Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 21, 2016

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The job of a big city mayor includes receiving a lot of accolades, but there is the flip side as well. That flip side: being the person who deals with the grief of a city, and the specific mourning of individuals who seek redress. One such individual — a mother who outlived her son — […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 15, 2016

On Thursday, Patrol and Enforcement Director Michelle Cook of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, presented a “good news/bad news” scenario. As she told the Jacksonville Journey Oversight Committee, the good news is that the JSO “violence reduction strategy” is working in some of the city’s more crime-plagued areas. The bad news: violent crime is spiking elsewhere in […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 22, 2016

Two bills that were big talkers in committees last week passed the full Jacksonville City Council Tuesday night. One bill changed various aspects of the Tourist Development Council. The other bill authorizes a million-dollar federal grant for the Jacksonville Journey. **** The TDC bill went through a number of changes in the committee process last week, but […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2016

On Wednesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Journey Oversight Committee convened for the first time since a wave of weekend violence left multiple people dead, including an 11-month-old infant. In that meeting, held in the wake of City Council committees scrutinizing how Journey resources are allocated, one thing that became clear was that the committee is looking […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2016

The Jacksonville Journey is in line to receive almost a million dollars in federal money, via a bill that passed Finance — the third and final Council committee to consider it — on Wednesday. This grant was first announced in the Jax Journey Oversight Committee meeting in late September. The two-year grant facilitates data analysis regarding the best way […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 15, 2016

The Jacksonville Journey is in line to receive almost a million dollars in federal money, via a bill winding its way through City Council committees. On Monday, the bill got through Neighborhoods, Community Investments, and Services. On Tuesday, it was Public Health and Safety’s turn. PHS approved the ordinance unanimously. As per the bill summary: “The […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 28, 2016

Tuesday was budget night for the Jacksonville City Council. Arguably, the most interesting segment of the whole evening came at the very end, when Councilman Scott Wilson proposed a stunning floor amendment: de-appropriating $2.1 million from the Jacksonville Journey program — 50 percent of its funding — due to a lack of crime data provided for the 10 zip […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 15, 2016

Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard on Jacksonville’s Southside have seen better days. Their infrastructure — and their buildings — would be eligible for Social Security if they were people. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods nearby likewise suffer. Parental Home Road. Hogan Road. Grove Park. The northern stretch of Touchton. Windy Hill. These neighborhoods fall into a netherworld. They clearly […]

Melissa RossFebruary 16, 2016

She was appointed in the fall of 2008 to lead former Mayor John Peyton‘s ambitious attempt to dethrone Jacksonville as Florida’s murder capital. She left the job during the tenure of former Mayor Alvin Brown, when the Jacksonville Journey changed focus, and lost funding (the recession also played a role in that, it’s been pointed […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 11, 2016

One of the roughest Jacksonville ZIP codes, 32209, was a place of epiphany for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on the campaign trail. Slayings and abject poverty in the area shocked his conscience, in a way roughly analogous to John F. Kennedy visiting Appalachia during the 1960 campaign. Curry vowed to address the crime, the blight, the […]

Tag: Jacksonville Journey

Grieving mother: ‘Jacksonville’s Westside finally destroyed me’

JSO ‘violence reduction strategy’ working in hot zones, but not everywhere

Jacksonville City Council passes TDC, Jacksonville Journey bills

Jacksonville Journey: a marathon, not a sprint

Million-dollar Jax Journey grant clears final council committee

Second Jacksonville council panel OKs $1M Jax Journey grant

Why Scott Wilson took on the Jacksonville Journey

How Jacksonville’s economic incentives leave the Southside behind

Jax Journey 2.0 to look at jobs for at-risk kids: “our teenagers haven’t had enough focus”

Lenny Curry on blight: “We’re here and we’re ready to take action”