Local

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 […]

Mitch PerryDecember 30, 2015

As first said by Greek philosopher Heraclitus, in the universe change is the only constant. Nowhere was that more applicable than in Tampa Bay during the past 12 months. From the much-ballyhooed dismissal of MaryEllen Elia as Hillsborough County School Board District superintendent to redistricting and the rising (and falling) fortunes for hizzoner Bob Buckhorn, many of the leading […]

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 […]

Associated PressDecember 30, 2015

A Florida Bar panel is investigating two Jacksonville prosecutors for possible misconduct. The Florida Times-Union reports the nine-member panel is reviewing complaints against assistant state attorneys Peter Overstreet and Erin Wolfson. They handled the case of a man who spent 19 months in jail despite questions about his guilt that were raised more than a […]

Guest AuthorDecember 30, 2015

The good news about Martin County’s new $275,000 website: It displays nicely on mobile phones and tablet computers. There’s also a lot of bad news: No staff directory. No easy way to locate agendas, minutes, documents or just about anything else. And so many complaints and disgruntled users the county could use another website just […]

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 […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 29, 2015

Everyone wants good schools, but getting people (and politicians) to pay for them is a different matter. In St. Johns County, they may have found a way forward … despite the resistance of powerful politicians and “civic leaders” who stood in their way. In November, a referendum passed resoundingly in St. Johns County. It was […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 29, 2015

In late October, Jacksonville public officials trumpeted Google considering Jacksonville for Google Fiber implementation. In the past two months, meetings between public officials and Google representatives have laid out terms, point by point, and a review of city emails reveals a potential sticking point: the pole attachment agreement. Paul Cosgrave, PIO for JEA, lays out […]

Melissa RossDecember 29, 2015

The North and Central Florida nonprofit Ability Housing has received a $150,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation to support The Solution That Saves, a statewide pilot providing Florida-specific data on the effects of providing permanent supportive housing to high users of crisis services. Examples of that include arrests and/or involuntary commitment to mental health facilities. […]

Local

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

Mitch Perry’s Top 10 stories of 2015 in Hillsborough politics

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

State panel investigates 2 Jacksonville prosecutors

Sally Swartz: New public website looks good, has little to say

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

Laveranues Coles sues Jacksonville: Why now?

St. Johns County school tax referendum: the most overlooked NE Florida story of the year?

Could Jax Google Fiber deal fall through?

Florida Blue gives Ability Housing $150K to house homeless, study issue