Phil Ammann
Readers have likely noticed our deep-dive coverage of the Corrine Brown trial this week.
As the trial moves into its evidentiary phase, it would be easy to forget Wednesday’s opening statements.
That would be ill-advised, as those statements represent the crux of the disagreement between the government and Brown.
The Feds maintain Brown orchestrated the criminal conspiracy; Brown’s defense is she was older, not technically savvy, and essentially exploited by her former chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, unaware that One Door for Education was One Big Scam.
Pretrial publicity revealed that quite a few people thought Brown guilty because of the indictment and the reporting on it. What didn’t help: Brown’s reputation over the years, which was often at odds with establishment media.
Of course, there is a flip side: the reality is Brown has (and had) plenty of cache in her community — and that, for those who have followed Brown over the years, the defense argument — that she could not have pulled this whole thing off — seems somewhat plausible.
Brown didn’t use email. Never texted, allegedly, until the last year. It’s why so much of the case depends on whether one finds Ronnie Simmons or Corrine Brown more plausible.
Did Simmons exploit Brown? Or did Brown call the shots?
If just one juror buys the idea that Brown was not in control of the operation, some — if not all — of the charges may not reach a guilty verdict.
She may have a tougher time with counts related to tax issues and inaccurate financial disclosures.
But there are no guarantees there either.
File this away for a couple of weeks. Either it’s eerily prophetic or completely off-base.
In any event, Florida Politics will cover this, pillar to post.
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Pension reform a done deal
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry got his pension reform package through the Jacksonville City Council Monday.
The bill moves city employees hired after Oct. 1 to defined contribution plans, which feature a 25 percent match for public safety, and a 12 percent match for general employees.
Integral to the pitch: long-delayed pay raises for city employees — police and firefighters will get 20 percent more over a three-year period. General employees will get 14 percent raises in the same timespan.
A measure of the success of Curry’s marketing plan: over 32,000 views on YouTube for the video clip from “Build Something That Lasts,” Curry’s political committee.
That commercial was pushed via digital targeting, coordinated with voter rolls.
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Curry for CFO? T-U drives the narrative
With pension reform now a memory, could Mayor Curry’s next move by Florida CFO?
The Florida Times-Union stoked the fire this week.
The crossroads Curry faces: “appointment as the state’s next chief financial officer, which would vault Curry into a high-ranking position in the state Cabinet. Or Curry could continue as mayor of Jacksonville and use the budget relief from pension reform to focus on the unfinished business of turning the tide on the city’s violent crime problem and getting long-delayed construction projects underway.”
What will happen? Ultimately, it’s Rick Scott’s call. And Scott doesn’t blab to the press.
Those familiar with the thinking of Curry’s political advisers say that job is Curry’s — if he wants it.
The contra-narrative: Curry is entrenched in the community and devoted to his family, which leads to some speculation that he wouldn’t want to make a move.
Time is running out on the Legislative Session. With Jeff Atwater’s exit, it will be time next month for speculation to be borne out — one way or another.
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Al Lawson, John Rutherford slow to fundraise
Jacksonville’s two U.S. Congressmen, Republican Rutherford of Florida’s 4th Congressional District and Democrat Lawson of the 5th, are perhaps lucky they don’t (yet?) face real challenges to re-election, as their fundraising was sluggish compared to some in Q1 2017.
Rutherford raised $45,700 and spent $16,000 for an on hand total of $32,000. Lawson brought in $72,000, reports Drew Wilson of Florida Politics.
Rutherford and Lawson weren’t particularly aggressive fundraisers in the 2016 cycle either. It didn’t matter, as Rutherford had great Name ID and a strong team, and Lawson had the advantage of running against an indicted Congresswoman Brown in a radically changed CD 5.
Lawson’s number is worth watching, as Jacksonville Democrats eye a run for the seat.
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Rutherford moves to expand ‘yellow ribbon’ program
While Lawson still has yet to file a single bill, Rutherford is on the move, as WJXT reports.
Rutherford “introduced legislation to expand the eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon Program to people who have received the Fry Scholarship, a scholarship that allows education benefits to be transferred to the children of service members killed in the line of duty,” WJXT reports.
