Jacksonville Today covers government with clear and accessible reporting. We keep you informed about City Hall decisions, mayoral initiatives, City Council meetings, and elections. Our political coverage extends beyond Jacksonville to include regional and state-level issues that affect Northeast Florida. We aim to provide context, accountability, and clarity so you understand how policies shape your community.
Featured image for “Housing aid recipients would have 3 months to find work under new regulation”
Katrina Moore listens at a public meeting held by the Jacksonville Housing Authority on Saturday, June 26, 2026. | Elizabeth Caldwell, Jacksonville Today
July 1, 2026

Housing aid recipients would have 3 months to find work under new regulation

Some Jacksonville Housing Authority residents are concerned they wouldn’t have enough time.…

Featured image for “140 Florida laws go into effect July 1. Here are some you’ll want to know”
Four Jacksonville men were charged in a nationwide fraud investigation tied to the Paycheck Protection Program.
July 1, 2026

140 Florida laws go into effect July 1. Here are some you’ll want to know

New laws taking effect today cover safety, the environment, healthcare, education and more.…

Featured image for “HUD and Jacksonville team up to create affordable housing on Northside”
This manufactured home is an example of how Jacksonville and HUD hope to increase affordable housing. | City of Jacksonville
June 30, 2026

HUD and Jacksonville team up to create affordable housing on Northside

The Starter Home Initiative will use manufactured homes to create more affordable housing.…

Featured image for “State budget: What First Coast projects survived DeSantis’ veto and what got cut”
A rendering shows the hotel, convention center and culinary institute proposed by Corner Lot and investment partner Aspect Holdings LLC on the Northbank of Downtown Jacksonville. | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 30, 2026

State budget: What First Coast projects survived DeSantis’ veto and what got cut

Gov. Ron DeSantis released his state budget veto list with nearly $18 million in funding cuts for the Northeast Florida.…

Featured image for “Duval GOP tries to oust Libertarian from ballot; key hearings coming this week”
Addison "Liberty" Patrick, the Libertarian candidate for Jacksonville City Council At-Large Group 1, stands outside Jacksonville City Hall on Friday, June 26, 2026. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
June 29, 2026

Duval GOP tries to oust Libertarian from ballot; key hearings coming this week

Libertarian Addison “Liberty” Patrick is fighting a GOP lawsuit over the City Council special election.…

Featured image for “JEA set to raise water and electric rates; hearing and vote Tuesday”
JEA headquarters is at 225 N. Pearl St. | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 26, 2026

JEA set to raise water and electric rates; hearing and vote Tuesday

The average customer’s combined water, sewer and electric bill would rise about $8 per month.…

Featured image for “DeSantis vetoes e-bike regulations, warning about government surveillance”
Two e-bike riders talk with a police officer. | News4Jax
June 26, 2026

DeSantis vetoes e-bike regulations, warning about government surveillance

The bill would have limited e-bikes to a 10 mph speed limit on paths shared with pedestrians.…

Featured image for “Duval changes some voting sites for August and November elections”
The Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office l Steven Ponson, Jacksonville Today
June 26, 2026

Duval changes some voting sites for August and November elections

Ten Duval County voting sites are changing. Two of them are temporary and the rest permanent.…

Featured image for “Unredacted texts tie Carrico’s JEA board pick to Nassau teen center project”
June 25, 2026

Unredacted texts tie Carrico’s JEA board pick to Nassau teen center project

The State Attorney’s Office provided previously redacted text message in a response to a public records request for subpoenaed documents.…

Featured image for “‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center shuts down a year after opening”
An immigration detension center in the Everglades has been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." | Rebecca Blackwell, AP
June 25, 2026

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center shuts down a year after opening

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the detention center served its purpose, but immigration advocates called the center inhumane.…

Featured image for “Toxic Tides: Rising seas increase risk of contaminants in Jacksonville’s waterfront communities”
Onlookers wave to a family fishing on the banks of the Ribault River, a Northside waterway identified by the St. Johns River Keeper as in need of remediation due to the presence of fecal coliform bacteria and heavy metals. | Amanda Rosenblatt for The Florida Trib
June 25, 2026

Toxic Tides: Rising seas increase risk of contaminants in Jacksonville’s waterfront communities

Industrial sites more susceptible to flooding are often in or near historically marginalized neighborhoods.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville among first cities to push Trump’s housing aid cuts”
Tewanna Jones (aka Pink Diamond) walks in front of the entrance to a public housing community in Jacksonville on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. | Elizabeth Caldwell, Jacksonville Today
June 25, 2026

