Jacksonville Bold for 9.18.24: Ethical dilemma

Want to hold the powerful accountable?

Jacksonville will offer an opportunity to do just that, as a spot on the Ethics Commission has opened.

“Completed applications are due on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 12 p.m. and must be submitted via email to [email protected]. Interviews of all applicants will be scheduled during the Nominating Committee meeting on Monday, Sept. 30 starting at 4 p.m.,” the city announces.

The panel “performs numerous functions, including assisting the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight, and consideration of any potential violation of the Jacksonville Ethics Code.”

Ethics Commissions have less to do since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 7041 earlier this year, which clipped their sails statewide. Now, sworn affidavits are necessary for complaints, and only firsthand knowledge can be used in investigations. Under the new law, people wrongfully investigated can also take civil action.

Oh, Canada!

Flights from JIA to Ontario will soon be available for Northeast Florida residents looking to travel north of the border.

An Air Canada route from Toronto to Jacksonville begins in May.

“Air Canada has not flown to Jacksonville since 2019. This new route marks Air Canada’s return to JAX, which will also become the airport’s sole international connection,” reports Travel and Tourism.

The flight to Jacksonville will be on an evening route; the flights to Toronto will be on midday.

Home sales down

According to the latest figures released by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), single-family home prices and sales dropped across the six-county region of the First Coast in August, prompting analysts to conclude that the situation is shifting toward a buyer’s market.

The median sale price for single-family homes in the combined North Florida region fell from $398,940 in July to $383,990 in August, a 3.7% monthly decline. The year-over-year comparison showed a slight increase, though, with a 0.4% increase from the August 2023 sales price of $382,450.

Closed single-family housing sales, though, dropped. In August, 1,777 houses were sold across the First Coast. That’s down from July’s figure of 1,931, an 8% decline. Year-over-year comparisons showed a 9.1% decrease in closed sales, down from the 1,954 single-family homes sold in August 2023.

NEFAR President Rory Dubin said a housing market correction is underway on the First Coast. But he expects developments to energize closed sales soon.

“Although closed and pending sales have decreased and inventory has increased, with the Fed predicted to enact several smaller rate cuts in their next several meetings, the trickle effect on mortgage rates should encourage buyers (and sellers) to be more active in the market,” Dubin said.

Lumb bumped

Meanwhile, a former Chair of the Duval County Republicans has been removed from the party’s executive committee, per current Chair Dean Black, who calls Robin Lumb a “double agent” for the other side.

“Mr. Lumb had several grievances filed against him for violations of RPOF rules, including, but not limited to, breaking his signed RPOF loyalty oath, membership in an organization that opposes the Republican Party, disparaging Republicans and endorsing Democrats,” Black asserted in an email to party members.

Lumb has complained that the Florida Republican Party recently sent him a “gag order” for his Duval County Republican Assembly membership, which is the local iteration of a statewide “grassroots organization of rank-and-file Republican voters that’s been operating independently of the RPOF for many years” and has “been openly critical of the state GOP and its leaders.”

Black says:

“Longtime REC members are very familiar with Mr. Lumb’s tactics: his incessant emails, boorish behavior, constant disruptions and gadfly-like habit of disparaging fellow Republicans in the name of ‘transparency,’ all while helping local Democrats. Once an interim Chair of our REC, Mr. Lumb has turned into a version of Jacksonville’s very own Lincoln Project. His sole purpose is to tear down conservatives and sow division in the Republican Party.”

American Beach signs

The North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) has posted interpretive signs in American Beach in Nassau County. The signs were installed this month on Burney Road at Little NaNa Dune.

The dune was acquired by the NFLT, a conservation organization that purchases land through nonprofit contributions to prevent building development on properties. In 2021, the NFLT purchased about 1.55 acres of land in the dune area, one of Florida’s tallest coastal dune systems.

Three interpretive signs were installed in the Little NaNa Dune system on Amelia Island just north of Duval County. The signs spell out the historic significance of American Beach, a coastal beach access area for African Americans during the era of segregated Florida.

“One (sign) tells the story of American Beach, founded in 1935 to give African Americans access to a beach during segregation,” an NFLT news release said. “A second panel explains the importance of saving this dune system and how it is essential for wildlife survival. The third panel features NFLT and its role in preserving Little NaNa Dune and the donors who helped make it possible.”

New ferryboat

The St. Johns River Ferry Service is getting another vessel to transport motor vehicles across the waterway in North Duval County.

The ferry service has been carrying cars, trucks, and other vehicles across the river as an extension of the coastal State Road A1A for decades, and only in recent years has the service gone down to one boat. But the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced this week that $15.6 million in federal funds had been approved to purchase another vessel.

“The St. Johns River Ferry is an iconic mode of transportation for Northeast Florida, providing important connectivity for the Ft. George Island and Mayport areas,” said JTA CEO Nathaniel P. Ford, “This investment by the U.S. Department of Transportation toward an additional, environmentally sustainable vessel means we can provide more reliable and efficient mobility to our community.”

The new vessel will add to continued service as with only one currently operating, the ferry service often has to shut down due to repairs and maintenance when the single boat is out of commission. The ferry service accounts for about 391,000 people it has carried across the St. Johns River this year.

Sweet St. Augustine

University of Florida (UF) researchers are out to remind Americans that all things chocolate in this country initially emanated through St. Augustine. The UF professors are establishing an exhibit at the so-called Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum in the Nation’s Oldest City featuring chocolate’s rich history in the U.S. that started on Florida’s First Coast.

Chocolate was first imported into St. Augustine in 1641 and spread across North America over the centuries.