“The Yellow Ribbon Program allows higher education institutions to cover additional tuition costs for service members utilizing their GI benefits if the cost of attendance is above the cap set by the post-9/11 GI Bill,” the report adds.
The bill, formally entitled the “Julian Woods Yellow Ribbon Program Expansion Act,” honors Woods, who died by enemy fire on a foreign battlefield.
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C is for ‘cryptic’ in CSX
New CSX CEO Hunter Harrison came in months back, shedding workforce and spiking share prices.
What’s his encore? Who the hell knows, reports the Jax Daily Record.
Here’s one analyst’s research note.
“On the topic of cost savings, there seems to be some confusion among the masses about Hunter Harrison’s pontification on what he was seeing as potential targets for improvements versus actual guidance. On the topic of mergers & acquisitions, there also appears to be confusion (rightfully so) on what was and wasn’t inferred.”
After cutting 800 employees, even before he would have had real time to see how they function, Harrison claims he has a “good hand” at CSX.
Convinced? We’re not. And we’re not convinced he’s telling the truth when he says his end game isn’t to fold up CSX into another, bigger company.
The reality is this: Hunter Harrison could be the reason CSX leaves Dirty Duval.
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Karma 1, Ken Adkins 0
Life finally dealt Pastor Ken Adkins a decisive blow, as a jury in Brunswick, Georgia convicted the flamboyant African-American preacher on molestation charges that will ensure he spends his life in prison this week.
Adkins served his uses: he was the self-styled pied piper to the elusive black vote for Jacksonville Republicans, before he went off the rails after the 2015 election, when he went scorched earth against the Human Rights Ordinance expansion.
Adkins was best known for sending out pornographic memes depicting Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri in flagranti delicto in a public restroom with a gentleman.
Now, of course, the truth has come out on Adkins — who groomed a vulnerable teenage couple in Brunswick, setting them up for sexual exploitation.
He will never be a part of Jacksonville politics again, though he should stand as a cautionary tale for those on the right who want to pretend they have an exclusive license on virtue.
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This is 40?!
A year ago, no one in Jacksonville knew Gary Snow — the 40-year-old Chicago transplant who has become infamous for counter-protesting Jacksonville protest events.
Snow, a ubiquitous presence with his Donald Trump flag and bullhorn, has been shrouded in controversy since coming to Jacksonville, as the Florida Times-Union reports.
“Though Snow has lived in Jacksonville less than a year, he has been a frequent presence at local political demonstrations. Using a baby’s cry amplified by megaphone, he goaded protesters at a January rally against the president’s executive order seeking a temporary ban on travel from seven mostly Muslim countries. A YouTube page in his name contains a series of videos that show him disrupting various rallies — from a protest held outside the Jacksonville office of Sen. Marco Rubio to a routine meeting of the Progressive Democrats of America’s Duval County chapter,” writes the T-U’s Garrett Pelican.
Snow, who drove Donald Trump Jr. around Jacksonville’s football stadium on a golf cart during Florida/Georgia weekend last year, also has white power ties, Pelican writes.
“An example is the October 2015 post that boils skin color down to ‘adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure.’ It goes on to say ‘God has predestined people for certain regions” and ‘they should all return to their home where nature had intended for them to thrive,’ following by hashtags including #GoBlacktotheMotherland.”
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Stop! Thief!
More bad publicity for JEA, via THE Local Station.
66-year-old Hugh Popell was charged with theft and falsifying an official document this week.
WJXT reports “that there were several days when Popell’s time sheet and overtime requests differed from his vehicle’s GPS data, badging history and email data.”
As well, “Popell would say he was working when he was instead making personal stops. One example of a personal stop, police said, was when he visited his niece for about an hour and a half while being paid time-and-a-half for holiday pay.”
Turnabout is fair play. That niece will now be able to visit Popell.
In the Duval County Jail.
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Chickens coming home to roost
A couple of years back, Jacksonville passed an ordinance allowing backyard hens after considerable deliberation.
Orange Park is possibly next, if a draft ordinance reported on by the Florida Times-Union becomes law.
The 12-month pilot program, claims Councilman Steve Howard, is rooted in “the concept of local sustainability,” which “has inspired an interest in backyard and community food production to provide local food services.”
The move apparently would be controversial, as it was in Jacksonville initially, and as it ultimately was in Atlantic Beach, which voted 3-2 against a similar ordinance in February.
