Melissa Ross, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossApril 27, 2015

Calls from the Jacksonville faith community to impose a 9 p.m. curfew in the city’s high-crime areas are getting pushback from activists on the ground in the Northwest quadrant. “In studies of dozens of U.S. cities, our research shows overall, youth curfews have had ‘no effect’ … in other words they just don’t work!” writes […]

Melissa RossApril 24, 2015

Choosing the classic Avondale café The Fox to illustrate the point, Mayor Alvin Brown joined the restaurant’s owner Ian Chase for a news conference touting his support for an increase in the local minimum wage. Denying the move was an electioneering strategy, Brown told reporters he supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, saying it […]

Melissa RossApril 23, 2015

As a conservative Democrat in GOP-leaning Duval County, Mayor Alvin Brown has always had to triangulate. It’s a skill most Florida political observers think he learned from his years Bill Clinton‘s orbit (arguably the most skilled Democrat in history at swimming upstream in the South). Perpetually walking a knife’s edge on taxes and spending, not to mention […]

Melissa RossApril 22, 2015

Florida Senator Bill Nelson has been pressing lately on the FAA to pay for TSA screenings of all airline and airport employees who have access to secure areas. The flap arose after an incident at the Atlanta airport in December when a baggage handler was nabbed smuggling more than 100 guns onto outbound flights. Nelson, in an […]

Melissa RossApril 22, 2015

Just as President Obama touched down in the Everglades to mark Earth Day (and score some political points around climate change and Rick Scott), a globally recognized thought leader on the emerging green economy had a North Florida announcement of her own. Hazel Henderson of the St. Augustine-based Ethical Markets has released her firm’s 2015 Green […]

Melissa RossApril 21, 2015

Florida U.S. Reps. Patrick E. Murphy and Ted Yoho, in a joint news release, say they’ve joined 62 other members of Congress in sending a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, urging him to grant access to congressional constituent advocates for veterans’ electronic claims files. “Granting this access would allow Congressional offices to give better updates […]

Melissa RossApril 21, 2015

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it’s trying to assist Florida with its ongoing foreclosure woes, announcing $479,394 in grants to support 30 housing counseling organizations across the state. The funding is intended to provide information to help families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures, according […]

Melissa RossApril 21, 2015

One of the most heated Jacksonville City races heading into the May runoff is the testy matchup between former mayor Tommy Hazouri and business owner Geoff Youngblood. The two sparred repeatedly during a Monday night debate, one of four held in libraries across the city and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jacksonville […]

Melissa RossApril 20, 2015

The first liquefied natural gas-powered container ship of its kind will port in Jacksonville. TOTE Inc.’s Isla Bella will enter service in this fall between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to a news release from JAXPORT. “Ports and regions that embrace the LNG opportunities before us stand to gain the most in terms of jobs, […]

Melissa RossApril 16, 2015

Jacksonville is the only Florida city selected by ocean scientists up and down the Eastern Seaboard to raise the alarm about seismic testing. “We’ve tried to pick one coastal city in each state since there is enormous concern about this in coastal communities,” said Michael Jasny, director of Natural Resource Defense Council’s Marine Mammal Protection […]

Melissa Ross

Curfew controversy latest flap in Jax public safety concerns

Alvin Brown calls for minimum wage increase

LGBT issue forces Jax mayoral candidates to walk political tightrope

Email insights: Bill Nelson says Florida airports beat TSA to security solution

On Earth Day, Florida’s Ethical Markets releases 2015 “Green Transition Scoreboard”

Email insights: Patrick Murphy, Ted Yoho urge access to veterans’ claims

State gets HUD housing counseling grants; foreclosure crisis continues, may worsen

Sparks fly at Tommy Hazouri, Geoff Youngblood debate

First LNG-powered ship will call JAXPORT home

Enviro groups blast proposed seismic testing off Atlantic coast