There’s a lot of trash talking in Fernandina Beach
Trash rules seem to apply to city residents and businesses, but not to the city or the City Manager. It is apparent we are living in the "do as I say not as I do" world in Fernandina. For instance, in a recent article titled "Talking Trash" by our City Manager,...
The Skyway, a hand-me-down from the days of double-knit suits
Mass transit fans may have been dismayed when funding for the Skyway was diverted to a new fad, but they shouldn’t fear – bad projects almost never die. The Skyway dates to 1972, when mass transit enthusiasts discovered the federal government was throwing away money...
Orange Crush Festival gets special privileges you can’t get
In a recent interview with Sheriff Mike Williams about this weekend's Orange Crush "festival" he said the communication between the organizers and the city has been "haphazard." Haphazard is not a word the residents of Jacksonville and the beaches wants to hear. We...
Flush with cash, local politicians may demand even more
With property values soaring and many new developments in the queue, it is difficult to see what would justify an increase in the property tax rate in Jacksonville. Insiders on the City Council say there are discussions about increasing property taxes. That would be a...
Mayor Curry again walks the town content with the labor of tearing it down
Once again Mayor Curry and his team have taken a wrecking ball to a city landmark. The biggest wrecking ball was the demolition of The Landing after the Mayor revealed (but didn't mean to) -- "we have a plan to take back The Landing." He took it back as he said he...
Eye hands out a WINK to local mom, Quisha King
There is a movement in the air and it involves Moms who are not happy with what's going on in America. I'm reminded of the old saying, "When Mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" Moms in America are not happy with many issues facing families today. But one of the...
Lori Hershey: You might be a RINO if…
Every election cycle politicians clamor for the votes of hardworking taxpayers. They make promises and many wear masks to hide who they really are at heart. Here at Eye on Jacksonville, we believe that you shouldn’t take all of the campaign hype at face value - voters...
Everyone might not love the gift taxpayers are giving them next year
Come January, Jacksonville residents will begin paying twice as much in local taxes on the gasoline they put in their cars and trucks. This will be the result of a 14-5 vote by the City Council recently. The tax increase was predicated on the unproven and irrelevant...
Downtown boom should include a new park featuring a Navy vessel
On this day in history, June 6, 1944, the Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. This day was known as the beginning of the end of war in Europe. More than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day...
Looking for John Locke
In a rhetorical flight of fancy upon the passing of a new tax, City Council President Tommy Hazouri said Jacksonville had embarked upon a new “era of enlightenment.” He was referring not just to the doubling of a tax that will hit the poor hardest but also the work of...
The sun has not set on taxing and spending in Jacksonville
One City Council member sees a disturbing pattern in city government of taxing and spending with no end in sight. “I’ve been warning about taxes,” Council Member Al Ferraro told Eye on Jacksonville. The latest in a string of tax increases is a local option boat...
Life is full of risk, and retention ponds are just one example
Politicians and the local media are becoming aware of a problem Eye on Jacksonville highlighted more than six months ago. Retention ponds are dangerous. Two children have drowned in them recently. They also collect pollutants and, while they might not actually pose a...
Just another day in Jacksonville – higher taxes again
Mayor Curry's video announcement of the passing of the gas tax sent spikes under my skin. I wanted to give him a little CEO Coaching on the delivery of the message. But, alas, as you have been informed, Mayor Curry's Administration has no desire to hear from Eye on...
Local Republicans teamed up with Democrats to tax and spend
City Council does have Republican members, believe it or not. They even constitute a majority. Wednesday, when the council voted to double the local gas tax, it was hard to believe. If the vote had been split on party lines the tax increase would have been defeated....
Rebel Yell: In Praise of Confederate School Names
Guest writer, Marcos Protheroe, is a teacher and a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School. We appreciate his thoughtful and well researched article on the truth behind Confederate symbols. ***** The fuss over Confederate symbols should have ended in 1995. That year,...
Different perspectives, different results
There’s nothing politicians like better than to spend your money. They call this “investing.” But, somehow, profits never land in your bank account. You know what actually is investing? It’s Dun & Bradstreet coming to Jacksonville. It is the River’s Edge...
“The Great Septic Tank Mystery” by Lenny Curry
Mayor Lenny Curry wants to be known as the Septic Tank Slayer. So, how’s he doing? Curry took office in June 2015. From 1/1/2015 to 5/25/2021, there were 2,739 new Onsite Sewage Treatment & Disposals System (septic tank) construction permits issued in Duval...
Filling your gas tank is about to get more expensive thanks to our city “leaders”
Barring a miracle, it looks like the politicians are going to win and the taxpayers are going to lose. Mayor Lenny Curry’s proposal to double the local gas tax on top of the rising prices seems to have clear sailing in the City Council. Maybe. The vote to bring it to...
Sonny B takes on BLM and cops regarding confrontation in Plano, Texas
ATTENTION: I AM BLACK; Therefore, I cannot be categorized, and dismissed as a racist against my on people by telling the truth. However, this letter is in response to the racist, Marxist Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement allowed to prohibit traffic flow. I call the...
Is the Mayor’s office feeding us a baloney sandwich?
Mayor Lenny Curry has done a good job of holding down the number of city employees since he took office, but he might want to add one new position: A fact-checker. It is something the media should be doing all the time, but in this case they are uninterested, to a...