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JAXPORT ‘Cycles Up’ with new supply chain partner
Cycle Up Supply Chain Services, a South Florida-based logistics company, is expanding to JAXPORT, bringing new transportation and logistics options for shippers. Cycle Up recently signed a five-year lease on an 80,000-square-foot warehousing and distribution facility located near JAXPORT’s North Jacksonville Marine Terminals.
Cycle Up provides warehousing, pick and pack, and transloading services. The facility brings new business, including several of Cycle Up’s existing customers, among them major online as well as brick and mortar retailers
“A convenient geographic location, reduced inland transportation costs and increased backhaul opportunities all make Northeast Florida an ideal location for expansion,” said Cycle Up Managing Partner Tony Albanese. “We are confident our customers will benefit from all the supply chain efficiencies Jacksonville offers.”
According to Cycle The expansion brings a $1 million investment and creates 35 new jobs according to the company. Cycle Up operates three other distribution centers around the nation.
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Armada growing ‘little by little,’ remain unbeaten
The Jacksonville Armada FC is still undefeated and stayed in first place in the NASL after a 1-1 draw against the defending champions, the New York Cosmos Saturday night in Brooklyn. The Cosmos have won three of the last four NASL titles.
Kartik Krishnaiyer reports that Armada’s goal came courtesy of J.C. Banks in the second half and ensured Jacksonville would remain at the top of the table.
For the fourth successive game, the Armada was outstanding defensively. Mechack Jérôme began defensive play in the sixth minute with an intervention just outside the goal when New York’s Walter Restrepo sent a shot his way. The Cosmos took the lead in the 22nd minute when Javi Márquez found his way through the box to take a shot toward the far post — it went into the bottom right corner.
Jacksonville defender Kalen Ryden came close to an equalizing in the 32nd minute. A timely cross from Nicklas Maripuu was connected with by Ryden, who sent a header just short of the net to the right.
Although goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell lost his clean sheet streak at three, he made three saves in the game.
Despite having the majority of the possession and shots in the first half, the Armada FC failed to find the back of the net.
Banks scored the equalizer in the 67th minute from a headed pass by Ryden. He gained possession about 30 yards out to drive the ball toward the Cosmos and fired it just inside the 18-yard box. Banks goal was selected as NASL’s play of the week. Following the goal Armada FC Head Coach Mark Lowery was ejected from the technical area and sent to the stands perhaps for being demonstrative in his celebration?
Cosmos Head Coach and Sporting Director Giovanni Savarese said.
“We are growing little by little. We need time, and I think we are showing now that we are a different team, tonight, we looked more balanced, dynamic and created more chances.”
Nonetheless, the Cosmos are looking up at the surprising Armada FC in the table. Jacksonville’s start has been one of the big surprises of American soccer thus far in 2017.
The Armada FC returns home to face defending NASL runners-up Indy Eleven at Hodges Stadium Saturday.
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Uber to service Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach
Officials with The Players announced the on-demand ridesharing service will have designated pickup and drop-off points at the Sawgrass Marriott hotel during the tournament May 9-14. Drop offs will be at the Sawgrass Marriott Conference Center area, and a shuttle will lake to the Davis Love III entry area at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Uber pickup services will also be at the hotel.
“With the increasing popularity of The Players both in Northeast Florida and nationally, efficiently getting fans into and out of the tournament in a timely and safe manner is one of our key goals,” said The Players executive director Jared Rice.
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Jacksonville Zoo Bowling for Rhinos
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is holding the 27th Annual Bowling for Rhinos event June 16-17. The Zoo’s chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers has raised over $117,000 with BFR since 1990.
The international conservation event is at Beach Bowl, 818 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach. Activities start Friday from 7 — 9 p.m.; registration opens at 6 p.m.; Saturday, from 1 — 3 p.m., registration at noon (more family-friendly) and 7 — 9 p.m., registration begins at 6 p.m. Registration is $25 per person, which includes two games of bowling and shoe rental. Registration for non-bowlers is $10 per person.
BFR includes a silent auction, raffle, and Archie’s Rhino Rye Pale Ale from Bold City Brewery. Limited edition BFR T-shirts will be available. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event go directly to support Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia.
