PerspectivesA.G. Gancarski Jacksonville Today Contributor
Featured image for “OPINION | Ron DeSantis doesn’t get Duval. Does he care?”
November 21, 2021

OPINION | Ron DeSantis doesn’t get Duval. Does he care?

In 2018, Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t win Duval County in the general election race against Andrew Gillum. It was a…

Featured image for “A Florida climate scientist sees 5 ways the infrastructure bill will help protect us”
President Joe Biden signs the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Nov. 15, 2021. On Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online spreading falsehoods about why the presidential seal on Biden’s desk was blurred in a recent video that was shared on Vice President Kamala Harris’ Twitter account. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
November 19, 2021

A Florida climate scientist sees 5 ways the infrastructure bill will help protect us

One of Florida’s top climate scientists says the Biden administration’s new infrastructure bill isn’t a climate panacea but, he says,…

Featured image for “OPINION | Floridians want control of their life back”
Gov. Ron DeSantis | AP
November 17, 2021

OPINION | Floridians want control of their life back

For over a year now, our lives have been completely upended, and it all seems terribly unfair. Family and friends…

Featured image for “OPINION | 5 infrastructure bill projects Jacksonville should pursue”
A flooded street reveals some of Jacksonville's infrastructure needs.
November 16, 2021

OPINION | 5 infrastructure bill projects Jacksonville should pursue

President Joe Biden finally signed his hard-fought $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law on Monday, November 15.…

Featured image for “OPINION | What are we teaching our children?”
A Confederate monument in Springfield Park is covered with a tarp to prevent vandalism.
November 15, 2021

OPINION | What are we teaching our children?

City Council has withdrawn the Confederate monument legislation and may never take it up again —  an act of cowardice…

Featured image for “OPINION | Can Donna Deegan win?”
Deegan announced her candidacy for mayor on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross.
November 14, 2021

OPINION | Can Donna Deegan win?

Fundraising isn’t everything. That is what every underfinanced candidate has said since the beginning of time. And that is also…

Featured image for “Duval students are growing more diverse, so DCPS wants teachers to be, too”
At San Jose Elementary in the Lakewood area, 45% of the student body are considered English language learners.
November 10, 2021

Duval students are growing more diverse, so DCPS wants teachers to be, too

When Ingrid Carias began working in the Duval County Public School system around 2014, there were about 5,500 students the…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Downtown Jacksonville dresses up for Toni Smailagic”
Kalypso Couture owner Michael Armanno in front of his new downtown storefront on Laura Street.
November 10, 2021

PHOTO ESSAY | Downtown Jacksonville dresses up for Toni Smailagic

Introduction by Matthew Shaw | Photographs and captions by Toni Smailagic When Toni Smailagic brings out his camera, it seems,…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | These are the projects revitalizing Jacksonville’s Historic Eastside”
November 9, 2021

THE JAXSON | These are the projects revitalizing Jacksonville’s Historic Eastside

Many cities are looking for solutions to the issues caused by gentrification and displacement. One emerging strategy is “‘withintrification,” when…

November 8, 2021

OPINION | Annoyance, Irritation, & Rage

I wanted to write a response to the recent stories about housing: one in this newsletter on the plan to…

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November 7, 2021

OPINION | Confederate Cowards

The wisdom of the Jacksonville City Council has always been a matter of debate.  This is the same group that…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Jacksonville through the lens of Michael Rakim”
November 3, 2021

PHOTO ESSAY | Jacksonville through the lens of Michael Rakim

Introduction by Matthew Shaw | Photographs and captions by Michael Rakim The first time I saw the work of Wesley…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | Can townhomes plug Jax housing’s ‘missing middle’?”
November 2, 2021

THE JAXSON | Can townhomes plug Jax housing’s ‘missing middle’?

Two new projects in LaVilla and San Marco are creating something in short supply in Jacksonville: urban townhomes. Can they…

Featured image for “Fewer fumes: What the switch to electric vehicles means for Jacksonville”
Traffic flows toward Downtown Jacksonville just after rush hour.
November 2, 2021

Fewer fumes: What the switch to electric vehicles means for Jacksonville

Experts say electrification of trucks and cars would be an essential step toward canceling out America’s yearly greenhouse gas emissions…

November 1, 2021

OPINION | Life is the goal

By next week, vaccines could be available locally for children ages 5 to 11 and the long pandemic nightmare we’ve…

Featured image for “ADAPT: The State of the St. Johns River”
November 1, 2021

ADAPT: The State of the St. Johns River

Following the release on October 15 of the 14th annual State of the St. Johns River report, WJCT Public Media…

Featured image for “OPINION | Stop prosecuting Corrine Brown”
Corrine Brown is pictured walking into a Oct. 2020 court appearance. | News4Jax
October 31, 2021

OPINION | Stop prosecuting Corrine Brown

Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who long represented part of the Jacksonville area until 2017, is set to stand trial for…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Leighton Hoey’s view from inside Jacksonville’s music scene”
October 27, 2021

PHOTO ESSAY | Leighton Hoey’s view from inside Jacksonville’s music scene

Introduction by Matthew Shaw | Photographs and captions by Leighton Hoey As someone who has spent the last half-decade or…

Featured image for “OPINION | Why Amtrak should be on Jacksonville’s radar”
October 26, 2021

OPINION | Why Amtrak should be on Jacksonville’s radar

Jacksonville stands to be a major beneficiary over the next 15 years as Amtrak plans to add service across the…

October 25, 2021

OPINION | Who’s policing the police?

My son is 6,He likes to run,I encourage him to go the distance Jury selection is underway in the murder…

Featured image for “OPINION | 2023 mayoral hopefuls flex fundraising muscles”
October 24, 2021

OPINION | 2023 mayoral hopefuls flex fundraising muscles

Time was when a candidate could run for mayor or whatever they wanted in Duval County, armed with nothing more…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Tom Schifanella’s hidden Jacksonville”
Did you know that Jacksonville has a waterfall? It's at Bulls Bay Preserve on the Westside. The 1,200-acre park encompasses the wetlands of two tributaries of the St. Johns River, Cedar River and Six Mile Creek. This area was first settled in the 1820s and was once known as “Cracker Swamp.”
October 21, 2021

PHOTO ESSAY | Tom Schifanella’s hidden Jacksonville

Atlantic Beach-based landscape photographer Tom Schifanella trains his lens on Jacksonville’s natural beauty.…

Featured image for “OPINION | One Riverside and how to activate an urban sidewalk”
October 20, 2021

OPINION | One Riverside and how to activate an urban sidewalk

One Riverside Avenue, the development planned to replace the former Florida Times-Union headquarters, will likely be up for final site…

October 19, 2021

OPINION | Take ‘Em Down

“I’m never living in the South again.”  This is what my mother says to me often. A New Orleans native…