For the first time, online platforms such as Airbnb would have to collect and remit taxes on vacation rental properties, ensure that only properly licensed rentals are advertised and provide the state with specific information about the rentals, under a proposal headed to the House floor. In exchange, regulation would be “preempted” to the state, largely preventing local governments from regulating vacation rentals. Local governments could only regulate the rentals in the same way as other properties…

Jacksonville now has a new crime fighting initiative aimed at the tourism industry. Council member Danny Becton, Visit Jacksonville, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Northeast Chapter, along with the Jacksonville Sheriff's created the Tourism Industry & Public Safety Alliance, or TIPSA. The program was announced at press conference on Friday morning at the Four Points by Sheraton on Baymeadows. "Our goal is to improve, with the area stakeholders and industry partners, by working more…

Board members are happy with the quality of the bid they chose, but wanted to see many more bids.

The Downtown Investment Authority voted unanimously on Friday to award New York-based Spandrel Development Partners the right to construct a mixed-use development at the site of the former courthouse and city hall annex, known as the Ford on Bay. "We believe in the market," said Spandrel co-founder Emanuel Neuman. "We believe that building out the downtown core is the right decision for the long-term." A scoring committee and a DIA property disposition committee both preferred Spandrel over a…

The 22-story One Call office tower on downtown's Southbank has sold for $67 million. Miami-based Easton & Associates represented the buyer, ShareMD, and CBRE represented the seller Chicago-based GEM Realty. The building at 841 Prudential Drive was 80 percent leased and had undergone a $6 million renovation in the last two years, according to Easton & Associates. “My client is strategically acquiring medical office buildings throughout Florida to meet increased demand for healthcare services as…

A franchise that offers patrons a chance to drink and ride is now up and running in Jacksonville, and the owners are already hoping to expand their operation. Pedal Pub Jacksonville, co-owned by Theresa and Rick Pontieri and Eric and Amanda Blocker, began operating on Feb. 1. Although they haven’t yet held their grand opening – an event slated for March 1 – Theresa Pontieri said they’re already hoping to add a third bike to their franchise due to the concept’s popularity. “It [the reception]…

'Rawness is cool. Rawness is real. If everybody is not perfect, that’s OK.'

A recent report from Ownerly, a New York-based housing data company, identified Jacksonville as a top market for iBuyers, companies that purchase houses completely online, as well as a potential growth market for iBuying.  Jacksonville ranked as the 11th most popular metro for ibuying based on the percentage of sales that were from iBuyers. Although the report did not give specific numbers, a Redfin report from last year found 1.1 percent of all homes sold on the platform were bought by an iBuyer.…

The Downtown Investment Authority will vote on Friday whether to grant New York-based Spandrel Development Partners the right to develop the former courthouse and city hall sites on downtown's riverfront, a property marketed as the Ford on Bay. Spandrel was the preference of a scoring committee and a DIA property disposition committee over a bid from Miami-based The Related Group, and the board will vote Wednesday whether or not to accept the recommendation of its committee. Spandrel is proposing…

Fittingly for the man who brought what is now the Jacksonville Jazz Festival to the city, Thursday’s celebration of Mayor Jake Godbold’s life kicked off with a New Orleans-style brass band, setting a vibe that carried throughout the event. Hundreds gathered at the Prime Osborn Convention Center to say farewell to a man responsible for shaping much of modern Jacksonville, from putting into motion the awarding of an NFL team to attracting Mayo Clinic, championing the Landing and putting into motion…

The store will be opening nine locations on Feb. 27. It has eight Florida boutiques.

The store is close to Naval Air Station Jacksonville and is military-themed. It is part of Starbucks’ commitment to hiring and serving military families.

The family of a 19-year-old Kentucky organ donor traveled to Jacksonville this weekend to meet the recipient of her heart for the first time in person.

A man witnesses said was armed with a large butcher knife was shot and wounded Saturday morning by a Jacksonville police officer

Jacksonville police have charged a 28-year-old man witrh murder in the shooting death of a Nassau County man in the popular King Street District of Riverside.

CAR SHOWSAdamec Harley-Davidson Pre-Bike Week Car and Bike Show, hosted by Callahan Cruisers of North Florida: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Adamec Harley-Davidson at 8909 Baymeadows Road. Spectators are free, and show vehicles are $20 per.Ninth annual Bradford Relay for Life Car Show: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at Florida Cracker Kitchen at 7754 SE County Road 21B in Keystone Heights. Free for spectators [...]

The 25th anniversary Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is two weeks away, set for March 5 to 8 in and around the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island.Roger Penske, championship driver and multi-team owner who just purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is this year’s honoree with many of the race cars he and his IndyCar, NASCAR and other teams have raced in. But that’s just part of what happening in and around the annual [...]

Larry Murphree is a Jacksonville Air Force veteran who wants to put a flag in a flower pot. His homeowners association wouldn’t let him. His fight over that dispute heads to trial Monday, nine years after it started.

The Jaguars better be on top of their game this offseason. Between resolving the Yannick Ngakoue stalemate to so many other subplots, this franchise needs to push all the right buttons to get this franchise back on track.

The city might use a design competition to invite visions for turning the site of the demolished Jacksonville Landing into an attractive public gathering space. Other vacant city-owned land where the now-demolished courthouse and city hall annex stood will be developed by Spandrel Development Partners.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump promised a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that would use tax incentives to spur private investment in public works projects.He has so far failed to persuade Congress to pass anything like that.In another election year, Trump has outlined a new $1 trillion plan for spending on roads, rails, water systems and other infrastructure. This time, the president is proposing to rely fully on federal [...]

Organizers hope emails to police and WhatsApp chats with other hotel operators will spread information that can disrupt crime in and around the businesses.

He is the 2020 JAX Chamber Overall Small Business Leader of the Year.

HONOLULU — The disappearance of an Idaho boy and his teenage sister last year has led to the arrest of their mother in Hawaii, a major development in a bizarre case that spans multiple states, includes three mysterious deaths and touches on the mother's doomsday beliefs.Lori Vallow, 46, also known as Lori Daybell, was arrested Thursday on an Idaho warrant and was being held on $5 million bail, according to police on the island of Kauai. Vallow has been charged with two [...]

Students from Atlantic Coast High School and A. Philip Randolph Career Academies in Jacksonville are putting their skills to the test in a simulated crime scene after months of preparation.

A loophole in Florida’s ethics law allowed three of the city’s most powerful officials to receive a de facto benefit potentially worth more than $1,000 from a company actively lobbying the city on behalf of a dozen clients.

The 2020 Interfaith Community Dinner will award Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner and church leader Derrick Scott and host keynote speaker Imam Khalid Latif.

PARIS — An international agency monitoring terrorism funding announced tough new financial scrutiny of Iran on Friday and added seven countries to a watch list.Pakistan, meanwhile, won a reprieve from the Financial Action Task Force at its meetings in Paris this week. The monitoring body gave Pakistan's government another four months to crack down on terrorism financing and did not put the country on a damaging "black list."Iran and North Korea are the only two [...]

If the NFL players sign off on the owners’ proposal of playing a 17th regular-season game, then all that concern about the physical toll on their bodies and the effects of CTE will be just a message of hypocrisy.

Created in 2017, the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training.