Staff Reports
(Editor’s note: We missed reactions from the Republican Party of Duval County and Nick Howland that were made before this edition went to press. Corrections have been made and we regret the oversight.)
The first day of Hanukkah began with an all-too-familiar reminder of antisemitism; one greeted with silence by many of the exact political figures who vocally supported Israel’s war on Hamas just two months ago.
As WJXT reported, a billboard and a shopping mall marquee on the Southside were each defaced Saturday with messages: “f*** Israel” on the former and “Zionists are terrorists” on the latter.
Some have contended that criticizing Israel itself is not antisemitic, but the timing of the hateful vandalism was unmistakable in its antisemitic intent.
Response from local leaders was slow to come, especially given the reality that in recent years — and especially in recent months — antisemitic activities have been on the uptick, long before the escalation in hostilities between Israel and its terrorist provocateurs.
“I strongly condemn the antisemitic graffiti that defaced signs on the first night of Hanukkah. I also condemn all messages of hate that seek to divide and marginalize our people. Jacksonville’s greatest strength is that we are a beautiful mosaic of people from all walks of life. It’s why love, light, and unity must always be our path forward,” asserted Mayor Donna Deegan Saturday.
Late in the day, Rep. John Rutherford offered similar sentiments.
“Let me be clear — there is no justification for antisemitism in any form. This blatant act of hatred on the first night of Hanukkah is abhorrent. I proudly stand with our Jewish community in NE FL, and across the nation in their calls for justice and peace. #StandwithIsrael.”
After this edition went to press, Black noted that the Duval County Republican Party put out a tweet condemning the vandalism, which he suggested represented the sentiments of all parties present. And City Councilman Nick Howland condemned the “disgusting and abhorrent” graffiti also a few days ago.
“There’s no place for antisemitism in our city, our state, our universities, or our country,” Howland posted to X.
U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, state Sen. Clay Yarborough, state Reps. Jessica Baker and Dean Black (the party Chair), Sheriff T.K. Waters and City Council members Ken Amaro and Michael Boylan all were at that rally showing support for that war, meanwhile, but individually did not react to the provocations against local Jews that the war seems to have precipitated.
Local Republicans, some will recall, took their time in finally responding to antisemitic images projected on structures downtown during the Georgia-Florida game last year and the Jaguars’ home playoff game in January, with legislation banning the projection of “light, laser beams … text, graphics, artwork” upon exterior surfaces of buildings unless the ownership consents. However, even then, legislators trumpeted the legislation as “content neutral,” almost as if they didn’t want to offend the extreme fringes of the area’s hard right.
This time around, there will likely be little expectation or hope that those malefactors who set out to spread hate to kick off Hanukkah will suffer any adverse consequences.
Unity at last
Despite those mentioned above, signs of long-delayed progress toward reconciliation in Jacksonville still exist.
One important step was achieved Monday with the announcement of one solitary Martin Luther King Jr. holiday breakfast, a priority of Mayor Deegan during her run for office earlier this year, reversing a trend of two competing breakfast events during the Lenny Curry era.
I ran for mayor on a platform of bringing our beautiful mosaic of a city together. Today is another example of fulfilling that promise as we announce the return to one Martin Luther King, Jr Unity Breakfast moving forward. Also, for the first time ever, the City of Jacksonville… pic.twitter.com/cHdO4JguoV
— Mayor Donna Deegan (@MayorDeegan) December 11, 2023
Deegan said Monday she “ran for Mayor on a platform of bringing our beautiful mosaic of a city together. Today is another example of fulfilling that promise as we announce the return to one Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast moving forward. Also, for the first time, the City of Jacksonville and community partners will engage our citizens in an MLK week of service after the breakfast on Jan. 12.”
She credited the NAACP, the Urban League and, notably, her May opponent, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis, for working to make this happen.
“They worked diligently with Parvez Ahmed, my Chief of Diversity and Inclusion, to make the aspiration of a unity breakfast come true,” Deegan said. “I invite everyone to join us at the breakfast and week of service next month. It will be a time to give back, celebrate, and take the next step toward being a city that works for all of us.”
Abandonment reconsidered
A new bill from Sen. Clay Yarborough seeks to expand parental rights to abandon newborn children.
SB 790 would give new mothers 30 days, rather than the current 7, to forfeit their progeny in case they don’t think they can raise them properly.
