“Finding Waldo” is a loser with the City of Jacksonville. Playing games with Transparency?
Findings by the Task Force on Open Government appear to be valid. The Task Force said the city’s Web site was less than helpful. Eye on Jacksonville has had considerable difficulty finding information on the site. Finding people to provide the information being sought...
Kneeling in taxpayer funded stadiums. Yep, it’s on the roster again! Will the Jags do it too?
I read that the NFL is reversing it's rule that players can not kneel inside taxpayer funded stadiums. It was a mess last year as football went political and players could not just "do their job." Then we heard all kinds of "we're sorry" and we thought it was all...
Death by Socialism: RIP Florida Times Union from one of your own.
Looks like the “Teamsters with typewriters” movement has succeeded at the Florida Times-Union and that will accelerate the decline of the local newspaper. By voting to join a newspaper union, the liberal reporters in the newsroom have ensured higher labor costs for...
Hanky-Panky City Government. That’s why Eye was formed. Where’s the transparency?
In its final report, the Task Force on Open Government created by City Council President Anna Brosche found serious problems that need to be corrected. Local government “should aspire to greater openness and transparency” the task force headed by Hank Coxe and Sherry...
Nigerians get the rap for bilking Mayor Curry. Silly story with international intrigue and sloppy accounting.
Please check out this article and prepare to get a good laugh. This is such a ridiculous scam that you almost feel sorry for the Nigerians. Like the Russians, they get blamed for everything that goes wrong! When will those who actually made the mistakes take...
Congratulations to the developers of The District, to JEA, & to the Taxpayers who helped fund it.
We are happy to report the District Deal is closer to construction. The developer - Elements of Jacksonville - has closed on the JEA owned land next to the Duval County School Building in San Marco. The 30 acre parcel was purchased by Elements for $18.5 million....
Happy to give a Wink to the Mayor. Military flags should be flown proudly!
Let’s give Mayor Lenny Curry a Wink for ordering military flags to be flown at City Hall. The mayor said: “A week ago, as I sat on the south bank of the St. Johns, my family and I enjoyed the fireworks and celebrations with our downtown as a backdrop. As the fun of...
Eye Welcomes new members to Jax City Council. We wish you well and lots of Winks!
Governor Scott has appointed Republican Terrance Freeman and Democrat Ju’Coby Pittman to replace suspended City Council members Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown. Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown were both suspended by Governor Scott on June 1 when they were indicted by a...
Trickery in the City Budget? Spending “saved” money by accounting skulduggery.
“As mayor, I hold an unwavering respect for the effort behind every tax dollar the city receives,” Mayor Lenny Curry wrote in his June 22 letter of transmittal to the public accompanying the Comprehensive Annual Finance Report for the past fiscal year. The...
Consolidation: Tax relief doesn’t wear out yet politicians hate to give it out. Why?
Oct. 1 will mark the 50th anniversary of the consolidation of the city and county governments in Jacksonville. How has it worked? Pretty well, most would say. Just as one example, property tax rates were reduced for the first 10 years of the new government. However,...
Jacksonville Magazine: Wonderfully done. Great info. Beautiful display of our city.
We love Jacksonville Magazine and find it filled each month with lovely stories about local happenings, community events and the unique people who live here. I read their Mission Statement and thought you would love to see it too: JACKSONVILLE MAGAZINE tells the...
Mayor Curry is the worst person of the week AGAIN and doesn’t care about low income nobodies.
I read about the latest "squeeze play" by Mayor Curry to take back the Landing (per his internal plan). I wasn't surprised by this new bully tactic. We expected it. But, I WAS disappointed in the Mayor -- someone who once stood with me at The Landing and rallied...
JEA Board: Professional courtesy is lacking and that’s a stinker!
One month ago today I wrote a Letter to the JEA Board. We asked that the Board respond to our questions and we asked them to do so within ten days. We ended that letter with this quote: "JEA is a unique concept as an Independent Agency. It’s well run and employs...
