Al Ferraro

What makes Mayor Deegan’s appointment of Al Ferraro to lead the city’s Neighborhoods Department, so baffling.

Mayor Donna Deegan has made some moves that show a dramatic break with the previous administration. But not all of them are going unchallenged.

Here’s what the candidates had to say about infrastructure needs, their Downtown plan, and the importance of the St. Johns River.

Al Ferraro knows how to read a room. People should finally realize that much and give him the credit he’s due. Throughout his entire political career, he’s been underestimated. In 2015, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce endorsed Democrat Lisa King over him in the District 2 race. King was running as a Gwen Graham-style Democrat, and there was an era

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”  That’s a line from William Faulkner, but it’s also an apt description of Jacksonville’s historical hangover, which was illustrated in stark relief last week. Mayor Lenny Curry and others kicked off the city’s bicentennial celebration with a press conference, but elsewhere there were strong indications that Jacksonville’s history isn’t exactly unifying.