Local

Scott PowersFebruary 24, 2016

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SpaceX scrubbed its planned launch Wednesday of a Falcon 9 rocket with a communications satellite because of high wind at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Tentatively, SpaceX is expected to try again Thursday, with a 6:46 p.m. launch time, though that was not yet confirmed Wednesday evening. The launch is intended to carry a communication […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2016

State Attorney candidate Wes White had strong words about former Police and Fire Pension Fund executive director John Keane this week on social media. “It’s time for the City to stop bowing down to John Keane – and start standing up for Tax Payers,” White wrote. “If I were the State Attorney this highway robbery of tax dollars […]

Bill RuftyFebruary 24, 2016

In 1949, an educator applied to the University of Florida Law School and was turned down. The applicant, Virgil Hawkins, was black. The law school and the court system in Florida were white and racist. The application began a nine-year fight going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled for Hawkins. That […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2016

[Update: It appears that the aforementioned Scott O’Connor and Mayor Curry’s Chief of Staff, Kerri Stewart, had a meeting: “We certainly appreciate the gracious amount of time you allowed to discuss the CPAC matter. Your candor and information about CPAC and Neighborhood Services gives us some vision going forward. We are grateful that the Mayor’s office felt […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2016

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Just hours after the final Senate committee OK’d the bill Wednesday, the Florida House overwhelmingly approved the (HB 1297) Discretionary Sales Surtax bill, the key to Jacksonville defraying its unfunded pension liability. The surprising thing about the process: how smoothly the proverbial “heavy lift” went. Senior staff in the mayor’s office expected resistance from the House […]

Melissa RossFebruary 24, 2016

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Vowing to reintroduce it “in two months,” Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri says he’ll keep bringing back HRO legislation because it’s “simple and to the point.” “We have a human rights ordinance that covers everybody but the LGBT community, and all we’re wanting to do is include them,” he told WJCT’s First Coast Connect. “It’s […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2016

Wednesday saw the Jacksonville-centric Discretionary Sales Surtax bill clear the Senate Rules Committee (SB 1652), scheduled at the same time as the third reading in the House (HB 1297). Central to the pitch: bill sponsor Rob Bradley and Mayor Lenny Curry, whose sales job gets better with every committee stop… especially important because Curry will have to sell […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2016

Notable about Tuesday night’s Jacksonville City Council meeting, in which a settlement agreement with John Keane and the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund was “indefinitely postponed,” were the comments of Councilman Matt Schellenberg. They were laden with direct address toward Keane. And they were personal, almost to the point of calling in question Council’s stance as good-faith […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 23, 2016

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council’s big bill involved attempting to finalize its ongoing conflict with former Police and Fire Pension Fund head John Keane with a settlement agreement. Instead, they “postponed indefinitely,” after a long and tortuous process of discussion and amendments. The goal is to get answers to questions and, seemingly, to show Keane […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 23, 2016

Momentum builds behind the re-election of Angela Corey for State Attorney, with a number of Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach elected officials endorsing her this week, supporting her commitment to what the campaign calls “public safety vigilance.” The elected officials include Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham, and Jacksonville Beach Councilmembers Phil Vogelsang, Lee Buck, Christine Hoffman, Bruce […]

Local

SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 rocket launch

John Keane looms as wedge issue in 4th Circuit State Attorney’s race

Event to celebrate barrier broken and barrier breaker

More fallout settles on Lenny Curry from latest Lisa King snub

Florida House OKs Jax Pension Tax bill 86-23

Tommy Hazouri: will reintroduce HRO “in two months,” challenges Bill Gulliford to on-air debate

Jax Pension Tax bill clears final Senate committee

Matt Schellenberg’s evolution on John Keane worth noting

Jax Council “postpones indefinitely” John Keane settlement

Jax Beach Republicans line up behind Angela Corey