City Council Committee: JEA should not be sold. Never, ever sell the cow.
A special committee of the City Council has spent months digging into one of the city's largest assets, Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA). That hard work and mountains of information has paid off big for JEA customers and all taxpayers. Their recommendation is to...
$1.8 Million paid by Duval County taxpayers for lawsuits. What say you?
Last year, various mishaps and miscues involving city employees or city property cost the taxpayers $1.8 million. That’s a bite but it is nothing out of the ordinary. It happens in every city. Most of the incidents involved the police and fire departments and the JEA....
What’s up with the Mystery of the Missing City of Jacksonville Audit
For some reason, the city’s annual audit is missing. City Hall says it is because the auditors asked for extra time. But others are wondering. The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2016-17 should have been received and posted online weeks ago. It would show...
Mayor Curry: Jax on the Rise? Yep. Rising crime and gunfights downtown.
Mayor Lenny Curry is touting in his campaign ads that Jacksonville is on the Rise. I have to agree with him on that point - Crime IS rising in Jacksonville. We woke up Monday morning to this headline: Shootout leaves bullet holes in two downtown Jacksonville office...
Teamsters with typewriters: Florida Times Union going Union?
To cement their credentials as card-carrying liberals – not that there was much doubt – the reporters in the newsroom of the Florida Times-Union now are looking to join a union. Their complaint is that they are not making enough money. Oh, and they lack “dignity.” Of...
Happy to give a WINK to the JEA Board today
The JEA Board has taken a few Stinks of late and we are happy to be able to give a Wink today. The search is underway for a new CEO to run the utility. In an Open Letter to the JEA Board, we questioned why two qualified internal candidates had been crossed over for...
JEA customers: Read & Share ’cause something is Stinking at JEA and it’s not sewage
In a recent letter by JEA's Interim CEO Aaron Zahn (a supporter of Mayor Curry) addressed to the JEA board and city officials he believes...the BULK of the proceeds from a $18.5 million land sale should be DONATED to the City. Donated? Yes you read that right. ...
JTA dreaming big. Could it turn into taxpayers’ nightmares AGAIN?
Is the Jacksonville Transportation Authority getting ahead of the curve? To its credit, the JTA is trying to get away from the seldom-used Skyway, which cost $185 million to build in the 1980s – $42 million of it from local taxpayers. Currently it is costing $6...
Here we go again: City planners are known for making lofty, dreamy, expensive plans and this one seems to fit the pattern.
Downtown boosters have mangled the word “catalyst” pretty badly over the years. Friendship Park was supposed to be a catalyst for downtown redevelopment. Other projects that got hung with the label were Hemming Plaza, new City Hall, the Skyway, etc . But one that...
Iconic Jacksonville Landing’s heart is broken. Can we Make Her Great Again?
Eye has been following the sad situation with The Jacksonville Landing dispute between the Mayor and the Owners. If buildings had a heart, certainly the Landing's would be broken. The Landing has been used in most every marketing picture by the city and others who...
A Wink to those with courage on the City Council: Anna Brosche, Garrett Dennis, Al Ferraro, Matt Schellenberg & Doyle Carter
Just as Eye expected, the Jacksonville City Council voted to fund one of the largest private developments in the city's history. Check out what we had to say about this big deal...
The Great Big Giveaway to a Wealthy Developer happens tonight. Don’t miss it.
Tonight the Jacksonville City Council will "vote" on giving away millions upon millions of tax incentives to a local wealthy developer and a big donor of Mayor Lenny Curry. We do NOT expect the City Council to do the right thing and vote NO on the "Biggest Deal We...
Is Jacksonville’s City Government Open and Transparent? Read and see for yourself.
This is the public records law in Florida. In years past, the media could simply ask public officials and employees a question and would get an answer, because public records are open to the public under that law. Then, government agencies that didn’t want to answer...
A Wink to those who Speak and a Big Wink to those who Listen!