In addition to allowing parents to leave their children at hospitals, emergency medical services stations or fire stations, the Jacksonville Republican’s bill contemplates another scenario.
“If the parent of an infant is unable to surrender the infant in accordance with this section, the parent may call 911 to request that an emergency medical services provider meet the surrendering parent at a specified location. The surrendering parent must stay with the infant until the emergency medical services provider arrives to take custody of the infant,” the legislation reads.
If abandoning the baby, the parent forfeits custodial rights.
“After the delivery of an infant in a hospital, a parent of the infant may leave the infant with medical staff or a licensed health care professional at the hospital if the parent notifies such medical staff or licensed health care professional that the parent is voluntarily surrendering the infant and does not intend to return.”
Citizenship cost
Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis is dismayed over a line item in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed budget, reports the Florida Phoenix.
The document contemplates that $557,882 would be used to collect data on the citizenship of patients treated by Medicaid-accepting hospitals and nursing homes.
“When we were going through this, it talked about having minimal to almost no cost. AHCA was saying, ‘Hey, we can do this, we can handle it without any additional dollars,’” Davis said during the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services meeting with AHCA chief Jason Weida. “Now, we’re looking at something with a price tag of $557,000. My question to you is, is that minimal?”
Weida responded that it’s not a significant cost in the grand scheme of the overall budget.
Transparency trope
Nothing brings out a drive for “transparency” in government like the wrong party holding the executive branch.
That’s something Deegan likely agrees with, given her administration is the target of a new bill from Republican Howland, which seeks to make political hay out of a controversial lobbying contract doled out to an ally of the Democratic Mayor — Langton Consulting.
Per a media release: “The Finance Committee investigated the unusual circumstances related to the contract award and found the administration’s questionable determination that Langton Consulting was the only firm in the city, state, or country able to provide grant writing, public policy, and lobbying services to be unconvincing. Various independent news and political correspondents reached the same conclusion.”
Howland says it has become clear to the Finance Committee “that this process reeks of a sweetheart deal for a political supporter. The ‘Transparency for Taxpayers’ Act will help put a stop to these contracts and provide much-needed oversight of the Mayor’s Office.”
If the bill passes, future no-bid contracts would be subject to majority City Council approval. For its part, the Deegan administration is already committed to improving its Request for Proposal process.
Langton took over the federal lobbying contract from Ballard Partners, which employs Curry. All indications are that Curry and his allies are less than thrilled with this Mayor’s Office.
Power struggle
The issues with the embattled Jacksonville Housing Authority continue, with the city’s Inspector General probing JHA’s utility cards.
Per Action News Jax, only 13% of the cards, valued at $2 million, went to utilities.
The workaround contemplated is that JHA will directly pay JEA for utilities rather than use this seemingly inefficient way of giving the money to recipients.
The utility futility is just one piece of the puzzle; meanwhile, as an attorney for JHA CEO Dwayne Alexander asserts, “the Board leadership is asking Mr. Alexander to resign. We believe this is because of apparent outside influence to remove Mr. Alexander from his position.”
WJXT reports that Alexander has no interest in resigning despite concerns from the Mayor’s Office.
“Clearly, my performance rating was a 4.5 out of 5, so according to the Board of Directors, I’m doing an outstanding job,” he said. “We have been exceptionally good when it comes to running this agency, and we have done more things in this agency than they have done in the last 20 years by adding units to our portfolio.”
Deegan, who recently held off on a pay raise for Alexander, is deferring to the independent Board.
“I am waiting to hear from this Board what they plan to do moving forward,” Deegan said. “They have 10 days, I think, to respond to the [inspector general] report. It’s not even public yet, so I’m going to await their judgment. I want to remind you that the Mayor’s Office only became involved in this issue because we heard from Board members who were concerned about a request for a very large pay raise after a recent one that had just happened, and they were concerned that there were issues that needed to be looked at.”
Recycling win
Jacksonville City Council President Ron Salem is touting the positive effects of his initiative to offer constructive criticism of people’s recycling habits.
“The City of Jacksonville has struggled for many years to find workable solutions that include our residents in the process and without raising taxes or fees. The collaboration with the community has proven instrumental in achieving these remarkable results,” the at-large Republican asserted.
The “Feet on the Street” program involved manual checks of particular recycling bins, with feedback for people who might try to recycle things that don’t qualify under Jacksonville’s guidelines.
