Claire Heddles
Claire has been a reporter in Jacksonville since August of 2021. She was previously the local host of NPR's Morning Edition at WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee. During her time in East Tennessee, her coverage of the COVID pandemic earned a Public Media Journalists’ Association award for investigative reporting. You can reach Claire at (904) 250-0926, claire@jaxtoday.org or on Twitter @ClaireHeddles.
Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Duval School Board District 6”
Duval School Board District 6 candidates Tanya Hardaker (L) and Charlotte Joyce (R).
August 10, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Duval School Board District 6

Challenger Tanya Hardaker and incumbent Charlotte Joyce are facing off to represent District 6 on the Duval County School Board.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY: Will the proposed property tax for schools compound each year?”
Duval Schools HQ
August 9, 2022

#AskJAXTDY: Will the proposed property tax for schools compound each year?

The Jacksonville Today team is answering your voting questions ahead of the August 23rd primaries. A hot topic? The Duval…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Florida House District 14”
Florida House District 14 candidates Garrett Dennis, Iris Hinton and Mincy Pollock (left to right) participate in the Jacksonville Today/Jacksonville Bar Association forum on Aug. 2. The fourth candidate, Kimberly Daniels, was unable to attend.
August 4, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Florida House District 14

Four Democrats are on the August ballot for the newly drawn state House District 14. The previous District 14 was…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Property tax increase for Duval Schools”
The Duval Schools administration building. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
August 3, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Property tax increase for Duval Schools

The Duval County School Board is asking property owners to pitch in more for public schools. All Duval voters are…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville Sheriff”
All five Jacksonville sheriff's candidates joined a forum at the Istanbul Center on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
July 24, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville Sheriff

Five candidates – four Democrats and one Republican – are vying to fill the Jacksonville sheriff’s seat, following Mike Williams’…

Featured image for “AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville City Council District 7, District 9”
The Duval County Supervisor of Elections building. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
July 21, 2022

AUG. 23 VOTER GUIDE: Jacksonville City Council District 7, District 9

Nine candidates are vying for Jacksonville City Council in the August 23rd election, as sitting council members Reggie Gaffney and…

Featured image for “Another LGBTQ resource disappears in Duval Schools”
Duval County Public Schools removed a video teaching students how to support LGBTQ+ peers in response to Florida's new Parental Rights in Education Law.
July 10, 2022

Another LGBTQ resource disappears in Duval Schools

Duval County Public Schools has taken down a 12-minute anti-bullying video that taught middle and high school students how to…

Featured image for “Florida’s most controversial new laws take effect Friday. Here’s what they mean for Northeast Fla.”
LGBTQ+ advocates gather before a Duval School Board meeting. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
June 29, 2022

Florida’s most controversial new laws take effect Friday. Here’s what they mean for Northeast Fla.

Almost 150 new laws will take effect in Florida on Friday, including some that opponents are still trying to stop:…

Featured image for “More than a third of Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers don’t live in Duval County”
June 15, 2022

More than a third of Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers don’t live in Duval County

Jacksonville’s recently resigned sheriff, Mike Williams, isn’t the only one who was policing the county while living somewhere else. Data…

Featured image for “Local leaders respond to Sheriff Mike Williams’ move out of Jacksonville”
Sheriff Mike Williams flanked by Mayor Lenny Curry and Leonard Fournette at a 2020 rally in Downtown Jacksonville.
June 1, 2022

Local leaders respond to Sheriff Mike Williams’ move out of Jacksonville

Jacksonville’s office of general counsel is set to weigh in by 2 p.m. Thursday on whether Sheriff Mike Williams should…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY: Why doesn’t Florida have rent control?”
The average rent in the 32205 ZIP code has increased 31% since the start of the pandemic and 54% over the last five years. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 24, 2022

#AskJAXTDY: Why doesn’t Florida have rent control?

The Jacksonville Today team is answering your housing questions, as rents in the region have climbed by more than twice…

Featured image for “What Duval Schools is cutting from its LGBTQ+ Support Guide”
District staff presenting a plan for how Duval Schools will comply with Florida's critic-dubbed "Don't Say Gay" law to the school board Tuesday.
May 17, 2022

What Duval Schools is cutting from its LGBTQ+ Support Guide

In response to Florida’s new, critic-dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” law, Duval County Public Schools plans to slash the district’s decade-old…

Featured image for “‘It all boils down to one paragraph.’ Duval Schools could change its LGBTQ support guide Tuesday”
The 37-page document under review outlines how teachers can ensure LGBTQ students' safety on school campuses.
May 16, 2022

‘It all boils down to one paragraph.’ Duval Schools could change its LGBTQ support guide Tuesday

The Duval County School Board is set to meet Tuesday morning to discuss an update to its LGBTQ support guide,…

Featured image for “EXPLORE: How much did rent go up in your neighborhood?”
Rent in the 32210 ZIP code, where this Fishweir Creek studio rental is, has increased 32% since the start of the pandemic.
May 12, 2022

EXPLORE: How much did rent go up in your neighborhood?

Rent prices  in the Jacksonville metro area have increased by more than 30% since the start of the pandemic —…

Featured image for “Independent Florida water providers are shutting down. American Beach’s doesn’t want to be next.  ”
Bobby Dollison has been maintaining two wells that provide clean drinking water from the Florida aquifer to a few dozen American Beach residents. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
May 1, 2022

Independent Florida water providers are shutting down. American Beach’s doesn’t want to be next.  

Construction will begin soon on a new water and sewer system in American Beach, the historically African American community in…

Featured image for “Climbing costs leave Jacksonville families struggling for food”
Volunteers stock bags at the Mandarin Food Bank last week. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
April 10, 2022

Climbing costs leave Jacksonville families struggling for food

Jacksonville mom Krista Jones is buying beans instead of meat for protein. It’s one of the creative steps she’s had…

Featured image for “EXPLORE: Is your voting precinct one of Jax’s highest-turnout? Or the lowest?”
A voting precinct in Jacksonville's Lakewood neighborhood. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
February 27, 2022

EXPLORE: Is your voting precinct one of Jax’s highest-turnout? Or the lowest?

Plus, 5 takeaways from the City Council election Republican Nick Howland will be sworn in on Jacksonville’s City Council Wednesday,…

Featured image for “QUIZ: How well do you know Jacksonville’s  at-large group 3 candidates?”
February 15, 2022

QUIZ: How well do you know Jacksonville’s at-large group 3 candidates?

Early voting is underway in the race to fill the Jacksonville at-large city council seat vacated by the late Tommy…