Featured image for “Intracoastal West residents face $4,500 annual tax that many say was a surprise”
Holiday Harbor resident Molton Smith gestures down Hogpen Creek toward neighbors who initiated the creation of a new taxing district the he says is a surprise to many. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
July 23, 2024

Intracoastal West residents face $4,500 annual tax that many say was a surprise

Opponents say what started as a petition to “explore” dredging Hogpen Creek for boating now threatens to price them out…

Featured image for “Voter registration deadline looms for primary election”
The voter registration deadline is Monday for the Aug. 20 primary election in Florida. l Element5 Digital via Unsplash.
July 19, 2024

Voter registration deadline looms for primary election

The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation before the Aug. 20 primary election in Florida is…

Featured image for “Calling for unity, Deegan unveils $1.95B budget”
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan delivers her budget address to City Council on Monday, July 15, 2024. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
July 15, 2024

Calling for unity, Deegan unveils $1.95B budget

Mayor Donna Deegan proposed a budget that calls for drawing on financial reserves and reevaluating capital improvement projects.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY l Why prevent stronger local heat protections for workers?”
Workers add seats to Fort Lauderdale's Chase Stadium in July 2023. | AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
July 11, 2024

#AskJAXTDY l Why prevent stronger local heat protections for workers?

A Jacksonville Today reader says she’s baffled why the governor and legislators want to put workers at risk.…

Featured image for “OPINION | Why is Tom Leek all over your TV when you probably can’t vote for him?”
A screenshot from a Tom Leek ad
June 30, 2024

OPINION | Why is Tom Leek all over your TV when you probably can’t vote for him?

Tom Leek’s establishment cred and big spending haven’t helped him in what’s now a three-way primary battle.…

Featured image for “Kamala Harris assails Florida abortion law in Jacksonville”
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville to decry Florida's abortion laws that outlaw the procedure six weeks after conception on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 1, 2024

Kamala Harris assails Florida abortion law in Jacksonville

The vice president said the Heatbeat Protection Act, which took effect Wednesday, stripped 4 million women of reproductive freedom.…

Featured image for “Leaders fight possible closure of Atlantic Beach Elementary”
Atlantic Beach city commissioners approved a resolution Monday urging Duval County Schools to keep Atlantic Beach Elementary School open. | News 4 Jax
April 9, 2024

Leaders fight possible closure of Atlantic Beach Elementary

Duval County Public Schools is considering a recommendation to close 37 schools across the county.…

Featured image for “DeSantis comes to Jacksonville to sign social media limits on kids”
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed shows HB 3, the social media restrictions he signed Monday, March 25, 2024, at Cornerstone Classical Academy in Jacksonville. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 25, 2024

DeSantis comes to Jacksonville to sign social media limits on kids

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB3 at Cornerstone Classical Academy, banning children younger than 14 from having social media accounts.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY l Why can’t I vote at any polling place on Election Day?”
A Jacksonville Today reader wonders why voters can't cast their ballot at any polling place.
March 22, 2024

#AskJAXTDY l Why can’t I vote at any polling place on Election Day?

A Jacksonville Today reader wonders why voters can’t cast their ballots at any polling location, the same as they can…

Featured image for “Randy White appears a lock for council president as Carrico, Boylan vie for VP”
Council President Ron Salem, left, and Council Vice President Randy White, right, listen as their colleagues pledge to support White as the next City Council president when Salem steps down July 1. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
March 11, 2024

Randy White appears a lock for council president as Carrico, Boylan vie for VP

Randy White appears set to take the reins as the president of the government body this summer. The race for…

Featured image for “OPINION | A look back at a bad legislative session for Northeast Florida”
The Florida Capitol Complex is viewed, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
March 10, 2024

OPINION | A look back at a bad legislative session for Northeast Florida

What do we make of the 2024 Florida legislative session that just wrapped up? And how did Jacksonville fare?…

Featured image for “Jacksonville’s new planning director lays out his mission”
R. Brett James is Jacksonville's new Director of Planning. | NAVFAC Southwest
February 9, 2024

Jacksonville’s new planning director lays out his mission

R. Brett James, a former Navy civilian director, took over this week as Jacksonville’s chief of planning and development.…

