It’s no picnic being a police officer in Jacksonville
Criminals continue to conduct violence, as they always have and always will. Jacksonville is employing one new approach designed to limit the violence. Will is work? That remains to be seen. Proponents claim it has helped elsewhere. Cure Violence has worked in places...
Lobbyists are not the enemy the media portrays them to be
Media’s fascination with lobbyists continues, most recently with the Jacksonville Business Journal reporting breathlessly on the amount spent by lobbyists. This is “news” only by a stretch of the imagination. It could more accurately be called a conflict of interest....
Letting perverts off the hook. A big cultural change!
Lloyd "Scoop" Brown has been writing on Eye on Jacksonville about the lack of arrests locally. It's a big issue and one that we hope Sheriff Mike Williams will look into. Today I read that men are "having fun" with themselves in the library and many incidents have...
Too much crime and not enough arrests, latest crime stats show
Jacksonville is not the crime capital of Florida, despite the occasional hysteria in the local media, but it could do better. That conclusion comes from examining the 2018 crime statistics now available from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Duval County was...
Lack of Leadership at JEA: Your bill reflects the lack!!
Every person reading this post has something to do with JEA. If you consume any electricity at all, you need to pay attention to JEA. Since we began Eye on Jacksonville over a year ago, we have kept an Eye on this important municipal utility. It's important because...
No Rhyme or Reason
Jacksonville is a town which engages, supports and educates. Up until now it has been a town using good judgement when hosting events. But Saturday June 29th the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) is scheduled to host a Gay Pride event complete with performances by...
Schools: Raise our taxes or raise questions – it’s your choice.
One former School Board member is challenging those supporting a new tax to build schools to take a straight approach that addresses all concerns while trying to sell the idea to the public. Seven of the district’s 160 school buildings, all elementary schools, are...
Rising sea levels: Inciting Panic in Florida?
Depending on whose number you wish to use, Florida has 1,197 miles of coastline. Or 1,350. Or 8,436. In any case, any rise in the sea level would mean a reduction in the land area of the state - which is 54,252 square miles according to the governor’s...
Good teachers deserve higher pay yet Unions say “No.”
Florida legislators continue trying to reward good teachers with higher pay. Powerful union bosses continue to try to block those efforts. Why would they try to prevent good teachers from being rewarded? In Jacksonville, about half the teachers in the public schools...
They’re back!!! Once-hated toll roads.
Tolls are coming back. The Florida Dept. of Transportation will begin collecting tolls on the First Coast Expressway in a few weeks. This is sure to ignite grumbling by motorists, especially those who remember and disliked the tolls that were once common in...
Tax Collector’s Office: Finally making our lives better and that’s a WINK
Duval County Tax Collector, Jim Overton And the WINK of the week goes to: Jim Overton of the Duval County Tax Collector's Office. We've all been there. We walk into the Tax Collector's office to pay a parking ticket, register your new vehicle, renew your drivers...
If I had a dream…
I have a dream! It is a dream for a Jacksonville leadership team who cares more about serving the community than their own self elevation. It is a dream that infuses servanthood ingredients throughout the phrase “public servant.” It is a dream where leaders model...
“Price Gouging Narrative Season” begins
Hurricane season began June 1, so Florida residents can brace themselves for the annual storm of “price gouging” accusations. This great bogeyman comes into play every year, and one highlight of it is the loud promises by politicians to protect Floridians from the...
Duval County has its share of turkeys.
Yesterday the organization Florida Tax Watch in Tallahassee published its report "The 2019 Budget Turkey Watch Report: An Analysis of the Transparency and Accountability of the Budget Process." Per their wording on the report they state: "The report started in 1983,...
Bleak future for the JEA is forecast and that is not good news for local residents
Is the JEA preparing to hold a “going out of business” sale? It almost sounds like it from the dire alarms the utility is putting out. Rates could be going through the roof and the huge pile of cash it hands over to the city each year might shrivel up and disappear....
Charter school critics lack accurate information
Those knocking charter schools and other forms of school choice might want to do their homework before sounding off. School Board Member Warren Jones was quoted in a local newspaper as saying that charter schools are not...
Duval County Schools: Crimes seem to have little consequence and our kids are at risk
In the most recent report, Duval County continues to lead the state in doing little about school safety incidents. Of 9,739 incidents that occurred in the previous school year, only 838 were “reported to law enforcement.” That is less than 9 percent. The average...
State officials think Jacksonville should turn failing schools over to rising new charter school chain
Duval County School Superintendent Diana Greene got what could only be described as a tongue-lashing when she appeared before the State Board of Education May 22. Greene was explaining her plans to turn around two failing schools, Lake Forest Elementary School and...
City Council President takes on praying before meetings. He’s got his priorities straight. Eye roll.
Praying before City Council meetings requires an Ordinance??? Have you noticed the big issues facing Jacksonville such as our high crime, shootings nearly every day and the increasing homeless population in downtown? These are big issues yet our City Council President...
Duval County is Florida’s Front Line for 2020 Elections. Are we prepared? NO!!
We’ve all been there. We go into our polling place and we say “Hello” to the sweet older ladies and gentlemen working the polls and managing the front line for the elections. You recognize some of them and it is comforting to know these special people are...
Mayor Curry: In your own words…you lied to us.
I felt like crying when I saw the article posted that the City of Jacksonville is now taking bids to TEAR DOWN THE LANDING without letting the taxpayers know the plan for the site. See it here:...