Yesterday Jacksonville hosted the Small Business Administration Advocacy Council at three listening sessions across the city. Eye on Jacksonville was honored to be asked to coordinate the "fun" one! These Listening Sessions were encouraged by President Trump. He has...
College Visits? Keep Eye open for Anti-Semitism on campuses. It’s the same thing as bullying.
On May 22nd in Jacksonville speaker Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. gave a speech about Anti-Semitism on American Campuses, in which he addressed many issues relating to the treatment of Jews and the relationships between Israel and Palestine. One big topic he addressed...
City Council Finance Committee & The District — Could it be another Margaritaville?
Last week I attended a meeting called by City Council President Anna Brosche with City Council Member Lori Boyer. The discussion centered on the District Development, a nearly $90 Million development in San Marco. The first statement from Ms. Brosche was, "How we...
Skyway to nowhere in the news again. If it wasn’t so expensive it would be funny.
The Skyway – “people mover” as it was then called – sounded like a great idea back in the 1970s, when leisure suits were in style. It was going to whisk people in and out of downtown, above the traffic. Thousands of commuters would use it each day. Best of all – the...
The City of Jacksonville is good at stalling. They think we will go away. Not!
No one can accuse the local government of moving with undue haste. They are being extremely cautious in responding to Eye’s requests for information. Providing the public with basic information from public records is so arduous, apparently, that they are moving at all...
Happy Graduation in Duval County is not so happy and truly shameful
The primary job of schools is to prepare children for college or employment, or both. So how well are the government schools in Jacksonville doing? This is a chart from the school district’s Web site: Taking it at face value, only about 40 percent of Jacksonville...
Should indicted City Council Members resign from the council or stay?
There was breaking news about 10:00 this morning and it was a shocking report. Two Jacksonville City Council members were indicted for bank fraud and money laundering. This is a sad day for Jacksonville. This is not how we want our home town to be viewed. Eye on...
Open Letter to JEA Board from Billie Tucker, founder of Eye on Jacksonville
An Open Letter to the current Board Members of JEA From Billie Tucker, former consultant to the Board of JEA and Founder of EyeOnJacksonville.com Date: May 29, 2018 Contact information: billie@eyeonjacksonville.com Copies sent to: Jacksonville City Council...
No News to You! Keep you in the dark & put you, our children & truth at risk!
There are indications that the media are being manipulated in Jacksonville. This is a serious matter, and local newspapers and television stations are derelict in their duty by not using their vast resources to end the practice. The public is the loser. In recent...
Constitutional Revision Commission:Trapping the poor as their futures are crushed by the greed of liberals.
Even liberals now are talking about abolishing Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission, which recently proposed eight constitutional amendments. An example of why, for once, liberals might be right: Some members of the 1998 commission are seeking to file a brief in...
STINK to Mayor Curry & his staff using his power to implement his plan to “put the screws” to the Landing
I woke up, grabbed a cup of coffee and turned on my computer to read the daily news. I was excited about today because we were going to be out and about speaking about Eye on Jacksonville and not only that - the economy is booming, people are back to work and there...
New School Superintendent.Will raising taxes be her “thing” or raising standards?
Local government schools will have a new superintendent. After mixed results in the past, parents and taxpayers will have to hope this one proves worthy. The first job for Diana Greene will be to get the fiscal house in order. It will be a bigger job than she has now....
Who is really Thinking about what’s best for ALL of us in Jacksonville? A Think Tank?
One thing Jacksonville could use is an independent think tank. For 40 years or thereabouts, the old Jacksonville Community Council Inc. sought to fill this role, with mixed results. Eventually it drifted so far left that it lost all its private funding and closed. But...
The Landing won the people’s vote. The business community supports The Landing.
The Business Journal recently produced a poll. Click the link to see the full results. Link: Which of these downtown projects do you think will have the largest impact on Jacksonville? The Landing was #1 with 54% of those polled. The Business Journal's readership...
