Protest promotes publicity
If you want to get your mug on TV, the easiest way is to “protest.” The media may outnumber the protesters, but their presence with cameras grinding away is reason enough for publicity seekers to attend. Neither the media nor the protesters seem to care about the...
Fernandina Beach residents deserve better treatment by city leaders
The Fernandina Beach City Commission Workshop of April 6 was a very disappointing meeting. I spoke for three minutes and was only able to relate my introduction and conclusion. Three minutes for each speaker is creating a spectacle for the public and not getting...
Media tactic: keep repeating it until it is believed
News4Jax is sticking with its still unproven allegation that somebody 50 years ago promised Jacksonville residents free water and sewer service. In a story that began with poor grammar it said: “For the years, the News4Jax I-TEAM pointed out the broken promise by the...
Chamber of Commerce gets out of their lane, again.
Let me start this post by saying you should Google the words "change school names" and you will find this is an issue all across America. Same strategies. Same tactics. Same type of players. It's not just here and it's an indication that someone somewhere is pulling...
Revolutionaries openly at work in our city
Jacksonville has a new cross to bear. A chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation apparently has been established here, and in four other Florida cities. They make no bones about their intent. From their official publication: “The Party for Socialism and...
Hot stuff to be included in your weather forecast
Predictably, the liberal TV station News4Jax is joining the ranks of climate alarmists in a propaganda campaign to promote the idea that humans are burning up the planet. The station announced it is “partnering” with other news outlets in the Covering Climate...
City Council has a lot of spare time on its hands
What may be the ultimate example of virtue-signaling took place at Tuesday’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. A resolution was introduced opposing violence. By approving it, the council would declare itself firmly on the side of 99.99 percent of the American...
Those who are Awake can and must win the battle against the Woke
In October 2008, my eyes were opened to "things unseen" before that moment in the timeline of my life. I had a great encounter with the Truth. I had just returned home from a visit with a client. Due to the economy, he told me he had to lay off half of his staff. He...
Another organization will be looking at local governance
There is a new eye on Jacksonville in the making. Jacksonville Community Council Inc., has been reborn. Ramon Day, who is well known around Jacksonville, is heading the venture. At the moment, it is only in the initial stages. Day read something in a small, liberal...
No need to hurry Mayor Curry: The latest effort to increase taxes
Perhaps having learned by the disastrous and hurried attempts to sell the JEA and enrich the Jacksonville Jaguars at public expense, local politicians are ramping up a sales pitch before increasing gas taxes. In 1983, the City Council enacted a 6-cent local option gas...
Public policy on transportation isn’t easy to understand
What is the city’s policy on parking? Or mass transportation? Figuring it out can give you a headache. City officials are spending millions of dollars to “calm traffic,” which means slow it down. This will include converting two one-way streets to two-way traffic,...
The police do not need another way for liberals to critique their actions
Social justice warriors on the City Council are reviving a bid to further handcuff the police and make life easier for Jacksonville criminals. Democrats on the council, mimicking those in Democrat controlled cities elsewhere, want to establish a citizen review board...
Like a broken record, it is time to renew downtown again
Grab your wallets. Another plan to “revitalize” downtown is in the works. Taxpayers have been diverting money they need for their families to the city treasury for decades in order to “invest” in the downtown area. The effort began in the late 1940s under Mayor Haydon...
Happy Easter: You have the power, dear friends!
We are living in a season where history books will record that the wicked among us tried to take down liberty - again. Although the evil tactics used by the devil -- through the minds of people -- seem to be different, they are really the same. For instance, here are...
Fernandina Beach: Will the small island town be ‘upscaled’ by out of town city leaders?
I received this letter from Fernandina Beach resident Bob Reisner and he shared his thoughts on what he has observed in Fernandina Beach over the last couple of decades. He believes every one of the residents should voice their opinion to city leadership and...
Fernandina Beach: Bad budget practices cause money to pile up and politicians scurry to spend it
For years, city officials in Fernandina Beach have allowed reserves in the building department to build dramatically. Rather than refunding the money or lowering the fees charged to builders and developers, they have gone on a spending spree to get rid of the excess....
Local place names may fall like dominoes when cancellation begins
One of the Jacksonville residents strenuously opposing the cancel culture’s efforts to rename government schools and other local places, posted this in Facebook: “THIS IS OUR HISTORY, LIVE WITH IT History lesson of Jacksonville, Florida: Street names: Washington,...
Few council members pass up free money
Members of City Council continue to enjoy automatic pay raises despite one member’s efforts to make them cast a public vote when they want more money. Council Member Rory Diamond lost, narrowly, in an attempt to force a vote recently but has vowed to continue his...
City Haul: Flipping and flopping on policy can be expensive and stupid
Back in the 1950s, Jacksonville police recommended, and politicians approved, a new traffic scheme requiring traffic on many downtown streets to move in one direction, as well as feeder roads such as College and Post streets. The intent was to speed up the traffic,...
A myth in the making
Eye on Jacksonville has challenged local media to document the wild claim that proponents of consolidation promised residents of the unincorporated parts of Duval County they would immediately be provided with free water and sewer service in return for their support....