Jacksonville among first cities to push Trump’s housing aid cuts

The Jacksonville Housing Authority could adopt a two-year limit on assistance and mandate that tenants work. …

Featured image for “Jacksonville sets aside 14 more sites to develop affordable housing”
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan announces the city's down payment assistance program for home ownership. Joining her March 7, 2026, are, from left, Joshua Hicks, the city's director of affordable housing; City Council member Ju'Coby Pittman; Adam Rigel, chief financial officer of JWB Real Estate Cos.; and city Housing and Community Development Chief Travis Jeffrey. They gathered in front of a house for sale in the 1400 block of 25th Street East. | David Bauerlein, Florida Times-Union
June 24, 2026

Jacksonville sets aside 14 more sites to develop affordable housing

Applications will open this summer for nonprofits to pitch affordable housing projects on the properties.…

Featured image for “How the Christobel sewer project improves community connections”
U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Jacksonville, says connections between his office, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan's office and the federal Environmental Protection Agency helped secure $6.7 million in funding to remove septic tanks from the Christobel community in Northwest Jacksonville. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 23, 2026

How the Christobel sewer project improves community connections

The Christobel Septic Tank Phase Out Project fulfills a longstanding infrastructure promise to Northwest Jacksonville.…

Featured image for “JEA chief executive testifies in City Council workplace investigation”
Jacksonville City Council member Ron Salem grills JEA Managing Director and CEO Vickie Cavey during a City Council Special Investigatory Committee meeting on Monday, June 22, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 23, 2026

JEA chief executive testifies in City Council workplace investigation

JEA CEO Vickie Cavey will likely be the last of the utility executives to testify in the investigation.…

Featured image for “Deegan’s city budget could include record spending on police and fire”
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan speaks at a town hall meeting. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
June 18, 2026

Deegan’s city budget could include record spending on police and fire

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is asking Mayor Donna Deegan for a $675.9 million budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.…

Featured image for “‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees transferred out for hurricane season”
Trucks come and go from the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades on Aug. 28, 2025. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP file
June 17, 2026

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees transferred out for hurricane season

All detainees were sent to other immigration centers, but the future of “Alligator Alcatraz” is unknown.…

Featured image for “DeSantis clashes with Florida GOP over absence of gubernatorial debate”
Gov. Ron DeSantis disagrees with the Republican Party of Florida about debate plans. | J. Scott Applewhite, AP
June 17, 2026

DeSantis clashes with Florida GOP over absence of gubernatorial debate

The party says only U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has qualified for a debate. The governor has an issue with that.…

Featured image for “JEA employees happy on the job, but survey rates leadership lower”
JEA headquarters is at 225 N. Pearl St. | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 16, 2026

JEA employees happy on the job, but survey rates leadership lower

The survey polled 59% of JEA’s administrative and frontline workers as a City Council investigation continues.…

Featured image for “St. Johns County is latest to consider moratorium on data centers”
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 16, 2026

St. Johns County is latest to consider moratorium on data centers

County Commissioner Ann Taylor said moratoriums in other counties make St. Johns a “sitting duck” for a data center.…

Featured image for “Lawsuit challenges ballot wording on property tax reduction”
Gov. DeSantis calls for a special session during a news conference in Tampa. | The Florida Channel
June 12, 2026

Lawsuit challenges ballot wording on property tax reduction

Two former elected officials and a nonprofit group allege that the property tax issue is misleading.…

Featured image for “DeSantis signs bills linked to Duval school district and Cecil Airport”
The air traffic control tower at Cecil Airport on Jacksonville's Westside | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 11, 2026

DeSantis signs bills linked to Duval school district and Cecil Airport

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two Jacksonville-centric bills this week: one that will affect how the Duval School Board handles legal…

Featured image for “Florida Supreme Court allows new election maps to remain in place”
State Senators listen to debate on SB 8-D, a redistricting bill, during a special session of the Florida Legislature on April 29, 2026, in Tallahassee. | Mike Stewart, AP file
June 11, 2026

Florida Supreme Court allows new election maps to remain in place

The decision was a victory for the national GOP as it seeks to retain its slim House majority in midterm…

Featured image for “Florida immigration arrests surge; state and local agencies at the forefront”
Florida Highway Patrol officers watch Gov. Ron DeSantis arrive at a news conference about a recent immigration enforcement operation, at the South Florida office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations, May 1, 2025, in Miramar. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP
June 11, 2026

Florida immigration arrests surge; state and local agencies at the forefront

The surge has largely remained under the radar, with many immigration arrests starting as police traffic stops.…