Featured image for “New law requires bus routes for students near highways”
Some 52,000 students are enrolled in the St. Johns County School District. | Megan Mallicoat, Jacksonville Today
June 13, 2025

New law requires bus routes for students near highways

A St. Augustine legislator sponsored a law that lists highways as a dangerous condition for students walking.…

Featured image for “OPINION | The illegal immigration distraction”
Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond, shown here in a 2023 photo | Jacksonville Daily Record
June 8, 2025

OPINION | The illegal immigration distraction

A common enemy isn’t enough to change voters’ minds. …

Featured image for “No more random boat inspections in Florida”
Oyster boats float on Apalachicola Bay. | Rob Diaz de Villegas, WFSU
May 20, 2025

No more random boat inspections in Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday that requires probable cause for law enforcement to stop and search boats.…

Featured image for “DeSantis defends Hope Florida in St. Augustine appearance”
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Anchor Faith Church in St. Augustine promoting Hope Florida, a state initiative First Lady Casey DeSantis started. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
April 24, 2025

DeSantis defends Hope Florida in St. Augustine appearance

Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis touted the program despite questions about its finances.…

Featured image for “NUMBER OF THE WEEK | Spending Florida’s money”
Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposed budget | Chart by Megan Mallicoat
February 7, 2025

NUMBER OF THE WEEK | Spending Florida’s money

What’s in Gov. DeSantis’ proposed budget, plus a look at how past final state budgets have compared to the governor’s…

Featured image for “OPINION | Muzak for airports: Scenes from Reagan National”
A passenger walks past a flight information board displaying several canceled flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. | AP Photo, Stephanie Scarbrough
February 2, 2025

OPINION | Muzak for airports: Scenes from Reagan National

Being stuck in the airport after the plane crash felt like an apt metaphor for the banal transactional conflicts of…

Featured image for “OPINION | Gubernatorial myopia: DeSantis pencils out girls”
A girl reads a book after school. | Kristina Barke, for Kaiser Health News
June 20, 2024

OPINION | Gubernatorial myopia: DeSantis pencils out girls

One of the governor’s strike-throughs will have an outsized effect on Duval county’s vulnerable girls.…

Featured image for “DeSantis in St. Augustine to sign law enforcement bills”
Flanked by law enforcement officers and legislators at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Gov. Ron DeSantis shows bills he signed Friday, April 12, 2024. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today.
April 12, 2024

DeSantis in St. Augustine to sign law enforcement bills

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed laws that govern police review boards and prevent people from harassing police officers.…

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 “MAP | Where Trump won most handily on the First Coast”
Election 2024 Trump
March 19, 2024

MAP | Where Trump won most handily on the First Coast

Former President Donald Trump smashed his competitors in the Republican presidential primary in Florida on Tuesday.…

Featured image for “DeSantis is sending Florida State Guard to southern border”
Gov. Ron DeSantis announces the Florida State Guard will be deployed to the U,S, border with Mexico during an appearance in Jacksonville on Feb. 1, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 1, 2024

DeSantis is sending Florida State Guard to southern border

In an appearance in Jacksonville, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state will send the Florida State Guard to Texas to…

Featured image for “OPINION | Will Donald Trump unite Jacksonville Republicans?”
Former President Donald Trump stands on stage at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit on Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee. | Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP
January 29, 2024

OPINION | Will Donald Trump unite Jacksonville Republicans?

Republicans, led by the chair of the Duval County party, are being compelled to unite behind Trump weeks before the…

Featured image for “UNF 2024 poll: Trump has overwhelming support among Florida Republican voters”
November 7, 2023

UNF 2024 poll: Trump has overwhelming support among Florida Republican voters

A new poll from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab of likely Republican primary voters across Florida…

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 “DeSantis celebrates first responder bonuses with Jacksonville firefighters and police”
Jacksonville Fire Chief Keith Powers speaks before Gov. Ron DeSantis presented $1,000 bonus checks to local police and firefighters at a Craig Municipal Airport event. | Governor's Office
September 18, 2023

DeSantis celebrates first responder bonuses with Jacksonville firefighters and police

Florida’s governor joined police and fire fighters in Jacksonville to talk about the state’s first responder bonuses.…

Featured image for “Gov. DeSantis awards Clay County over $3.5M infrastructure grant”
September 18, 2023

Gov. DeSantis awards Clay County over $3.5M infrastructure grant

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday awarded more than $3.5 million to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners through the…

Featured image for “Jacksonville demonstrators decry white supremacy, point fingers at DeSantis ”
Jacksonville teacher and activist Neil Jefferson was among the speakers during a demonstration decrying white supremacy on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. The incident was slated to celebrate the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, but shifted into a demonstration following racial violence in Jacksonville's Grand Park neighborhood on Aug. 26. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 29, 2023

Jacksonville demonstrators decry white supremacy, point fingers at DeSantis 

A rally in James Weldon Johnson Park changed into a demonstration against white supremacy after Saturday’s racist shooting.…

Featured image for “Mayor and finance board spar over diversity chief funding”
August 25, 2023

Mayor and finance board spar over diversity chief funding

The Finance Committee recommended slicing a portion of the mayor’s budget that would have paid for a chief of diversity.…

Featured image for “OPINION | No sleep till Milwaukee: A Republican presidential debate preview”
Gov. Ron DeSantis visits Florida State College at Jacksonville on July 18, 2022. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 22, 2023

OPINION | No sleep till Milwaukee: A Republican presidential debate preview

Ron DeSantis must show the American people the aggressiveness and ability to confound his opponents that elevated his national profile.…

Featured image for “OPINION | Jacksonville isn’t Ron DeSantis’ town anymore”
August 21, 2023

OPINION | Jacksonville isn’t Ron DeSantis’ town anymore

What’s clear is that Ron DeSantis has taken his eye off Jacksonville — like the rest of the state — and…

Featured image for “OPINION | VP Harris exposed DeSantis’ weakness ”
Mayor Donna Deegan welcomes Vice President Kamala Harris to Jacksonville on July 21, 2023. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
July 23, 2023

OPINION | VP Harris exposed DeSantis’ weakness 

VP Harris spoke truths about Gov. Ron DeSantis that Florida’s disempowered Democrats lack the platform to fully get over on…

Featured image for “Jacksonville is starting line for ‘rolling protest’ aimed at Black voters ”
Daryl Jones, board chairman of the Transformative Justice Coalition, says the best way to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday is to advocate for the rights of others. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 19, 2023

Jacksonville is starting line for ‘rolling protest’ aimed at Black voters 

On Juneteenth, the celebration of Black people being belatedly notified of their rights, scores of people rallied against new Florida…

Featured image for “OPINION | ‘DeSantismander’ deserves a legal challenge”
The Florida Legislature passed this new congressional district map in April 2022 after Gov. DeSantis vetoed the previous attempt. | Florida Legislature
June 11, 2023

OPINION | ‘DeSantismander’ deserves a legal challenge

Florida’s congressional district map is a fraud, and the most glaring example is my district.  No offense to Aaron Bean,…

Featured image for “OPINION | Ring the alarm ”
Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters in 2018. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
April 5, 2023

OPINION | Ring the alarm 

Florida Republicans are stripping people of safety, bodily autonomy and dignity while masquerading as choice.…