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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 effort. The members apparently are tied to a state…
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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, and it worked. In past years, the Riverside roads have been…
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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. We asked two television reporters the source of their information after they parroted the…
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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 crazy and hateful times. It doesn’t…
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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. We sent Justice an email: “You wrote: “The project…
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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 their survey of the Fernandina Beach Building Department today and the results are unbelievably…
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Fernandina Beach leaders: When the quiet ones speak, you’ve crossed the line
We recently wrote about the angst of the people of Fernandina Beach over the heavy-handed tactics of some in their city government. Eye was surprised at the amount of people who responded to our post and one gentlemen stood out from the rest, Mr. John Dodd. John Dodd is a local architect and shares a…
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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 Enlargement. For anyone curious, this was the vote:…
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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 belittling of white people solely based on the…
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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 of Robert E. Lee. Lee opposed secession,…
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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 in charge of messaging is having trouble saying…
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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. The estimated cost of $2 million seems irrelevant to…
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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 the music from local artists. But once again,…
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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 10, but one member flipped…
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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 some of the 65,000 septic tanks in the city. Under new…
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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 level of taxation, most property owners…