Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossMay 3, 2016

It might be a bit of a stretch to call St. Augustine the Berkeley of Northeast Florida. But increasingly, the Nation’s Oldest City has become a hub for progressive activists in the region. In that tradition, the city’s Environmental Youth Council is organizing a march billed as part of a two-week global action to “keep coal, […]

Melissa RossApril 11, 2016

A St. Johns County official says that controversial billboard in St. Augustine Beach denouncing Islam will stay, because it’s protected under the First Amendment. An online petition demanding the removal of the billboard in St. Augustine Beach is gaining signatures worldwide. In fact, of the 24,000 plus signatures, only a few thousand are from here […]

Diane RobertsMarch 7, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith is getting evicted from Statuary Hall. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are not happy. Sen. Don Gaetz, a native of that little-known Old South state of North Dakota, is not happy: “There is nothing in the bill analysis, nothing in the testimony, that tells us any reason why […]

Diane RobertsMarch 6, 2016

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith is getting evicted from Statuary Hall. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are not happy. Sen. Don Gaetz, a native of that little-known Old South state of North Dakota, is not happy: “There is nothing in the bill analysis, nothing in the testimony, that tells us any reason why […]

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 […]

Melissa RossNovember 16, 2015

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The election is a year away, but incumbent David Shoar has drawn a challenger in the race for St. Johns County Sheriff. Debra Maynard, former patrol deputy and crisis intervention coordinator with the department, has filed paperwork for the contest. Maynard, a Republican, has since left law enforcement and now works in construction management. She […]

Melissa RossNovember 2, 2015

St. Johns County, Florida is known far and wide for its great schools. They’re so great, in fact, that everyone is moving to the county. That’s become something of a problem. Total K-12 student enrollment in St. Johns is up about 45 percent during the past decade. In that time, the district has built 11 […]

Associated PressSeptember 21, 2015

Some Florida fishing guides say they’re being crowded out of their preferred waters by a fish they can’t keep. Many commercial and recreational fishermen in northeast Florida and throughout the south Atlantic say they’re seeing a banner year for red snapper – adding to their skepticism of data supporting federal regulations for the fish. “There […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 8, 2015

By Marco Rubio Nearly 450 years ago, Spanish settlers fulfilled their dreams of building a new world by founding the city of St. Augustine. This city’s past can teach us a great deal about who we are today, both as Floridians and as Americans. But just as the theme of this celebration calls us to […]

Melissa RossSeptember 3, 2015

Amidst all the celebration and revelry of St. Augustine’s 450th commemorations this week, some are planning to protest the way the nation’s oldest city was founded. A coalition of Native American groups is calling for a boycott of the 450th, saying it “shamefully celebrates and honors the Doctrine of Discovery and Spain’s crimes against humanity.” The […]

Tag: St. Augustine

St. Augustine activists to take part in global action event against fossil fuels

“Islam Bloody Islam” billboard in St. Augustine stays, protected by First Amendment

Diane Roberts: Let’s replace Confederate general with a statue of the “Florida Man”

Diane Roberts: Let’s replace Confederate general with a statue of the “Florida Man”

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

St. Johns County Sheriff’s race draws new candidate

St. Johns County votes Tuesday on taxing explosive growth

Florida fishing guides say red snapper rules hurt business

Marco Rubio: Looking to the future as St. Augustine celebrates 450 years

Native Americans protest St. Augustine’s 450th bash