Featured image for “Housing Authority CEO abruptly resigns, saying he feels forced out”
Dwayne Alexander resigned as president and CEO of the Jacksonville Housing Authority. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
January 30, 2024

Housing Authority CEO abruptly resigns, saying he feels forced out

President and CEO Dwayne Alexander was the third major departure from the agency in recent weeks.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY l What happens with the money set aside to remove Confederate monuments?”
Statues that decorated the monument to the Women of the Confederacy were removed from Springfield Park in Jacksonville and placed in storage in December.
January 26, 2024

#AskJAXTDY l What happens with the money set aside to remove Confederate monuments?

There was already money in the budget for the removal of the Confederate statues at Springfield Park. A reader asked…

Featured image for “How to change your party affiliation ahead of an election”
January 26, 2024

How to change your party affiliation ahead of an election

The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation ahead of the March primary is coming up Feb…

Featured image for “Polling locations are changing in St. Johns County”
A Jacksonville Today reader wonders why voters can't cast their ballot at any polling place.
January 18, 2024

Polling locations are changing in St. Johns County

Changes in polling locations will affect about 23,000 of the 217,000 registered voters in St. Johns County.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville Council rails over removal of Confederate statues”
Jacksonville General Counsel Michael Fackler listens to City Council questions Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, about the removal of Confederate statutes from Springfield Park.
January 2, 2024

Jacksonville Council rails over removal of Confederate statues

City Council members spent over an hour Tuesday criticizing General Counsel Michael Fackler for the removal of Confederate statues in…

Featured image for “City councilman seeks reform after mayor’s no-bid contract”
A City Council committee approved an ordinance that would require certain businesses to provide changing tables for adults. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
December 7, 2023

City councilman seeks reform after mayor’s no-bid contract

Councilman Nick Howland is pushing legislation he calls the “Transparency for Taxpayers Act,” which would require a City Council vote on…

Featured image for “Mayor stands her ground on contract with lobbying firm”
November 8, 2023

Mayor stands her ground on contract with lobbying firm

Mayor Donna Deegan says she won’t comply with requests to withdraw a lobbying contract awarded without seeking bids.…

Featured image for “When DeSantis says ‘woke,’ some in Jacksonville hear ‘Black’”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Florida is a place where woke goes to die. In Jacksonville, some pastors and civil rights groups, consider anti-woke as a euphemism for anti-Black. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 31, 2023

When DeSantis says ‘woke,’ some in Jacksonville hear ‘Black’

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigns for president on a platform of “anti-wokeness,” pastors and civil rights activists in Jacksonville…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY l How did Northeast Florida’s reps vote for House speaker?”
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., takes the oath to be the new House speaker l Alex Brandon/AP
October 31, 2023

#AskJAXTDY l How did Northeast Florida’s reps vote for House speaker?

A reader asked us which Northeast Florida Representatives voted for new House Speaker Mike Johnson.…

Featured image for “Michael Fackler recommended as Jacksonville’s top attorney”
Michael Fackler discusses his observations of the General Counsel's Office to a panel considering his appointment on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. | Casmira Harrison, Jacksonville Today
October 26, 2023

Michael Fackler recommended as Jacksonville’s top attorney

The General Counsel Qualification Review Committee endorsed Fackler’s hiring as general counsel. City Council still must approve the appointment.…

Featured image for “OPINION | In defense of Ron Salem”
Ron Salem is a member of the Jacksonville City Council. He was reelected in March 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 23, 2023

OPINION | In defense of Ron Salem

Ron Salem, a Republican of Palestinian descent, is taking hits for his no vote on a City Council resolution offering…

Featured image for “OPINION | ‘Both sides’ now?”
Democratic Reps. Tray McCurdy of Orlando, Angie Nixon of Jacksonville, and Felicia Robinson of Miami Gardens sit on the Florida state seal in protest of congressional redistricting by the Florida Legislature last spring. | AP
October 18, 2023

OPINION | ‘Both sides’ now?

The reaction of some local politicians on Israel was contradictory at best and, at worst, incomprehensibly tone-deaf. …