Local

A.G. GancarskiAugust 17, 2015

There are no polls, as far as I know, in the all-important Duval County Republican Executive Committee race. But based on an email going around this weekend, it’s fair to assume that state Rep. Lake Ray III might have the inside track in Monday night’s election. With the party poised to pick its third chairman […]

Frank TorresAugust 14, 2015

Members of United for Care staked out the steps of the Orange County Courthouse on Monday afternoon, collecting petitions and promoting its platform to make medical marijuana legal in the state of Florida. The new effort comes nearly a year after voters failed to pass Amendment 2, coming 2 percent short of the 60 percent necessary […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

Hot on the heels of Ernest Isaac being denied his “last hurrah” on the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, another Alvin Brown board appointee is bidding farewell as of the end of September. Local attorney Edward Booth, appointed by Brown in 2013, on August 12 “was advised by Jordan Elsbury of Mayor Curry’s office that my services would no […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

It’s hard to say no to free swag. Especially when it’s presented to a new mayor under the auspices of membership in the United States Conference of Mayors (a bargain at just $26K a year). Yet the Lenny Curry administration appears to have done just that. An email came through earlier in July from CGI, a […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

Earlier this summer, the Jacksonville City Council passed, without any significant debate or public notice, a emergency moratorium on the dispensing and cultivation of Charlotte’s Web. The bill was rushed through Land Use and Zoning, and presented as an addendum item at the end of a packed Council meeting. The media, rushing to file stories […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee battled Friday morning with officials over the perpetually embattled Jacksonville Public Library budget. The budget increases by 0.4% this year, yet the Council’s asks go well beyond that modest uptick. Discussions included whether or not “merit pay” or “equity pay” was part of the proposed budget increases. Councilman John Crescimbeni […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford removed his prop bottle of Advil from his desk before the Friday session. Perhaps that was too optimistic a move. The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings on Friday morning started off with interesting exchanges between Sam Mousa and John Crescimbeni about Fire and Rescue structural issues, before going into a discussion of […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

On Tuesday, the St. Johns Riverkeeper filed a notice of intent to sue the Army Corps of Engineers over the proposed St. Johns River harbor deepening project. The grievances are fourfold. There is, the Riverkeeper contends, “a failure to provide appropriate in-kind mitigation for the environmental damage that will result from the dredging,” as well […]

Staff ReportsAugust 13, 2015

Taproot Creative’s work with the Tallahassee-based Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI) received the Florida Public Relations Association’s (FPRA) highest honor this week at the Annual Golden Image Awards Gala. Taproot was presented with the Dick Pope All Florida Grand Golden Image Award, which salutes the top public relations program in the state during a given […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 13, 2015

The saga of Zakee Furqan, the so-called “business leader” and “job creator” who may be the only person convicted of second-degree murder to be touted as an endorser in a mayoral race in Jacksonville history, continues. Furqan, whose endorsement of then-Mayor Alvin Brown was touted by the campaign as a coup before it was unceremoniously […]

Local

One last bit of intrigue in Duval GOP chairman race

United for Care steps up medical marijuana petition efforts in Orlando

Another Alvin Brown appointee bounced from Jax Aviation board

Jacksonville says no to free aerial videos

Charlotte’s Web workshop on Tuesday in Jax

Jax Council debates library budget, hours

Fireworks at Friday morning Jax Council budget hearings

Why St Johns Riverkeeper decided to sue Army Corps of Engineers

Taproot wins Florida’s top public relations award for KCCI campaign

Arrest warrant issued for Zakee Furqan