Field data will be collected through Dec. 22, but as of the most recent notice from Salem, contamination is down 22%.
Jacksonville’s recycling program has gone through ups and downs, including an ill-fated initiative to drop items at public parks during a driver shortage under the Curry administration.
Happy trails
Jacksonville Beach is exploring greater bicycle connectivity, First Coast News reports.
“Jacksonville Beach city leaders are looking at an Urban Trails Master Plan that would create a trail loop around the city with additional trails cutting through the middle. The first phase of trails would go in on 4th, 8th, 9th and 15th Avenues North and Jacksonville Drive,” reports Zach Wilcox.
Community members can give their takes — both pro and con — on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m., at the Jacksonville Beach Parks and Recreation Community Center (2508 South Beach Pkwy.)
Some of the issues include an increase in bikeability versus potential encroachments on private property rights, and with that as the guiding conflict, we expect a robust discussion.
Children’s story
According to The Leapfrog Group, Jacksonville-area children have access to one of the best three hospitals in the state.
Wolfson Children’s Hospital and two other hospitals in the state were recognized in rankings rolled out this week.
No other area hospitals were mentioned in any of the categories.
“The highest-performing hospitals on the Leapfrog Hospital Survey are recognized annually with the prestigious Leapfrog Top Hospital award. Top Hospitals have better systems to prevent medication errors, higher quality maternity care and lower infection rates, among other laudable qualities. Hospitals eligible to receive a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade must have received an “A” in the most recent round of scoring to be eligible,” the group asserts.
Leapfrog strives to “trigger giant leaps forward in the safety, quality and affordability of U.S. health care by using transparency to support informed health care decisions and promote high-value care.”
Sporting JAX
The new professional men’s and women’s soccer teams in Northeast Florida have a name, colors, and crest as part of the club identity presented Tuesday in Jacksonville.
The USL Championship and USL Super League teams will be called Sporting JAX, a shortened form of the official title Sporting Club Jacksonville.
The brand identity was developed through nearly a year’s worth of research and listening to input from fans in the area. Branding expert Erika Bjork spearheaded the effort. The water, sky, and Jacksonville sunrise inspired the team colors of two shades of blue, orange and yellow.
The club also announced its motto: “Lift Every Voice,” taken from the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” written in Jacksonville in 1901 by brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson. A choir of middle school students from the LaVilla School of the Arts sang the song as part of Tuesday’s public unveiling at the WJCT soundstage.
“I’ve been involved in the Jacksonville community going back to my freshman year in college. Eventually, I was drafted in 1998. It’s about influence, impact, inclusivity for me,” said Jacksonville Jaguars legend and Sporting JAX co-owner Fred Taylor. “When they said we were going to lift each and every voice, I’m in. It’s simple for me. I understand what being out in the community does. What bridging the gap is. Certain demographics, you don’t always shine a light on them; this is an opportunity to have a sporting chance.”
Another of the team’s co-owners, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, agreed with the impact the club can have on the community.
“I’ve been able to see firsthand what sports can do for communities, what it can do for people, what it can do for dreams,” Tebow said. “I love that it’s based around the sunrise. Every morning that you see the sunrise, what can’t help but come to your mind is hope. And why wouldn’t we want to give that to our community.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will operate under the same name — a first in American pro soccer — similar to the way men’s and women’s teams in England use the same club name, but Sporting JAX officials acknowledged that some nicknames may organically develop as the clubs begin playing in 2025/2026.
“We’re so proud at the USL to have a crest that represents a club. One club, one community, both men’s and women’s professional soccer,” said USL Super League president Amanda Vandervort. “To see it revealed today, we’re so proud.”
There is still a question about where the team will play. Club President Steve Livingstone said Sporting JAX is getting closer to finalizing the location of a stadium.
“Today’s announcement is all about our name and identity, but we hope to follow up very soon in the new year with some more exciting announcements that will answer those burning questions,” Livingstone said. “We remain committed to working with the city and the surrounding counties to develop a transformative 15,000 capacity soccer-specific, multipurpose, community sports stadium — which would be the first of its kind in Jacksonville and North Florida — that would serve not only men’s but also equally important, women’s sports and our special needs communities.”
Livingstone also said the club continues to work with surrounding counties to build sportsplexes, which could include practice facilities for the men’s and women’s teams and local youth teams.
