PerspectivesRob Bradley Jacksonville Today Contributor
Featured image for “OPINION | Which candidate will be in sync with voters?”
Donald Trump speaking in Nashville | AP
June 22, 2022

OPINION | Which candidate will be in sync with voters?

You never really know when voters are done and ready to move on until, well, they move on. Take the…

Featured image for “OPINION | Resolving the Downtown self-storage wars”
The Shops at 300 Needham Street/EZ Storage development in Newton, Massachusetts, are an example of a mixed-use storage center. | Avison Young.
June 21, 2022

OPINION | Resolving the Downtown self-storage wars

Developers want to lift a ban on self-storage facilities in Downtown Jacksonville, but building such facilities could stifle streets and…

Featured image for “Florida Power & Light sets ambitious goal to eliminate carbon emissions by 2045”
FPL solar power trees in Downtown Miami. Credit: Felix Mizioznikov
June 21, 2022

Florida Power & Light sets ambitious goal to eliminate carbon emissions by 2045

The parent company of Florida’s largest utility has announced plans to expand its use of solar energy and other renewable…

Featured image for “OPINION | I’ll take freedom over a holiday any day”
Fannie Lou Hamer, center, is pictured with Annie Devine, left, and Victoria Gray after the three were denied access to the U.S. House floor in 1965. | AP
June 20, 2022

OPINION | I’ll take freedom over a holiday any day

“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired…nobody’s free until everybody’s free…if I fall, I’ll fall 5 feet…

Featured image for “From Green Cove Springs to D.C.: Congressional Black Caucus executive director has local roots ”
Congressional Black Caucus Executive Director Vince Evans, center, smiles as Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland), left, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina) greet each other during a meeting with members of the National Pan Hellenic Council on June 14, 2022. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today.
June 20, 2022

From Green Cove Springs to D.C.: Congressional Black Caucus executive director has local roots 

A Jax Today Q&A with Vince Evans Vince Evans stood against a wall, listening and nodding as Rep. Sheila Jackson…

Featured image for “More than a third of Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers don’t live in Duval County”
June 15, 2022

More than a third of Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers don’t live in Duval County

Jacksonville’s recently resigned sheriff, Mike Williams, isn’t the only one who was policing the county while living somewhere else. Data…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | 3 alternatives to demolishing 618 West Adams Street”
June 14, 2022

THE JAXSON | 3 alternatives to demolishing 618 West Adams Street

A building possibly directly linked to the Great Fire of 1901 in LaVilla could be demolished soon. Here are a…

Featured image for “OPINION | Bet on Black women”
Longtime state legislator Audrey Gibson is running for Jacksonville mayor. | News Service of Florida
June 13, 2022

OPINION | Bet on Black women

My heart was glad when I saw the announcement that term-limited Democratic state Sen. Audrey Gibson was entering the Jacksonville…

Featured image for “To fight violent crime, Jacksonville offering Rise Up grants for nonprofits”
Arnisha Johnson, right, and Shontae Jackson, center, listen to city officials discuss the criteria for the Jacksonville Rise Up Mini Grant program that will be allocated through the Safety and Crime Reduction Commission. The $336,000 program will award up to $9,000 to local nonprofits to prevent violent crime. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 12, 2022

To fight violent crime, Jacksonville offering Rise Up grants for nonprofits

Shontae Jackson does not need to be told how devastating it can be when a family member’s life is shockingly…

Featured image for “OPINION | Will DeSantis get his Duval revenge?”
Gov. Ron DeSantis | AP
June 12, 2022

OPINION | Will DeSantis get his Duval revenge?

In the final analysis, Gov. Ron DeSantis may be the big winner of the Jacksonville sheriff’s race in 2023. Consider…

Featured image for “OPINION | DeSantis’ vetoes gut Legislature’s priorities”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the American Legislative Exchange Council Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Salt Lake City. | AP
June 8, 2022

OPINION | DeSantis’ vetoes gut Legislature’s priorities

Two months ago in this column, I predicted that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto list for this year’s state budget would…

Featured image for “THE JAXSON | 5 moments that shaped Jacksonville history”
The Gullah Geechee neighborhood Eastside was platted in 1869 and originally settled by the former enslaved. | University of North Florida
June 7, 2022

