To reflect on the news of the day, Jacksonville Today seeks to include a diverse set of perspectives that add context or unique insight. Regular opinion columnists are independent contractors who are paid for their contribution and are not involved in news decisions. We also welcome guest contributors to submit on matters of public interest. Email column pitches to Editor Jessica Palombo at jessica@jaxtoday.org.
Featured image for “OPINION | Can DeSantis overplay his hand?”
Gov. Ron DeSantis | AP
April 24, 2022

OPINION | Can DeSantis overplay his hand?

In the week since my column last ran in Jacksonville Today, Gov. Ron DeSantis got everything he wanted from the…

Featured image for “OPINION | DeSantis Republicans run the show”
AP Photo/John Raoux
April 20, 2022

OPINION | DeSantis Republicans run the show

It’s pretty clear that much of the Tallahassee Establishment – the TE – still doesn’t get it. This detachment from…

Featured image for “OPINION | I’m at a loss over racism”
The late Justice Joseph Hatchette was the first Black Florida Supreme Court justice. | Florida Supreme Court
April 18, 2022

OPINION | I’m at a loss over racism

I am trying to understand racism. I know what it is. I know why it exists. I know the history…

Featured image for “OPINION | Who wants to be a congressman?”
Mayor Lenny Curry and Gov. Ron DeSantis in Jacksonville
April 17, 2022

OPINION | Who wants to be a congressman?

There was no surprise, none at all, for readers of this column regarding what the Florida Legislature would do with…

Featured image for “OPINION | 5 types of missing middle housing Jax should revive”
April 12, 2022

OPINION | 5 types of missing middle housing Jax should revive

Missing middle housing represents many types of residences ranging in scale between single-family homes and massive apartment buildings. From shotgun…

Featured image for “Capturing the magic of Black motherhood despite the maternal mortality crisis”
April 11, 2022

Capturing the magic of Black motherhood despite the maternal mortality crisis

It’s one thing to know something. It’s an entirely different experience to be immersed in your knowledge, feel it with…

Featured image for “OPINION | Confederacy of dunces”
Mayoral candidate Al Ferraro is proposing a Confederate monument voter referendum | Photo: Al Ferraro for Mayor via Facebook
April 10, 2022

OPINION | Confederacy of dunces

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”  That’s a line from William Faulkner, but it’s also an apt…

Featured image for “OPINION | Dissolving Disney’s special district is complicated”
AP Photo/John Raoux, File
April 6, 2022

OPINION | Dissolving Disney’s special district is complicated

While the Reedy Creek Improvement District (“RCID”) may sound like an organization that handles trash pickup for your local neighborhood,…

Featured image for “OPINION | A tale of 2 bill signings ”
Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells, speaks after President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris looks on at left. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
April 4, 2022

OPINION | A tale of 2 bill signings 

The divisions in our country are often lamented as a deep and complex moral crisis. The right-versus-left partisan politicking, as…

Featured image for “OPINION | The day Brian Kilmeade silenced Jacksonville’s political class”
This 2018 file photo shows co-host Brian Kilmeade on the set of "Fox & Friends" in New York. | AP Photo/Richard Drew
April 3, 2022

OPINION | The day Brian Kilmeade silenced Jacksonville’s political class

On Thursday morning, the Fox & Friends program began the 7 o’clock hour blasting the city of Jacksonville. The catalyst…

Featured image for “OPINION | 5 urban revitalization terms Jax should embrace”
March 29, 2022

OPINION | 5 urban revitalization terms Jax should embrace

Speaking to comparatively simple, cost-effective ways to revitalize Downtown Jacksonville and the Urban Core, these five terms should be in…

Featured image for “OPINION | Performing is par for the course for Black women ”
In this 2021 file photo, Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. (Tom Williams/ AP)
March 28, 2022

OPINION | Performing is par for the course for Black women 

Last week it seemed as if all eyes were glued to the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for judge Ketanji Brown…

Featured image for “OPINION | Will Ron DeSantis pick a Jacksonville senator?”
State Sen. Clay Yarborough.
March 27, 2022

OPINION | Will Ron DeSantis pick a Jacksonville senator?

Imagine you’re Clay Yarborough, a current state representative who thought the next campaign was all set. A few months back,…

Featured image for “OPINION | 6 takeaways from the 2022 legislative session”
You can start to see the influence of incoming Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, on budget items important to this region, Bradley says. | Florida House
March 23, 2022

OPINION | 6 takeaways from the 2022 legislative session

The 2022 Florida regular legislative session is in the books. The Legislature had four constitutionally mandated duties this year: pass…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | Bronzeville: A revitalization example for Jacksonville”
Bronzeville in Chicago
March 22, 2022

THE JAXSON | Bronzeville: A revitalization example for Jacksonville

Those hoping to revitalize Jacksonville’s historic Black neighborhoods should take a look at Chicago’s Bronzeville. Located in the South Side,…

Featured image for “OPINION | A return to normal”
Masks off?
March 22, 2022

OPINION | A return to normal

Over the last few weeks, I’ve allowed my son to go out in the world sans mask. Initially, it wasn’t…

Featured image for “OPINION | Confederate monuments are here to stay ”
The Women of the Southland monument in Springfield Park, as seen in November 2021.
March 20, 2022

OPINION | Confederate monuments are here to stay 

The Jacksonville City Council is set for yet another of its masochistic explorations of what would, in a 21st Century…

Featured image for “OPINION | Fun and games in the Florida Legislature”
Members of the Florida House of Representatives give Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls a standing ovation after his farewell speech on Thursday, March 10, 2022. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
March 14, 2022

OPINION | Fun and games in the Florida Legislature

Florida has gotten a well-earned rep for being the country’s sideshow. “Florida Man” headlines alone illustrate why we’re considered America’s…

Featured image for “OPINION | Controversial Ed Board pick shows what DeSantis thinks of Duval County”
Esther Byrd | Facebook
March 13, 2022

OPINION | Controversial Ed Board pick shows what DeSantis thinks of Duval County

As the Legislature wrapped up its business Friday, the last bit of work before passing the budget Monday, Gov. Ron…

Featured image for “OPINION | Feds’ Everglades slight means more toxic water dumped on Floridians”
A remaining part of the Old Tamiami Trail roadbed is shown, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Miami. The roadbed, which was being removed, acted as a dam preventing water to flow from the Central Everglades into Everglades National Park. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
March 9, 2022

OPINION | Feds’ Everglades slight means more toxic water dumped on Floridians

Lake Okeechobee, the massive water body north of the Everglades, is surrounded by a dike that was built by the…

Featured image for “OPINION | Parking craters: A Downtown vibrancy killer”
March 8, 2022

OPINION | Parking craters: A Downtown vibrancy killer

Despite a common perception that parking is difficult in the city center, Downtown Jacksonville has more surface parking lots, garages…

Featured image for “OPINION | Teachers should make a life, not just a living”
March 7, 2022

OPINION | Teachers should make a life, not just a living

My mother was a public high school teacher for 33 years. She worked at Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.…

Featured image for “OPINION | Ukraine war hits close to home”
A Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces member holds a flower during the wedding ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov during Russia-Ukraine war at a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 6, 2022. | AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
March 6, 2022

OPINION | Ukraine war hits close to home

The narrative thrust of American war, at least as presented in mass media, has been remoteness. Our enemies never have…

Featured image for “OPINION | Differences make us better”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court on Feb. 25, 2022. | AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
February 28, 2022

OPINION | Differences make us better

On this first day of Women’s History Month I’m celebrating the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court…