Emerald Trail: Expensive Project among homes of sex offenders
Probably no word has been employed by city boosters more often than “catalyst.” Every new project, from Riverwalk to Jacksonville Landing to the now defunct Lot J has been described as a “catalyst” for bringing downtown back to life. Here’s the latest: “The Emerald...
Mayor playing defense on gas tax increase after poll setback
Eye on Jacksonville managed to break through Mayor Lenny Curry’s Wall of Silence this week by attending a town hall meeting on the Billion-Dollar Plan. We got an answer – sort of – to one of the questions we’ve been asking. City Council Member Randy DeFoor – who said...
Mayor’s lame sales pitch hasn’t yet convinced the voters to pay higher taxes
If a new poll is accurate, Mayor Lenny Curry’s sales pitch for doubling the gas tax is not going over very well. By a large margin, Jacksonville residents said no thank you to the proposal to double the local option gas tax while gas prices are soaring. Curry is...
From City Hall to the White House, the First Amendment is under attack and few seem to care
In Washington, the Biden administration is beginning to chip away at not only the Second Amendment, as expected, but also the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That’s not a “crazy, right-wing conspiracy” claim. The New York Times says so. The Biden White House...
What do these three women have in common?
Eye on Jacksonville discovered that a local city council member -- a Republican -- financially supported the campaign of Debbie Wasserman Schultz LAST YEAR in 2020. As most of you know, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a rabid, liberal Democrat and has not been friendly to...
An amiable and able politician has moved on
Ralph Turlington, a longtime politician in Florida, has died at the age of 100. He was from Gainesville, served in World War II and Korea, and had a Harvard degree. Unlike some legislators who are always “busy” except when lobbyists want to talk, he would always...
Fighting communism still is important
Eye on Jacksonville is read in Sweden. We learned of this via a comment from an opponent of communism who lives in Sweden and reacted to this column on American vs. Communism. Bertil Haggman also was delighted that the Florida Legislature this year tried to require...
Compost Jax: Passion and Education is key to changing a community for the better
I met with Mike Kelcourse a few years ago. He was excited about an idea he had to reduce waste in our city and turn it into a renewable source. He was passionate about the subject matter. Passion is what leaders need to succeed and Mike was filled with it. He watched...
With time running out, there are still many questions about spending $2.2 billion on septic tanks
Do you ever get the feeling that politicians and bureaucrats spend all their waking hours dreaming up ways to spend your money? You will be forgiven if you do. There is no better example than the current effort to spend $2.2 billion to “solve” a problem that might not...
350 Homeless/Near Homeless removed from streets of Fernandina Beach
Do you wonder why Fernandina Beach does not have a large homeless population. For one, we have an excellent Police Department and many support organizations on the island. One big impact is Henry Green and his nonprofit Grace and Gratitude Sober Living – a nonprofit...
Business leaders say: skimp on Skyway funding
Not surprisingly, an organization of local business leaders is supporting a proposal to double the local gasoline tax. In a letter to the mayor and City Council president, the Jacksonville Community Council President Jeanne Miller expressed support for the tax...
Money to burn: Spend it if you got it is the rule in city government
Local politicians never decline free money. There is some sitting on the table and they are acting fast. Tuesday night the City Council introduced a new bill that would spend $470,000 on another one of the endless “programs” that are supposed to reduce crime....
Newspapers unhappy as subsidy ends
A Jacksonville legislator who has been opposing a $100 million subsidy to the newspaper industry in Florida has won his four-year fight. Newspapers once had sources of revenue that were fairly reliable. They included classified ads, subscriptions, display advertising...
Cutting out Eye’s “tongue”: Mayor’s office doesn’t like dissent
"Well, it is official. We will no longer get any information from City Hall. They have deemed us unworthy." That was a short email I received from Lloyd Brown, Eye's Sr. Editor. He had been in contact with the Mayor's office over the years and just recently found a...
Politicians to Eye: ‘You’re fired!’
Eye on Jacksonville has been banned by the bigwigs in City Haul. The person in charge of providing information to the media has advised Eye that it will no longer be provided with information, other than public records required by law. It’s sort of like Facebook jail....
“News” sources use dangerous disclaimers instead of verifying facts
I was reading an article on our local WJCT website a couple weeks ago, and was shocked at a disclaimer at the end. It stated, “Some facts reported by the media may later turn out to be wrong (1).” Are facts, a piece of information presented as having objective...
Jacksonville will not be the next Venice anytime soon
First Coast News ran a story Wednesday that was baffling. It said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting the sea level at Mayport will rise 7 feet by the end of this century. Not true, according to a Corps of Engineers spokesman. It quoted someone in the...
Publishing financial info in a timely manner seems to be a problem for City Haul
Once again, the annual audit of the city’s finances is late being published. This is in violation of the city’s charter. It may not be a big deal but it raises questions. Mayor Lenny Curry is an accountant. He certainly wouldn’t be expected to be lax about completing...
Politicians use liberal logic on local voters
The clever folks in City Haul are using the liberal version of the “trickle-down” theory in an attempt to justify doubling the local gas tax. City Council members should vote the huge tax increase, the mayor’s office is suggesting, because it will do many wonderful...
Late efforts underway to prevent badly needed growth
Bills related to growth that were still active in the remaining days of the 2021 Florida Legislature could aid Northeast Florida but were drawing opposition from special interests. The bills would limit local governments from placing restrictions on growth such as...
