Jax

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

Councilman Reggie Gaffney has been a busy man these days, as a member of the Finance Committee that spent much of August wrestling with Jacksonville’s municipal budget. The Jacksonville Democrat’s been so busy, in fact, that his Community Rehabilitation Center came perilously close to missing a grant deadline, as his executive assistant, Jill Kestner, wrote to Mayor Lenny […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

Last month, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry sent a letter to Jerry Abramson, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for President Barack Obama. The subject? A Jacksonville Transportation Authority TIGER Grant application related to the Northeast Florida Multimodal Transportation Corridors, which we reported on previously. The letter of support from Curry contends that “the project connects economically challenged neighborhoods to key […]

Melissa RossSeptember 3, 2015

Amidst all the celebration and revelry of St. Augustine’s 450th commemorations this week, some are planning to protest the way the nation’s oldest city was founded. A coalition of Native American groups is calling for a boycott of the 450th, saying it “shamefully celebrates and honors the Doctrine of Discovery and Spain’s crimes against humanity.” The […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

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Following in a tradition of Jacksonville mayors who embrace the Navy presence in the Bold New City of the South, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has made it a priority to embrace local military early in his term. That trend continues next week when Curry will videotape a brief cameo appearance in the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast 75th […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

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Confounding the critics who charged Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry with practicing “scorched earth politics” in his recent decisions regarding positions on Independent Authority boards, the Curry administration is preparing legislation to appoint Reverend John Allen Newman to the JAXPORT board, according to an email from Curry to senior staff. As well, Curry is appointing John Baker, the former […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

After eight solid days of deliberation, the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee has finally wrapped its budget deliberations. After a long and winding journey through budget wrap up items, Finance passed the budget bill, adopted the Capital Improvement Projects bill, approved the Banking Funds authorization, and adopted an IT system development program. “We have reached […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearing continued on Wednesday afternoon, with a proposal to extend hours for the Kori Road library location to Monday being discussed, at a cost of $94,000 from Special Council Contingency. Councilman Matt Schellenberg urged that for the 100,000 people in Mandarin, a library should be available on Monday. This […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee continued its budget deliberations on Wednesday afternoon, with an eye toward same-day finalization of the budget. UF Health’s contribution from the city of Jacksonville was another cleanup item on the agenda. $26,275,594 is the proposed amount, unchanged from the previous year. Councilman Reggie Gaffney wondered what any extra money would go […]

Melissa RossSeptember 2, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, whose inauguration motto was “One City, One Jacksonville,” recently made a very high-profile and symbolic hire to drive that point home when he appointed Marsha Oliver as his new spokesperson. Oliver is not only a registered Democrat, she’s also the first African-American female to hold the spox job at City Hall. […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee began its eighth and theoretically final day of budget review on Wednesday morning. To that end, Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford cautioned against “pontification,” threatening to “invoke Council rules” to rein discursiveness in. Here are the morning highlights: — A discussion of three wellness and safety positions being removed […]

Jax

The grant deadline Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Gaffney almost missed

Citing 1C1J, Lenny Curry pushes Obama White House on TIGER Grant

Native Americans protest St. Augustine’s 450th bash

Lenny Curry to appear in USN Fleet Readiness Center documentary

John Allen Newman, former Alvin Brown endorser, reappointed to JAXPORT board

Jax Finance Committee wraps up budget deliberations

Jax Finance Committee rejects proposal for Monday Mandarin library hours

Jax Finance Committee wrestles with UF Health funding woes

New Lenny Curry spox Marsha Oliver: “This is a fun, interesting time for our city”

Jax Finance Committee mulls dredging, permit and stormwater fees in Wednesday morning budget wrapup