Jacksonville | featured news

The Green Cove Dragway wouldn’t be much without burning rubber and shrieking tailpipes.
But it’s those very sounds that have put this 3-year-old track in neighbors’ cross hairs.
Tuesday night, a meeting of the Green Cove Springs City Council focused on the future of a track that some locals would like to drive out of town.
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A shootout Monday afternoon fueled by a parking dispute at a rental property in Moncrief Park ended with the arrest of the man who had been shot, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Andrew Kretzer, 39, and Ramon Morales, 37, were working on an apartment building Kretzer owns in the 1400 block of 20th Street West about 1:30 p.m. when a white Chevrolet Malibu pulled up next door and the driver got out and complained about a black SUV parked in front of his home, according to an arrest report.

A series of hiccups with the Navy’s fleet of littoral combat ships resulted in a stoppage of operation recently for all crew members on the ships so procedures and standards for their engineering departments could be reviewed.
The Navy announced Monday the stand down was completed Aug. 31, and each sailor involved in engineering onboard the ships must now be retrained.
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A shootout Monday afternoon fueled by a parking dispute at a rental property in Moncrief Park ended with the arrest of the man who had been shot, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Andrew Kretzer, 39, and Ramon Morales, 37, were working on an apartment building Kretzer owns in the 1400 block of 20th Street West about 1:30 p.m. when a white Chevrolet Malibu pulled up next door and the driver got out and complained about a black SUV parked in front of his home, according to an arrest report.

State Attorney Angela Corey has offered new jobs to some of those fired last week by Public Defender Matt Shirk the day after he lost re-election.
Joe Frasier, Shirk’s former IT director, and Angela Fouraker, a secretary, have already accepted new jobs at the State Attorney’s Office, pending paperwork and drug testing, according to the State Attorney’s Office. Lori Williams, who oversaw misdemeanor secretaries at the Public Defender’s Office, has also begun talking with the State Attorney’s Office about possibilities, she said.

After a delay due to tropical Storm Hermine last week, traffic will finally be shifted on Interstate 295 on Tuesday and Wednesday night as part of a safety improvement and resurfacing project between I-10 and Commonwealth Avenue, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The shift will allow the contractor to continue with roadway widening activities.
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Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti did not grade himself on the written self-evaluation he sent School Board members last week, but Tuesday he said he probably deserves a B for improving most of Jacksonville’s schools over the past year.
It’s unclear if the School Board agrees with him.
Board members Thursday will hold a special meeting to give Vitti his formal annual review and vote on an annual budget.
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A series of hiccups with the Navy’s fleet of littoral combat ships resulted in a stoppage of operation recently for all crew members on the ships so procedures and standards for their engineering departments could be reviewed.
The Navy announced Monday the stand down was completed Aug. 31, and each sailor involved in engineering onboard the ships must now be retrained.
read more

Jose Lantigua, the Jacksonville businessman once reported dead in South America, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal fraud charges over a multimillion-dollar life insurance scam.
Lantigua, the former owner of Circle K Furniture, was businesslike and soft-spoken as he admitted to U.S. Magistrate Patricia Barksdale that he planned his 2013 disappearance and a story about dying of mad cow disease.
“Have you told the truth today?” Barksdale asked Lantigua, who had a beard and gray hair that brushed his orange jail jumpsuit.

Lelia Duncan has resigned after 4 1/2 years as chief executive officer of Community Connections of Jacksonville, which offers day care, after-school programs and transitional housing for needy families.
“It has been a privilege to serve Community Connections. I have treasured this opportunity and am very proud of the accomplishments we’ve made,” she said. “It is an amazing organization. While leaving is bittersweet, I am excited about the next chapter in my life.”