Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

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 […]

Phil AmmannApril 21, 2017

Is there a politician in Florida right now on more of a hot streak than Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry? This issue of Bold tells the tale. Curry’s pension reform appears to be on a glide path toward ratification — a major accomplishment. His moves toward downtown revitalization have a major shot in the arm, with […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 17, 2017

The press releases promoting Jacksonville’s celebration of National Community Development Week are similar between 2015 and 2017. Both the 2015 and 2017 versions discuss how much money Duval County has derived from federal Community Development Block Grants. This year’s model says that the city has derived $393M from CDBGs since 1975; the 2015 iteration said it […]

Phil AmmannApril 14, 2017

Does Al Lawson ‘get’ Jacksonville? Questions still remain as to whether Congressman Lawson understands Jacksonville, as his visits to the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday, and town hall Wednesday indicate. On Tuesday, one could sense among certain council members (specifically, those representing districts that overlap Lawson’s) a grating irritation over Lawson’s constant use of Eureka Garden […]

Phil AmmannApril 7, 2017

You may notice a running theme with this issue of Bold: much of it deals with crossroads situations (to borrow a phrase from 90s rappers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony). Will the city dredge JAXPORT? Or will years of deliberation and consternation lead — as they so often do — to nothing? Will Corrine Brown beat the rap […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 6, 2017

The city of Jacksonville is girding up for a looming late-April audit of post-Hurricane Matthew spending, much of which could be reimbursed by FEMA. Reimbursement is contingent on a number of factors, according to a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Jacksonville CAO Sam Mousa. FEMA requires a lot of detail. Among the asks: […]

Peter SchorschMarch 30, 2017

In a sense, Jacksonville is the cradle of Republicanism. The city has a politically active Republican mayor. The City Council: majority Republican. Republican Governor. Republican Legislature. What could go wrong? How about the imminent end of the economic boom? Look at what’s happening to CSX. Hunter Harrison, 72, was brought in to run the operation, […]

Tag: Jacksonville

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

Jacksonville Bold for 4.21.17 — Political capital, boldfaced

With federal block grants in question, Lenny Curry admin watches and waits

Jacksonville Bold for 4.14.17 — My city was gone

Jacksonville Bold for 4.7.17 — See you at the crossroads

FEMA audit of Jacksonville’s post-Matthew spending looms

Jacksonville Bold 3.31.17 — Too much of a good thing