Jacksonville | featured news

A seventh case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus was reported in Duval County, one of 12 new travel-related cases statewide, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The ill person in Duval traveled to Puerto Rico, according to the department. Zika fever has been identified in several countries in Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean since 2015. Outbreaks have previously been reported in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico.

A private treasure salvage company says it’s found a shipwreck, buried in sand under the ocean off Cape Canaveral, that could be linked to the lost French colony of Fort Caroline.
Global Marine Exploration Inc. has discovered scattered evidence of a historic wreck that includes some tantalizing clues: three French bronze cannons, at least one of which has markings from the time of the colony, and a French granite monument adorned with that country’s coat of arms.

The use of natural gas increased across the First Coast as St. Johns County opened a compressed natural gas fueling facility for the county’s public works department.
The new CNG fueling station opened Wednesday at the St. Johns County Public Works compound on Florida 16 and Industry Center Road. The CNG will be used in 130 county fleet vehicles that are being converted for natural gas use.
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Before major sports retailers opened stores in Jacksonville, there was Charlie Coleman’s Sport Shop.
Over three decades, thousands of players got their athletic apparel at his chain of five stores.
Friends called him an innovator, a man with a generous heart and a legend on the Northside where he opened his flagship store in 1964. Mr. Coleman also was an athlete who was in the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Tampa Hall of Fame.
He died Sunday night after a series of strokes.

When a child protective service worker went to interview Jamie Gilt’s young son about shooting his mother, they handed him a coloring book.
They talked about injuries. They talked about going to the doctor.
That’s when the 4-year-old began to spin the yarn about what happened on that day in March as Jamie Gilt drove along in Putnam County. He unbuckled his booster seat, hopped down on the floorboard, grabbed his mother’s pistol from under the front seat and shot her.

A fifth-grade teacher at Biltmore Elementary School in Jacksonville died Tuesday after she collapsed in front of students in a classroom, according to Duval County Public Schools.
Mildretta Chapple, 43, was an employee at the school for four years and had worked in the school district for 10 years, said schools spokeswoman Laureen Ricks. It was only the second day of classes.
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Before major sports retailers opened stores in Jacksonville, there was Charlie Coleman’s Sport Shop.
Over three decades, thousands of players got their athletic apparel at his chain of five stores.
Friends called him an innovator, a man with a generous heart and a legend on the Northside where he opened his flagship store in 1964. Mr. Coleman also was an athlete who was in the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Tampa Hall of Fame.
He died Sunday night after a series of strokes.

When a child protective service worker went to interview Jamie Gilt’s young son about shooting his mother, they handed him a coloring book.
They talked about injuries. They talked about going to the doctor.
That’s when the 4-year-old began to spin the yarn about what happened on that day in March as Jamie Gilt drove along in Putnam County. He unbuckled his booster seat, hopped down on the floorboard, grabbed his mother’s pistol from under the front seat and shot her.

Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp. is expanding its shipping service to Costa Rica.
In a prepared statement Wednesday, the company said its launching the new weekly container shipping service to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The ships will take cargo containers from JaxPort’s Talleyrand terminal every Thursday and will sail on to Port Everglades in South Florida before cruising to Costa Rica.
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A seventh case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus was reported in Duval County, one of 12 new travel-related cases statewide, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Where the ill person in Duval had traveled was not immediately available, according to the department. Zika fever has been identified in several countries in Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean since 2015. Outbreaks have previously been reported in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico.