in minute 16. But after the opening goal Jacksonville’s midfield at times in the first half look disjointed … and Jacksonville despite being far superior only had a 1-0 lead at halftime. Fort Lauderdale’s lethargic display created an angst among the Strikers fans … Jacksonville Manager Tony Meola, who played for a previous Strikers incarnation in the early 1900s while a member of US Men’s National Team, reflected on the night: “No doubt it was a physical game. We aren’t really a physical team we like to move the ball so it is not really our intent to be in that type of game but we just got caught up in it.” On where Fort Lauderdale being a down a man tried to run the game down: “I sensed a lot of frustration in our guys because the ball wasn’t in play a whole lot the last 15 minutes” … the Strikers were better after dropping down to 10 men. “They were better when they were down a man they had six or seven flowing attacks after that. But in the first 65 or 70 minutes we did better holding the ball and as we moved the ball it was the final pass that did not connect.” The Armada missed a golden opportunity up a man for 35 minutes Saturday night to beat an in-state rival and record a first ever away win. From that perspective this was more two points dropped than a point gained.
