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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 even be a major problem. Septic…
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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 halfway house. I met Henry this week and was captivated…
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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 increase – which will generate local business – but knocked the idea of spending a…
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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. Meanwhile, crime increases. But it was “free” money, trickling down from…
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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 and legal notices. Governments were required to post legal notices in local newspaper, and there are…
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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 push back coming from his spokesperson.…
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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. The order ousting us came directly from worthies…
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“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 reality, not by definition true? This…
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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 story, allegedly as “coastal engineer,” as…
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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 his own work. Why does he allow…
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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 things locally but taxpayers throughout the nation will help pay…
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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 impact fees. SB 750 on impact fees would make it more difficult for local governments to…
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What’s this? A glitch in the push to quickly double taxes
Apparently, several members of the City Council are having second thoughts about doubling the local option gas tax. Mayor Lenny “Hurry” Curry wants it done now. But Council Members Aaron Bowman, LeAnna Cumber, Al Ferraro, Joyce Morgan and Danny Becton said they would back a referendum if it were proposed, according to a local TV…