Imagine you’re Clay Yarborough, a current state representative who thought the next campaign was all set. A few months back, you basically were a shoo-in for state Senate. Your two opponents got out of the race to replace termed-out Aaron Bean after Senate leadership endorsed you. One of those opponents, state Rep. Jason Fischer, had about a million bucks raised
The 2022 Florida regular legislative session is in the books. The Legislature had four constitutionally mandated duties this year: pass a budget and pass new state House, state Senate and U.S. congressional maps after the recently completed Census. Three of the four jobs were completed, but the Congressional maps remain in limbo. DeSantis has promised to veto the legislatively approved
Those hoping to revitalize Jacksonville’s historic Black neighborhoods should take a look at Chicago’s Bronzeville. Located in the South Side, Bronzeville rose to prominence as a national hub for blues music during the Great Migration. Today, the neighborhood is in the midst of revitalization while continuing to embrace its heritage and culture. The revitalization of Chicago’s Bronzeville South Side Chicago’s
Over the last few weeks, I’ve allowed my son to go out in the world sans mask. Initially, it wasn’t a conscious decision. Rushing out the door to get him to school on time, I forgot to remind him to grab one of his many masks lying around the house. I suggested he get one from the front office at
The Jacksonville City Council is set for yet another of its masochistic explorations of what would, in a 21st Century city, be a simple question: Should a monument to a band of seditionist criminals, the legacy of whom looms over us like the shadow of a 500-foot statue of Jim Crow, be maintained for all to see? It seems so
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are six sites associated with women who transformed our community and nation. Cummer Museum, 829 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville 32204 Born Ninah May Holden in 1875 and the wife of lumber magnate Arthur Cummer, Ninah was an avid gardener, parks advocate, art collector and philanthropist. She organized relief efforts in response to the Great
Florida has gotten a well-earned rep for being the country’s sideshow. “Florida Man” headlines alone illustrate why we’re considered America’s three-ring circus. (No shade to the dearly departed Barnum & Bailey from Sarasota.) But there comes a point for every prankster and practical joker, for every comedian, comic, and clown when you realize your audience is no longer laughing with
As the Legislature wrapped up its business Friday, the last bit of work before passing the budget Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis put in some work of his own, appointing a local woman to the state Board of Education, a post subject to Senate confirmation. DeSantis chose Esther Byrd of Neptune Beach, who recently lost a City Council race in that
Lake Okeechobee, the massive water body north of the Everglades, is surrounded by a dike that was built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the mid-20th Century. If such a dike is breached, lives are lost as we learned so tragically when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. In 2016, while lake levels were dramatically rising, massive toxic algae blooms
Despite a common perception that parking is difficult in the city center, Downtown Jacksonville has more surface parking lots, garages and empty land – in other words, “parking craters” – than standing buildings. This vast amount of dead space has long been one of the biggest hindrances to Downtown’s progress. What is a parking crater? A Google map of surface
