Jax

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 4, 2016

The holiday break is officially over at Jacksonville’s City Council. The Monday Finance Committee meeting: highlighted by Jax Mayor Lenny Curry introducing his pension unfunded liability payoff plan, ahead of the Legislative Session in Tallahassee this month. Curry discussed his “proposed solution for funding unfunded pension liabilities,” one he said does not involve a new tax, […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

In a memo, Jacksonville City Council’s Special Committee on Public Service Grants’ final recommendations were rendered. The Tuesday memo, from Committee Chairwoman Anna Brosche to Council President Greg Anderson, codifies recommendations arrived at through a series of meetings this fall. The recommendations are intended to address major problems with the public service grants project, including issues […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

Jacksonville Inspector General Thomas Cline has been pilloried by members of Jacksonville’s City Council for amorphous reportage of results in recent months. His year-end report seeks to change that impression. Cline offers “investigation highlights,” which include two reports of his division recommending 11 corrective actions. Specifically noted: the office’s efforts in the Access to Capital program. “The […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 31, 2015

In November, FloridaPolitics.com reported on the people behind Illuminate Jax seeking buy in from the Lenny Curry administration to move forth with plans to light up the Jacksonville skyline. In January, they will get the meeting they sought in November. Margie Seaman of Illuminate Jax will get a long-awaited meeting with city officials in January, including […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In Jacksonville politics in 2015, the game changed … perhaps for good. Big money went into campaigns: over $10 million, including soft money, in the mayoral race. Close to $2 million in the sheriff’s race. And even some City Council candidates who raised close to a quarter of a million dollars did so in vain. […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

The theory of recurrence is something not unique to Jacksonville politics. In this list of five people who likely will be in the headlines, there are some familiar names. Alvin Brown: The one-term Jacksonville mayor took some time off after his narrow defeat in the May election. He surfaced on very rare occasions, through media […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

There’s no doubt 2015 was an amazing year in Jacksonville politics. A new mayor, 11 new members of City Council, and intrigue in Corrine Brown’s redistricting saga were among a few top-level highlights. While we have a reasonable sense of what happened in Jacksonville politics in 2015, the next question is what happens in 2016. Hence, a […]

Melissa RossDecember 30, 2015

Just as Jacksonville’s battle over its human rights ordinance heats up (again), North Florida same-sex couples are preparing to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversaries in a public downtown event. On January 10, 2015, Jacksonville attorney Carrington Mead married more than 60 same-sex couples in a mass ceremony in Hemming Park following the Supreme Court ruling […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

In 2014, Jacksonville had the sixth-worst divorce rate in the country. One might think, in that context, that an effort to “defend Jax families” might include marriage counseling or other assistance to couples conquering the rocky shoals of matrimony. One would be wrong. According to the good folks at DefendJaxFamilies.com, an adjunct of Florida Family […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 30, 2015

Laveranues Coles wants to open a strip club. This has now resulted in a lawsuit, and national publicity, revolving around the stated purpose of “opening a club that would feature dancing that would be ‘performed before a consensual audience, all over the age of 18 years, who are desirous of receiving and enjoying the message […]

Jax

Lenny Curry unfunded liability payoff plan highlights Jax Finance committee meeting

Jax Special Committee on Public Service Grants makes final recommendations

Jax Inspector General report trumpets successes with OPP, Access to Capital

Illuminate Jax moving forward?

A.G. Gancarski’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Jacksonville politics

A.G. Gancarski’s 5 people to watch in Jacksonville politics in 2016

A.G. Gancarski’s 12 predictions in 2016 for Jacksonville politics

Email insights: Jax same-sex couples to celebrate one-year wedding anniversaries in Hemming Park

“Defend Jax Families” warns pro-HRO pols: “Your political careers will be over”

Laveranues Coles sues Jacksonville: Why now?