Jax

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 6, 2017

Kerri Stewart, the chief of staff for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, spent much of 2016 under the cloud of an ethics investigation. During a previous stint with the city, Stewart served as chief administrative officer for Mayor John Peyton. While serving in that role, a lobbying group – Infinity Global Solutions, known during the period […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

Emails between senior staff in the Jacksonville mayor’s and sheriff’s offices offer a unique look at how legislation is nurtured through the process. The subject of the emails: the ShotSpotter technology that Jacksonville leaders have touted as a possible corrective to the hail of gunshots in high-crime areas. Ordinance 2016-795 will, among other things, “appropriate $435,001 […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

If Clay County residents see a little more military presence in the Green Cove Springs area later this month, there’s a good reason. The United States Marine Corps’ 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will have a Composite Training Unit Exercise in the Green Cove area from Jan. 20 to 23. This training exercise is a normal pre-deployment […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

KJB Specialties, a Jacksonville company that has Councilwoman Katrina Brown as a managing partner, has been slapped with sales tax warrants recently. One warrant, totaling $5,236, was issued on Sept. 10, 2016. Brown has asserted previously that said warrant was satisfied. The second warrant, totaling $5,219, was issued on January 3, 2017. Brown’s familial business interests […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

Before the television news had its first fragmentary reports of Wednesday night’s gunshots fired at Jacksonville’s ArtWalk, social media was lit with Tweets about the subject. The fascinating thing about the Tweets and Facebook posts, in aggregate: they were first-person accounts of what was going down, in real time, without the framing provided by reporters […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

Hurricane Matthew washed away a 350 foot swath of the Jacksonville Beach pier. And it’s unknown when that will be repaired. With that in mind, a council ordinance to suspend the $5,500 monthly lease of the Dania Pier Management Corporation has been making its way through committees. On Thursday, the measure cleared the Jacksonville City […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

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The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee mulled reports from the council auditor, Kirk Sherman, in its Thursday morning meeting. Discussed: the summary for Fiscal Year 2016, a report which led to a move to boost the city’s emergency reserve to 6 percent. According to the Jacksonville City Council auditor’s report, FY 2016 was a good year for […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 5, 2017

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran may abhor the influence of lobbyists in Tallahassee. But Jacksonville and its independent agencies have them anyway, as do other regional entities in Northeast Florida. The calculus is not complicated for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, who parlayed $150,000 last year into a sustained and successful lobbying effort helmed by the Fiorentino Group and […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 4, 2017

On Wednesday, Jacksonville City Council members and community leaders met in a packed conference room in city hall. The subject: expanding Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance to include members of the city’s LGBT community. The bill is expected to be filed by 3 p.m. January 4, with an eye toward committees and a full council vote […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 4, 2017

While the introduction of another legislative attempt to expand Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance drew the TV cameras Wednesday, another bill designed to remedy discrimination was introduced the same day. Councilman Garrett Dennis filed Ordinance 2017-16, “encouraging the City of Jacksonville and its independent agencies and authorities under the code to provide positive steps to correct or eliminate […]

Jax
Image via AP.

Jacksonville council auditor and ethics director clash over Kerri Stewart investigation

Jacksonville mayor, sheriff’s office prepare for ShotSpotter legislation

Marines slate January training exercise for Clay County

Jacksonville councilwoman’s business slapped with sales tax warrants

Downtown denizens claim Jax ArtWalk shooting was an anomaly

Jacksonville Beach pier management deal likely will be suspended pending repairs

Jacksonville City Council Finance committee moves to boost emergency reserve

The Fiorentino Group helms Northeast Florida lobbying efforts again in 2017

Jacksonville human rights ordinance expansion push begins … again

Jacksonville City Council to mull equal opportunity ordinance