Dan Scanlan Reporter email
Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with 40 years as a radio, television and print reporter in the Jacksonville area, as well as years of broadcast work in the Northeast. After a stint managing a hotel comedy club, Dan began a 34-year career as police and current events reporter at The Florida Times-Union before joining the staff of WJCT News 89.9.
Featured image for “2 inmates planned to escape the St. Johns County jail. They just needed a drone.”
Two inmates planned to escape the St. Johns County jail with the help of a drone, but one of the pair ratted out the other. | Courtesy, Google
19 hours ago

2 inmates planned to escape the St. Johns County jail. They just needed a drone.

The escape caper collapsed when the inmates argued and one ratted out the other. Now both face more charges.…

Featured image for “Two lanes of Buckman Bridge will be closed again this weekend”
More backups like this are possible on the Buckman Bridge. | FDOT via News4Jax
June 18, 2026

Two lanes of Buckman Bridge will be closed again this weekend

Two northbound lanes will be closed as crews continue to replace the Buckman’s steel joints.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville woman faces prison time for resisting immigration agents”
Police bodycam video shows ICE and Florida Highway Patrol officers arresting Jennifer Cruz on Jan. 13, 2026. | News4Jax
June 18, 2026

Jacksonville woman faces prison time for resisting immigration agents

Jennifer Susan Cruz scuffled with ICE agents and state troopers who were conducting immigration enforcement.…

Featured image for “Hubbard House’s new initiative helps men prevent domestic violence”
Men joined in the fight to prevent domestic violence at the 16th annual Stand Up & Stride Domestic Violence Awareness Walk in Jacksonville in 2025. | Hubbard House
June 16, 2026

Hubbard House’s new initiative helps men prevent domestic violence

Hubbard House’s Not My City program aims to help men prevent violence and become a positive influence.…

Featured image for “Community Hospice pediatric center in Mandarin is a first for Florida”
A fake tree with lit butterflies graces the main gathering area of the new Dorion Family Pediatric Center at Community Hospice & Palliative Care in Mandarin. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
June 11, 2026

Community Hospice pediatric center in Mandarin is a first for Florida

The hospice assembled all of its pediatric services in a new facility built inside the main center.…

Featured image for “Leader of Feeding Northeast Florida announces her retirement”
Susan King, president and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida, helps during the regional food bank's 2024 Thanksgiving food giveaway. | Feeding Northeast Florida
June 11, 2026

Leader of Feeding Northeast Florida announces her retirement

Susan King plans to stay on until Feeding Northeast Florida finds a replacement later this year.…

Featured image for “Volunteers plant oyster shell habitats in effort to help clean waterways”
The Riverview Collective Community organization, as well as other groups, installed more than a dozen oyster reefs into the shore at Riverview Park on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The installation could allow for an additional 300 gallons of water filtration in the Trout River on a daily basis. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 11, 2026

Volunteers plant oyster shell habitats in effort to help clean waterways

More than 30 people carried 84 of the 30-pound oyster habitats into the Trout River at Riverview Park.…

Featured image for “Faulty facial recognition leads to lawsuit after Jacksonville Beach arrest”
A Jacksonville Beach Police Department vehicle. | Jacksonville Beach Police
June 10, 2026

Faulty facial recognition leads to lawsuit after Jacksonville Beach arrest

A Fort Myers man says facial recognition wrongly identified him as the person who tried to lure a child.…

Featured image for “Smoke ’em: New Callahan drag strip inaugurated with burnouts”
Hundreds of fans watched dozens of cars, truck and motorcycles do the first test at Callahan's Hicken Power Dragstrip on Sunday, June 7, 2026. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
June 8, 2026

Smoke ’em: New Callahan drag strip inaugurated with burnouts

Hundreds of people came out to christen Hicken Power Dragstrip, the region’s first drag strip since 2017.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville makes City Council legislation more accessible to the disabled”
A meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. | City of Jacksonville
June 4, 2026

Jacksonville makes City Council legislation more accessible to the disabled

The city restored online access to City Council bills after complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.…

Featured image for “Hundreds expected to pack Bayard Point for Boater Skip Day in Clay County”
Hundreds of boaters cluster around a floating DJ booth off Bayard Point for the 2025 Boater Skip Day in Clay County. | Chris Anthony, Boater Skip Day
June 3, 2026

Hundreds expected to pack Bayard Point for Boater Skip Day in Clay County

Police from several agencies will be present Friday to make sure boaters are following safety laws.…

Featured image for “Orange Park substitute teacher accused of possessing child sexual abuse material”
A judge with a gavel. | Adobe stock/Lightfield studios
June 3, 2026

