Jax

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

A bill voted down 8-0 last week in the Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee nonetheless got its hearing in front of the full Council this week. However, the result was no different, as the full Council followed the lead of Rules and the Council President and turfed Ordinance 2018-570 by a 3-16 vote. The bill, […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council approved a bill that would change conditions under which part of the local utility could be sold. All committees voted the bill up without a no vote, pushing the bill onto the consent agenda. Charter previously required City Council approval of any transfer of more than 10 percent of […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

Electricity was in the air Tuesday, as the board of Jacksonville municipal utility JEA picked its new CEO. It turned out to be the guy who had been in that role for some time. Some members of the Jacksonville City Council and the media thought it was a done deal well ahead of the meeting, […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 27, 2018

Jacksonville Democrat Yolanda Thornton wants to be Mayor. And she has made her move, opening a campaign account in which there is room to grow. Thus far, she has raised $100. She has never held elected office before. Never been appointed to a city board or commission. And she moved back to town only recently. […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 26, 2018

Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott said he wanted to appoint Duval County Judge Lester Bass to succeed Judge Robert Foster on the 4th Judicial Circuit bench. On Monday, the outgoing Governor and now Senator-elect got his wish. Bass’s appointment to the 4th Circuit came after considerable legal wrangling regarding whether Scott had the right to appoint at all. Jacksonville lawyer David Trotti […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 26, 2018

With a little more than a month to go before qualifying in the Jacksonville mayoral race, there is little drama. Incumbent Lenny Curry has almost $3,000,000 cash on hand for his re-election campaign while he awaits a challenger with any sort of fundraising traction to file (only NPA Connell Crooms, who has about $1,000 on hand, has filed). Curry has […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2018

JAXPORT’s dredging of 11 miles of the St. Johns River scored important financial backing Wednesday, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budgeted $46 million more toward it in its FY 2019 work plan. The $46 million is almost equal to the $50 million secured in the previous two budget years, a potentially good sign for […]

Staff ReportsNovember 21, 2018

Though most narratives render the American Thanksgiving as an extension of the English Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock, there is strong evidence that Florida experienced its own versions of the same holiday. Specifically, Northeast Florida, where explorers landed decades before the Pilgrims reached Massachusetts, as the Jacksonville Historical Society notes. “Fifty-six years before the Pilgrims celebrated their […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 20, 2018

Legislation that would introduce a number of transparency reforms to Jacksonville’s city government went down in the Jacksonville City Council Rules Committee Tuesday, despite bill sponsor Anna Brosche requesting a deferral. Rules, the sole committee of reference, is chaired by Councilman Tommy Hazouri, who asserted that the deferral request was too close to the meeting to be […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 20, 2018

Florida Republicans are as well-positioned as could be imagined after a “blue wave” year, controlling both Senate seats and almost everything that matters in Tallahassee after a series of tight campaigns. Republicans ran up margins in rural and exurban areas, and in part that was necessary because of Republican candidates underperforming in Jacksonville (Duval County), […]

Jax
Milton damage. Image via City of Tampa.

Jacksonville City Council downs transparency bill

Jacksonville City Council imposes further restrictions on JEA sale

Temp to perm: Jax insider Aaron Zahn locks up JEA CEO gig

‘Underdog story’: Yolanda Thornton‘s longshot bid for Jacksonville Mayor

Case closed: Lester Bass appointed (finally) to 4th Circuit court

‘Her window’s closing’: Is Anna Brosche running for Jacksonville Mayor?

‘A major victory for our region’: John Rutherford on new JAXPORT money

First Thanksgiving was on Florida’s First Coast

Clear as mud: Jacksonville City Council committee kills transparency bill

Going rogue: Duval GOP chair shreds Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott for bad campaign messaging