UF researchers are getting help from the Forrest E. Mars Jr. History Grant. That’s the family that started Mars candy. The foundation donated $14,000 to help establish the UF project. The exhibit is expected to open in the Winter.

Bagel boom

Meanwhile, a New York staple is headed to St. Johns, per the Jacksonville Business Journal.

H&H Bagels will open in Northeast Florida early next year as part of its larger expansion into the Sunshine State. It will be in the Shoppes of Aberdeen.

“I think quite a few people recognize the hole in the marketplace down there. And there’s tons of New Yorkers that gravitated down there over the years,” a company representative said. “Driving around with the Jacksonville group and real estate brokers, it was like that area is already committed for 5,000 homes and right there, that’s another 5,000 homes … ”

Keep on truckin’

Looking to drive an eighteen-wheeler? There’s a new way to get credentialed.

Jacksonville Today reports that Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Nassau Center has launched its Commercial Driving Program.

This project’s more than $3 million was allocated via the state’s Job Growth Grant Fund.

New truckers who go through the training can “make a lot of really good money right off the bat,” DeSantis told reporters back in 2021 when he announced the investment.

“This will provide people with an ability to have very marketable skills,” he said. “I can tell you, if you go through this program successfully, you are going to get hired in the state of Florida — and be able to be hired elsewhere if that’s what you choose because there is such a strong demand and people are willing to pay good money to serve this.”

Drive time

This week’s Bold has a transportation theme, from filling the trucker gap to helping people get back on the road.

The Duval County Clerk of Courts is taking appointments next month for driver’s license reinstatement for those dealing with local suspensions.

“Is your driver’s license suspended due to unpaid child support, citations or fees in collections? Our Clerk staff is looking forward to getting you back on the road and driving as soon as possible and is scheduling appointments for the weeks of Oct. 7 – Oct. 11 and Oct. 14 – Oct. 18.”

Register now rather than later, as the clerk’s office needs time to determine eligibility.

More Baseball in Jax

The Florida Gators are returning to Jacksonville to play baseball later this Fall.

The City of Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment office announced that Florida and Jacksonville University will play an exhibition baseball game on Friday, Nov. 1 as part of Georgia-Florida weekend.

JU finished the 2024 season 27-31 with one of the wins coming against Florida. The Gators took the second game of the season series. The schools also split a pair of games in 2023.

“We thank the City of Jacksonville and the University of Florida for the opportunity to showcase college baseball and highlight two very talented baseball programs,” JU baseball coach Chris Hayes said. “Our players look forward to competing against a tough opponent in front of a great crowd. This is a tremendous event for Jacksonville University and our student-athletes to be a part of.”

Florida has made routine trips to play games at 121 Financial Ballpark, including a nearly annual game against Florida State.

“The annual October baseball tradition in Jacksonville provides a unique and exciting experience for our players, coaches and fans, and we are thrilled to continue the matchup. We look forward to competing against JU in front of a packed crowd this fall and thank the City of Jacksonville for their commitment to the exhibition and college baseball.”

Tickets for the exhibition game are available for purchase through Ticketmaster for $15.

Fixing Jaguars’ offense

The Jaguars’ offense has struggled to live up to expectations through the first two games of the NFL season.

In the first half of the opener against the Miami Dolphins, the Jaguars scored 17 points, including a touchdown run by Travis Etienne and a Trevor–Lawrence-to-Brian–Thomas Jr. touchdown pass. Since halftime of the opener, the Jaguars have managed just 13 points in six quarters. It has been a struggle.

“Right now, we suck,” Lawrence admitted after Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

It is too early to say the Jaguars can’t turn things around, but with road games coming up against two of the best teams in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans, the offense needs to improve quickly.

Where have the issues stemmed from? There are several areas.

Offensive line

This was an area of concern in the offseason, when the Jaguars made only one significant change, signing free agent center Mitch Morse. The rest of the line remained intact from last year. The Jaguars have averaged 5.4 yards per carry through two games, which is excellent. But a deeper look at the numbers shows that without three Lawrence scrambles, the Jaguars averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Not bad, but not as impressive.

The issue that has most often cropped up is pass blocking. The team has surrendered seven sacks, including one for safety. The offensive line has not protected Lawrence well enough, and he has played like a man who does not trust the protection, escaping the pocket prematurely and speeding up his reads.

Third-down efficiency

The Jaguars converted just two of 10 third-down chances in the season opener in Miami. Last Sunday against the Browns, they converted three of nine. They also failed on a fourth-down attempt against the Dolphins. Five of 20 in those situations is the second-fewest conversions of any team in the NFL. That’s not winning football. It is a small sample size, but this is a troubling trend considering the issues in short-yardage situations last year.

Communication

When any NFL offense is clicking, everybody is operating with one mind — the quarterback, the offensive coordinator, the head coach — everybody is on the same page. That’s not happening right now. Head coach Doug Pederson knows communication must improve if the Jaguars are to pull out of the offensive slump.

“There’s a lot of things that have to go on, and there’s a lot of talking that goes on for each individual play,” Pederson said.” We missed some things in the run game. We missed some things in protection. But all things are very fixable and correctable. But yes, that is definitely something we’ve got to correct.”

Unforced errors

Several times this year, the offense has looked unorganized, taking a delay-of-game penalty or forcing a timeout to avoid one. This goes back to communication. It harkens back to the disastrous season. The Jaguars have also dropped too many balls at key times. No Urban Meyer quarterback in the league has had a higher percentage of his passes dropped this season than Lawrence. One in six of Lawrence’s passes, 16.1%, have been dropped. That is inexcusable.

The Jaguars must improve in these key areas, or many familiar names will seek new employment next season.