Orange Park substitute teacher accused of possessing child sexual abuse material

Tyrone Julius Ferguson taught at elementary and middle schools and also was a youth basketball coach.…

Featured image for “Artists sought for sculptures at new Fishweir Crossing roundabouts”
Riverside Avondale Preservation is seeking artists  for a public sculpture project at the Fishweir Crossing Roundabouts at Herschel Street and St. Johns Avenue. | Google Maps
June 2, 2026

Artists sought for sculptures at new Fishweir Crossing roundabouts

Riverside Avondale Preservation says the art will become a landmark for an important neighborhood gateway.…

Featured image for “Concerns grow over proposed AI data center in Nassau County”
Fans that are part of a cooling system are seen on the roof of a data center April 27, 2026, in Hillsboro, Oregon. | Jenny Kane, AP
June 1, 2026

Concerns grow over proposed AI data center in Nassau County

County officials have scheduled a series of workshops to investigate the ramifications of data centers.…

Featured image for “Burn ban ends in Clay County, but water restrictions continue across area”
Two fires burning near the Clay–Putnam County line merged into the massive Railroad Fire. | Jesse Hanson, News4Jax
June 1, 2026

Burn ban ends in Clay County, but water restrictions continue across area

Clay County imposed a burn ban in April because the drought had heightened the risk of forest and brush fires.…

Featured image for “Family pleads for water safety after 2-year-old’s drowning in 2024”
Amaya White talks about the death of her 2-year-old daughter Melani Ava Mixson, in 2024. She appeared with her attorney, Adam Finkel, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today,
May 26, 2026

Family pleads for water safety after 2-year-old’s drowning in 2024

Melani Ava Mixson drowned after sliding down the embankment of a retention pond at her apartment complex.…

Featured image for “National Eucharistic Pilgrimage launches Sunday in St. Augustine”
The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine. The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will start there Sunday. | Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine.
May 21, 2026

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage launches Sunday in St. Augustine

The pilgrimage will start at the site of the first Catholic Mass in 1565 at the founding of St. Augustine.…

Featured image for “New Nassau County patrol boats help rescue 2 from sinking ship”
One of Nassau County's new marine patrol boats skims through the water. | Nassau County Sheriff's Office
May 21, 2026

New Nassau County patrol boats help rescue 2 from sinking ship

The patrol boats were put into service in time for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the boating season.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville Jazz Festival will ring from Downtown stages this weekend”
An act on stage at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in 2017. | Jacksonville Jazz Festival
May 21, 2026

Jacksonville Jazz Festival will ring from Downtown stages this weekend

The Jazz Festival, founded in 1979, remains free of charge from Thursday through Sunday.…

Featured image for “New sites added to Duval’s list of endangered historic structures”
The Laura Street Trio of historic buildings at Forsyth and Laura streets in Downtown Jacksonville are shown Nov. 11, 2024. | Monty Zickuhr, Jacksonville Daily Record
May 20, 2026

New sites added to Duval’s list of endangered historic structures

Besides endangered properties, the History Center listed some that have become success stories through preservation.…

Featured image for “Southbank Residences begins construction after years of delays”
An artist's depiction shows the Southbank Residences next to Friendship Fountain in Downtown Jacksonville. | Related Group
May 20, 2026

Southbank Residences begins construction after years of delays

Southbank Residences represents the first new luxury high-rise on Jacksonville’s riverfront in over a decade.…

Featured image for “Memorial Day events fill the weekend from Jacksonville to Palatka”
A member of the Navy Band Southeast plays taps during a Memorial Day observance at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall. | U.S. Navy Photo by Nick Davis
May 20, 2026

Memorial Day events fill the weekend from Jacksonville to Palatka

Memorial Day weekend will include fireworks, music and remembrances of military members lost in war.…

Featured image for “UNF lab will test the effects of extreme heat on athletes, military and workers”
Treadmills in the new Perry Weather Heat Lab, part of the Korey Stringer Institute. | University of North FloridaInstitute’s new UNF satellite location include these treadmills. | UNF
May 18, 2026

UNF lab will test the effects of extreme heat on athletes, military and workers

The new Perry Weather Heat Lab at UNF will test extreme weather health effects on people.…

Featured image for “Second phase of Riverfront Plaza could be completed next year”
An illustration shows the proposed beer garden and restaurant in Riverfront Plaza's second phase. Another restaurant is planned on the western end of Riverfront Plaza. | City of Jacksonville/Perkins & Will
May 14, 2026

Second phase of Riverfront Plaza could be completed next year

The next phase of Riverfront Plaza will include a beer garden, restaurant, landscaped pathways, a water feature and more.…