A line has been crossed. Eye asks the “quiet ones” to speak up.
It has become apparent to the average person that something very sinister is happening in our country and yes even in our own state and local communities. We are listing a few items that need the attention of "the quiet ones" who wonder what they can do during these...
Local media misinformation will not go unchallenged
Because the local media won’t let go of its narrative about the consolidation of the city and county governments in 1968, Eye on Jacksonville will continue to challenge them. The latest to employ the false story is Kent Justice of News4Jax, a liberal local TV station....
Fernandina Beach Activist: Wow, just Wow!
(Jack Knocke, Founder of Common Sense Fernandina, shared his thoughts about the behaviors of the Fernandina Beach leaders over the Nassau County Chamber of Commerce survey. He was shocked by their responses.) The Nassau County Chamber released the final results of...
Council says ‘nope to NOPE
City Council members will continue to have their pay increased automatically, at least for the time being. Council Member Rory Diamond is trying to put a stop to it, but lost one bid Tuesday when the council voted down his measure, called NOPE for No Obligatory Pay...
Sonny B calls out Jax Public Library on their racism
This post is from Sonny B regarding the Jax Public Library sponsored Zoom call with Frederick Joseph discussing his book The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person. He isn't happy and none of us should be. Is this appropriate for a Public Library to approve the...
Lee high school’s namesake was a man of honor, caught up in history
Liberals who seek to change the name of one of the city’s oldest high schools are trying to revise American history. They use the race card because it is a standard liberal tactic. It is doubtful that his detractors have a tenth of the courage, integrity and character...
Gas Taxes for Jobs! The Mayor’s messaging is wrong again.
This whole "raising gas taxes" messaging is all over the place. The first "messaging campaign" was about the infrastructure needs and the septic tank issue. Now we are hearing how many jobs will be created by the raising of our local gas taxes. Me thinks that someone...
Is Jacksonville destined to become the town of Cowford again?
Voting on the issue of changing school names is being held throughout the city, but there are indications that it is just political theater. Some are convinced the liberal School Board will change the names of nine local public schools no matter what the voters say....
Fernandina Beach: The day the music died?
The beautiful town of Fernandina Beach is one of my favorite "go-to towns" when I want to get out of town and enjoy a more leisurely community. I love the downtown shops, the waterfront sunsets, and the vibe of different restaurants with unique and delicious foods and...
Hope for NOPE: Wounded bill still has a chance to pass
Tuesday, the City Council will vote on whether members will continue to get automatic pay raises. There seems to be some reluctance on the part of council members to give up this perk. Sponsor Rory Diamond thinks he has nine votes. It takes 10 to pass. He said he had...
Evidence of a billion-dollar threat to public health seems suspect
Something strange here. According to local politicians, septic tanks are failing all over town, endangering the public health. They want to spend billions -- in addition to the billions already spent -- on infrastructure, much of it for the purpose of doing away with...
Low taxes can be a sign of failure, or a source of pride
In their in-depth analysis of the city’s finances, the Jacksonville Civic Council has made a good case that the city enjoys low taxes and spends accordingly. However, the report treats this as a bad thing. If a city can keep up with its needs and still maintain a low...
Knee-jerk news stories again appear in liberal local media
Local media committed journalistic malpractice this week by publishing a divisive story full of obvious errors. It originated with a small, and shrinking, liberal newspaper, which published claims that girls with black skin are treated unfairly in the schools. Other...
With gasoline prices rising, city officials want to bump gas taxes
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!” -- Ronald Reagan President Ronald Reagan’s famous, and...
You picked a fine time to raise taxes, Mayor Curry
As the Democrats in the House of Representatives in DC clapped for joy at the passing of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, Mayor Curry was campaigning his way through the City Council and other people of importance about increasing the gas tax by 6 cents a gallon....
Spending plan has a wealth of information
City budgets contain a lot of information useful to the taxpayer. You can see where the money comes from and where it goes, in detail. You also can determine the total cost of local government, which today is somewhere north of $6 billion. Because local reporters have...
Survey says: City of Fernandina uses abusive tactics against residents and contractors
Last week Eye on Jacksonville looked into complaints by residents and contractors. We noted that the Chamber of Commerce had gotten wind of these complaints and posted a survey to see if the rumors were true. The Chamber deserves a big WINK for taking the lead on this...
City is losing the septic tank battle
With all the focus on infrastructure needs in the city, Eye on Jacksonville has been trying to find out what has been done in the past and what needs to be done in the future, as well as the cost. We have had some success. Recently, we learned that 6,600 septic tanks...
A look at Fernandina: Is it too difficult to build or live there?
Maybe Fernandina Beach needs an Eye on them? From the looks of some "Stinky" building department activities, we just might need to expand! Jack Knocke, Fernandina Beach Resident and Activist Jack Knocke, founder of Common Sense Fernandina Beach, shared his frustration...
Local schools turn over decision-making to students, with predictable results
One local public school principal’s efforts to kowtow to students backfired badly, which might help serve as a warning that students don’t always know best. Diversity teaching at Douglas Anderson was to be done in segregated student meetings – one for white, one for...