THE JAXSON | 5 moments that shaped Jacksonville history

As Jacksonville celebrates its 200th birthday this week, here are five moments that made the city what it is today:…

Featured image for “Jacksonville’s Small Business Equity Fund is stimulus for overlooked companies”
The City of Jacksonville provided $1 million for LISC Jacksonville to allocate through its Small Business Equity Fund grant program. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 6, 2022

Jacksonville’s Small Business Equity Fund is stimulus for overlooked companies

Dara Davis started All Construction Group, a company she operates out of her home on Jacksonville’s Northside, in March of…

Featured image for “OPINION | A toast to brighter futures”
Photo: Jessica Palombo
June 6, 2022

OPINION | A toast to brighter futures

Saturday, the city of Jacksonville will mark its 200th birthday with a jam-packed bicentennial celebration schedule. It’s also my daughter’s…

Featured image for “OPINION | Have Democrats already lost the governor’s race?”
Charlie Crist announced his candidacy for governor on May 4, 2021. | AP
June 5, 2022

OPINION | Have Democrats already lost the governor’s race?

Democrats are in a bad position vis-a-vis Ron DeSantis, and it seems to have them hamstrung as time starts to…

June 3, 2022

Undercurrents: Cultures of Climate Change

On June 2nd, ADAPT partnered with Flagler College and the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum for “Undercurrents: Cultures of Climate Change,” an…

Featured image for “OPINION | Where the sheriff lives matters”
A.G. Gancarski (center-right) walks behind Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams in this photo from 2020 | WJCT News
June 1, 2022

OPINION | Where the sheriff lives matters

One of my least favorite fictions about our region is that Jacksonville and the rest of Northeast Florida are the…

Featured image for “Local leaders respond to Sheriff Mike Williams’ move out of Jacksonville”
Sheriff Mike Williams flanked by Mayor Lenny Curry and Leonard Fournette at a 2020 rally in Downtown Jacksonville.
June 1, 2022

Local leaders respond to Sheriff Mike Williams’ move out of Jacksonville

Jacksonville’s office of general counsel is set to weigh in by 2 p.m. Thursday on whether Sheriff Mike Williams should…

Featured image for “OPINION | Between the cheerleaders and cynics”
May 31, 2022

OPINION | Between the cheerleaders and cynics

The Jaxson team is often accused of being cheerleaders for Jacksonville who don’t do enough to acknowledge our city’s problems.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville isn’t letting ‘a single grant opportunity slip by’ for resilience”
A woman wades through flood water from the St. Johns River following Hurricane Irma on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in Jacksonville. Credit: John Bazemore, Associated Press
May 31, 2022

Jacksonville isn’t letting ‘a single grant opportunity slip by’ for resilience

Jacksonville has secured millions in funding for resilience projects and the city expects to get a lot more by the…

Featured image for “OPINION | The answer to gun violence? Abolish guns”
Gathering at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. | AP
May 30, 2022

OPINION | The answer to gun violence? Abolish guns

Last week, I dropped off and picked up my son from school for the last time until the next school…

Featured image for “Former Jax area Wells Fargo SVP says he was fired for objecting to fake interviews for non-white candidates”
Joe Bruno was a senior vice president and Jacksonville market manager with Wells Fargo Advisors before being fired in late 2021.
May 26, 2022

Former Jax area Wells Fargo SVP says he was fired for objecting to fake interviews for non-white candidates

A Jax Today Q&A with Joe Bruno Joe Bruno, a former executive at Wells Fargo, claimed this month in The…

Featured image for “OPINION | To stabilize property insurance, focus on resilience”
Preserving wetlands and other resilience investment is the best way to keep property insurance rates down in Florida, Bradley says. | North Florida Land Trust
May 25, 2022

OPINION | To stabilize property insurance, focus on resilience

There is a reason why very few people lived in Florida until the middle of the 20th Century. It’s often…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY | Why doesn’t Florida have rent control?”
The average rent in the 32205 ZIP code has increased 31% since the start of the pandemic and 54% over the last five years. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 24, 2022

#AskJAXTDY | Why doesn’t Florida have rent control?

The Jacksonville Today team is answering your housing questions, as rents in the region have climbed by more than twice…