Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 6, 2017

A Tuesday morning Jacksonville City Council committee saw an update on the city’s ShotSpotter program from Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Homeland Security Chief Robert Connor. This much-ballyhooed anti-crime tool does what its name suggests: it identifies, via sound, where a bullet’s origin might be. For law enforcement, this provides an important tool; for those married to […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 1, 2017

Last year, Hurricane Matthew cut a swath of destruction through Duval County, just as it did the rest of the East Coast. In Northeast Florida alone, the storm caused $1B in property damage, despite the storm having lost strength and having had the eyewall veer east as it approached Duval County, which itself took $50M […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 30, 2017

Memorial Day weekend in Jacksonville was brutal for the expected reasons, with at least a dozen people shot and four of them killed over the holiday. In a city where virtually every politician who ran for office in 2015 messaged on the theme of public safety, what’s clear is that there is still work to […]

Phil AmmannMay 26, 2017

The sun rises, as we are told, every day in downtown Jacksonville. But for the City Council class of 2011, slated for term-limits in 2019, those sunrises are beginning to fade. Chosen Tuesday, the Council officers — who first took office in 2015 — show that the balance of power has shifted, the baton has […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 23, 2017

On Tuesday night, the Jacksonville City Council passed a trio of bills designed to close the books on a conflict between neighborhood activists in Springfield, disability rights groups, and ultimately, the federal Department of Justice. Two Jacksonville City Council bills (2017-68 and 2017-69) closed the book on an issue that first emerged during the Alvin Brown […]

Phil AmmannMay 18, 2017

The ongoing Corrine Brown drama pushed our legislative roundup back a week — but given the drama that ensued this week regarding what the Duval Delegation accomplished, that’s just as well. Boils down to this: the legislators think they brought home the bacon, and some in City Hall believe that they brought home crumbs. As […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 18, 2017

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The real impact of Chinese imports on American factories has been discussed to death. But if you look closely, you can find a counter-narrative emerging. One example of that was demonstrated in Northwest Jacksonville Thursday afternoon, where Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and other local dignitaries came together for the grand opening of a 121,000 square foot […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 17, 2017

Just as films and books have reviews, the municipal bond sector has its own critiques from bond ratings agencies. In the case of Moody’s, which dropped its report Wednesday on Jacksonville’s status after pension reform, the writeup boils down to six words: “buy now, pay later, assume risks.” And Moody’s also asserts that there may be […]

Phil AmmannMay 12, 2017

Big political news of the week, maybe: State Rep. Jay Fant decides to run for Attorney General. A bold move — given he’s running from Jacksonville (not a hotbed of votes), and that he’d downplayed his attorney experience up until now. Fant went statewide Tuesday, talking to the press in Tallahassee, Tampa and Orlando, before […]

Guest AuthorMay 4, 2017

Today, there are approximately 200 teacher openings in Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) for the 2016—2017 school year, which ends next month. That means students in 200 classrooms are being managed by a substitute. The teacher shortage is not surprising, but the Duval County School Board’s consideration to cut Teach for America (TFA) is. If […]

Tag: Jacksonville
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Jacksonville’s ShotSpotter identifies ‘when, where, and what’ of gunshots

Jacksonville gears up for 2017 hurricane season

After weekend of gun violence, Jax Sheriff to take ‘crime prevention walk’

Jacksonville Bold for 5.26.17 — Sunrise, sunsets

Jacksonville closes book on disability rights dispute with settlement bills

Jacksonville Bold — 5.19.17 — It was a very good year?

How Jacksonville beat China in the garbage can business

Moody’s on Jax pension reform: Buy now, pay later, assume risks

Jacksonville Bold for 5.12.17 – Fantasia

Dave Chauncey: Teach for America Jacksonville, not billboards, is better way to recruit teachers