Jax

A.G. GancarskiOctober 22, 2015

The last time the local media heard from former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown was the end of June, at a combination farewell address and employee appreciation event that sounded not a little bit like the campaign speeches of yesteryear. He said, at the time, that he was taking his children on a vacation. Presumably, the […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 22, 2015

Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti may be the most unpopular figure in Duval County politics. Teachers complain about teaching to the test, the dehumanizing strictures of 21st century education. They pass those memes on to the kids they teach. Vitti embodies 21st century education for them, almost like an Eastern European leader might have Communism, right about […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2015

In a Wednesday evening memo, Jacksonville General Counsel Jason Gabriel took issue with City Council for a variety of deviations from best practices regarding text messages during the budget deliberations, and their slow responses to public records requests. Gabriel was explicit in contending that willful violations of Florida’s Sunshine and public records laws carry potential criminal […]

Melissa RossOctober 21, 2015

An emailed report from the National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC) claims widespread abuse of detained immigrants at the Baker County Detention Center. The report, “Lives in Peril: How Ineffective Inspections Make ICE Complicit in Immigration Detention Abuse” was released by the National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC) and Detention Watch Network (DWN). The report draws on information […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2015

On Wednesday afternoon, the Jacksonville City Council special committee on capital improvement projects continued its work refining legislation and policy related to debt management and CIPs. It ironed out aspects of draft legislation to move Jacksonville toward a more consistent and efficient approach to capital improvement projects, and with budgeting more generally, resolving City Council […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2015

The board moves made by Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry have been controversial and heavily politicized by local Democratic and Republican partisans, as seen in Tuesday’s Rules Committee meeting when Republican Executive Committee members showed up to back the play that Councilman Tommy Hazouri and other Democrats called “unprecedented” and “clearly partisan.” That narrative is out […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2015

Jacksonville’s first JEA Agreement meeting since the membership of the actual JEA Board was reduced happened on Wednesday morning, after a delay that did not escape the notice of the media on hand to cover the conclave. Among the topics “to be discussed,” according to an agenda with a distinctly non-standard, almost psychedelic font: water […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 21, 2015

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Jacksonville’s First Coast News ran a segment earlier this week that gave an unprecedented look at Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry doing one of his favorite things: coaching his son Boyd’s football team. The segment offered a “look at Jacksonville’s main man like you’ve never seen him before,” balancing football and family. For those who look […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 20, 2015

Tuesday’s agenda meeting of the Jacksonville City Council Land Use and Zoning committee shows that the latest iteration of Charlotte’s Web legislation, establishing post-moratorium parameters for the cultivation and dispensing of low-THC cannabis, is in draft form and on track for that committee’s Nov. 3 workshop with the Planning Commission. A sign of the times: […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 20, 2015

Jacksonville City Council chambers was largely empty Tuesday afternoon, except for those proposed for appointments to Jacksonville boards and commissions, a smattering of reporters, political junkies, and a TV camera. The latter parties were there to document the moves that Mayor Lenny Curry contends are necessary to execute his vision, moves that opponents – most prominently Councilman […]

Jax

Where in the world is Alvin Brown?

Nikolai Vitti frames school system’s inconvenient truths

Jax general counsel smacks down City Council for budget night “Text-Ghazi”

Email insights: Report details immigrant abuse at Baker County Detention Center

Jacksonville capital improvement committee works on final cleanup of bills

Wyman Duggan backs Lenny Curry board plays

JEA board issues, credit rating concerns loom over JEA Agreement meeting

What Coach Lenny Curry teaches us about Mayor Lenny Curry

A look at Jacksonville’s Charlotte’s Web legislation, in draft form

Tensions flare as Jax Rules Committee spikes Democratic planning commissioners