Symphony’s Executive Director is Leaving
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Alan Hopper has said he will be leaving his current position. Hopper’s resignation was announced by James Van Vleck, chairman of the Symphony’s board. Although Vleck did not discuss specific details about the circumstances around Hopper leaving, the change comes at the end of the Symphony’s recent two-month long strike. The [...]
Continue reading...Animal control suffers during revenue cutbacks
Monday, February 11, 2008
Animal Care and Control departments in Nassau, Duval and Clay are experiencing severe revenue shortfalls due to the recent property tax crunch - which in many cases is to the direct detriment of citizens who receive animal control services. Animal control, when done with the right techniques, is one area where municipalities can save money [...]
Continue reading...Florida to vote on gay marriage in November
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, a ballot initiative long-sought by social conservatives in the Sunshine State, has received enough valid petitions to be put forward in 2008. The amendment, which would prescribe a change to Florida’s constitution, will be a legal obstacle to same-sex couples obtaining marriage licenses. It does not prohibit civil unions, or [...]
Continue reading...Judge fires assistant, causes fallout
Friday, January 4, 2008
Local judge Aaron Bowden recently fired his Judicial Assistant Christine Birch, a 17-year veteran in the position, who had been off work for cancer treatment since August. Birch, who has been fighting cancer for the last five years, was left without any medical insurance or an income shortly before Christmas. Bowden says [...]
Continue reading...Local perception of Crist depends on who you talk to
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Times-Union has an interesting, although short, interview with Governor Charlie Crist in which he discusses a few issues including the property tax amendment and crime on the First Coast. Although the public seems to have a fairly positive view of Governor Crist, many local officials have a less-than-rosy perception, mostly because of the effect [...]
Continue reading...If you aren’t a registered voter, now is the time
Friday, December 14, 2007
December 31 is the deadline to register to vote to be able to vote in the Presidential primary. Read a short list of the qualifications to be able to vote here. Most libraries, schools, colleges, churches and Supervisor of Elections offices will have voter registration forms available. If you’re already a voter, make sure that you [...]
Continue reading...Local revolving door to speed up in 2008
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A change in federal sentencing rules means that a number of crack cocaine offenders - many of whom are from Jacksonville - will soon be eligible for release. They would get out eventually anyway, of course, but having the sentences of 772 offenders retroactively shortened seems like a bit of a surge in releases. [...]
Continue reading...Corey gets time with public at FOP
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
State Attorney candidate Angela Corey joined members of the public at the Fraternal Order of Police lodge on Beach Blvd on Monday for a community action forum. One of the major topics was crime, especially notable with the total number of homicides in Jacksonville at 141 as of December 5. The FOP endorsed [...]
Continue reading...Manns goes back for a year
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Henry Manns has been sent back to prison for a year, with 4 years of supervised release afterwards. He was caught in Texas in September driving a rented car with a huge pile of cash, but was not arrested until October. All of the charges this time around involved violating his probation, and [...]
Continue reading...Another step towards a local spaceport
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
It still sounds like a long shot, but an environmental study is now underway to determine if using Cecil Field as an area for launching spacecraft could have an ecological impact. This is a requisite part of the process, although there is as yet no official word on when Jacksonville could be in the [...]
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
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