Jax

A.G. GancarskiDecember 2, 2015

Fourth Circuit public defender Matt Shirk has been under fire so long it’s hard to remember when he wasn’t. A shower scandal will do that to you. He has yet to file for re-election, and he dodged one significant challenge when Mike Weinstein took a job in the Lenny Curry administration. Even after Weinstein demurred, Shirk still hedged […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 2, 2015

Can Jacksonville’s City Council be bought? When it comes to the Human Rights Ordinance, at least one out-of-state outfit thinks so. As first reported by WJXT, a Dallas outfit called Newstarter.com posits a provocative proposition: “Millionaires buy politicians. Now the PEOPLE can too! Buy City Council votes to pass the Human Rights Ordinance in Jacksonville,” says […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2015

After Land Use and Zoning, four Jacksonville City Council committees have deliberated the $90 million package of stadium improvements for EverBank Field. And four have approved it, despite the best efforts of dissident Councilman Danny Becton. On Tuesday evening, Land Use and Zoning was the final committee hurdle to be cleared for the bill, which commits […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2015

Promises made; promises kept. On Tuesday afternoon, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry launched Jax Journey 2.0, and on hand were most of Jacksonville’s City Council members, along with many members of the mayor’s senior staff, former Sheriff John Rutherford, and Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. The initiative, a continuation of the original Jacksonville Journey, launched during the John Peyton administration, […]

Melissa RossDecember 1, 2015

For a couple of years now, Jacksonville megadeveloper Peter Rummell would cringe a bit when people would ask what was up “with that new development of yours, Healthy Town.” “That’s not going to be the name!” he’d say. Now, “Healthy Town” is out and “The District” is in. Actually, the planned community on Jacksonville’s Southbank will […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2015

Rules, the third Jacksonville City Council committee deliberating the bill, approved the EverBank Field amphitheater package on Tuesday afternoon without even a moment of committee discussion. The bill allocates $90 million for stadium improvements, including a new amphitheater, a covered practice field, and other enhancements to the Sports Complex. With no discussion at all, Rules […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2015

The vote, much like the Jaguars’ game against New England this year, was never in doubt. With heavy backing from the Lenny Curry administration throughout the process, Jacksonville City Council’s Recreation, Community Development, Public Health, and Safety Committee unanimously OK’d the city’s $45 million allocation for the improvements to EverBank Field, which include a covered practice […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2015

It’s unknown at press time whether Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is making a list or checking it twice. What is known, however, is that Jacksonville’s City Hall will hold an Holiday-themed open house Wednesday night at Art Walk, and the mayor and the First Lady will be central to it. “Christmas is such a special time […]

Melissa RossNovember 30, 2015

By turns funny and rueful, Houston Mayor Annise Parker urged Duval County Democrats to learn from her city’s recent bruising turn in the national spotlight over the routing of its “HERO” ordinance by not making the same mistakes of her administration. “When the stupid comments start, don’t roll your eyes,” she told the 2015 Blue […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 30, 2015

A delightful #jaxpol subplot has been the continuing controversy over what gifts are acceptable outlays from the Jacksonville Jaguars to Jacksonville’s City Council members and members of the executive branch. Even as Jacksonville public officials wrestle over the seemingly inevitable $45 million capital outlay on the latest round of stadium improvements, with THREE more committees […]

Jax

Charles Cofer says Matt Shirk is “all icing and no cake”

Can Jacksonville’s City Council be bought?

Tensions flare as Jax land use and zoning panel OKs $90M stadium deal 5-1

Lenny Curry launches Jax Journey 2.0

Jacksonville developer Peter Rummell debuts “The District”

With no discussion, Jax Rules Committee greenlights Jags stadium improvements

2nd Jax city panel, recreation committee, OKs Jaguars’ amphitheater bill

For Jacksonville’s Art Walk, it’s a Lenny Curry Christmas

Houston Mayor Annise Parker to Duval Dems: “address stupid comments head-on”

Jaguars lobbyist Paul Harden mansplains, throws shade at Jax Ethics office