Local newspaper fails to properly inform its few remaining readers
In what amounts to media malpractice, a local newspaper swallowed the liberal bait hook, line and sinker by publishing a story claiming that vouchers are “draining” money from the government schools. Let’s start with this: every single independent fiscal impact study,...
Safety, as well as price, is important in using prescription drugs
Duval Legislative Delegation member Sen. Aaron Bean, a Republican from Fernandina, successfully guided a bill through the Florida Legislature this year that is well intended, but may have a few pitfalls. The bill seeks to allow importing drugs from foreign countries....
BREAKING: Part 2 of upcoming tell-all book includes #nepotism & #metoo in Mayor Hazouri’s administration
Darlene Tye, Author of upcoming book, "Turkeys, Vultures, Toads and Eagles: Power & Politics in Jacksonville, Florida” Yesterday we broke the story of an upcoming book by Darlene Tye, City of Jacksonville retiree. She broke her 30-year silence because she felt it...
Warning: Political tricksters may be utilizing new technology in local city races
Political operatives are keeping up with the times, it appears. The old method of knocking down a candidate’s yard signs still is in vogue. But with technology, new tricks have been devised. Randy DeFoor, candidate for City Council from the Ortega area, may have been...
Needed: a City Council watchdog to slow the mayor’s rush to tear down the Jacksonville Landing
Will Matt Carlucci be that man? For whatever reason, the Curry administration is moving full-speed ahead to tear down the Jacksonville Landing. Damn the torpedoes. It has no (publicly revealed) plan to replace the 32-year old-structure. The architect who helped design...
BREAKING: #Metoo Accusation of former Mayor Tommy Hazouri in upcoming book
Breaking News: Local resident Darlene Tye speaks with Eye on Jacksonville about then Mayor Tommy Hazouri and her upcoming book about her lawsuit against him in the 80’s. Her book titled, “Turkeys, Vultures, Toads and Eagles: Power & Politics in...
What’s your hurry, Mayor Curry? What’s your plan, man?
The Landing was handed over to the City of Jacksonville this week. The businesses still left on the premises were also handed 30 day eviction notices and told to get out. And now the rush to tear down the iconic building is underway. There is no time to talk, no time...
UPDATED: Jaguars respond to “support” of #TakeEmDownJax
Yesterday we posted this picture with the question, "Why would the Jags support a radical, extremist group?" Many of you called the Jags to find out. Here is their response from one of those requests: "Thank you for reaching out. These photos were taken more than a...
Why would the Jags support a radical, extremist group?
Lloyd Brown wrote a report about the extremist group who set up office in Jacksonville. For more about the group, check out their website: https://www.jacksonvilleprogressivecoalition.org/ You can read more from Lloyd Brownhere:...
#TakeEMDownJax – Extremist group against white supremacy in our town
Jacksonville has become infected with a group of social justice warriors whose ostensible mission in life is to tear down monuments related to Southern history. The hate group is a shadowy group that does not disclose its funding, which means it probably can be traced...
Jax schools are leading the state – in ways that might bother parents
Parents in Jacksonville public schools might be disturbed by data from the state Department of Education relating to school safety. This city had the highest rate of school safety incidents in the state in 2017. The School Environmental Safety Incidents Rate data are...
Democrats Justice Reform upends the Rule of Law
This is what is coming to America Dallas County, TX District Attorney will not prosecute certain crimes. This includes low level drug crimes, probation violations and thief of items under $750 if for personal use. He says he is ending the criminalization...
For your summer reading list: Politics
There are a number of political biographies recently out or soon to be out that rehash the old days in Jacksonville. Former State Rep. John Forbes produced his autobiography with Susan Brandenburg, titled “Unlikely Partnership,” referring to the union of Forbes and...
School Superintendent Dr. Greene’s Manatee legacy: Lack of Leadership?
Audits and newspaper investigations are beginning to show problems in the Manatee’s public schools dating to the time Dr. Diana Greene, now superintendent of the Duval Count schools, headed the Southwest Florida system. Based on a review of several school board...
The Crystal Ball spoke truth: Duval County Schools
In May 2018, Eye on Jacksonville welcomed Diana Greene to Jacksonville as Duval County School's new Superintendent. In that article, Lloyd Brown noted that we did not need an increase in taxes but an increase in standards. Did Lloyd Brown have a crystal ball? Check...
Parents await public school explanation for surprising numbers of violent incidents reported to the state
Police claim the public schools in Jacksonville are playing with numbers reported to the state on school violence. The number of times law enforcement has taken action on fights and attacks at Duval County schools has gone down significantly over the past three school...
Jacksonville renamed to Hughestown?
Brian Hughes The breaking news yesterday was: Sam Mousa, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Jacksonville is retiring. Sam, a highly qualified professional with deep roots in Jacksonville is being replaced by the only person in Jacksonville that our Mayor...
History is made as the Times-Union fails to publish a paper
For the first time in most people’s memory the daily paper was not published today. This note to subscribers was posted on the paper’s Web site: “Because of technical issues, most copies of the Florida Times-Union were not delivered to subscribers Monday morning....
STUDENT GROWTH IS SMALL BUT SPENDING GROWTH IS NOT
The School Board is contemplating building 30 new schools -- not because the schools are being flooded with new students but because buildings are aging. Dollars are growing faster than children in the local public schools. Since the 2007-08 school year, there has...
