Jacksonville | featured news

The protection of elderly adults from abuse, neglect and exploitation is the topic of the next Family Support Services of North Florida Breakfast Learning Series at 9 a.m. Aug. 23, at its Nassau County office at 96016 Lofton Square Court in Yulee.
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Learn more about the notable woman of North Florida’s past at the next Mandarin Museum and Historical Society’s Third Thursday lecture, set for 7 p.m. Aug. 18, at the Mandarin Community Club at 12447 Mandarin Road.
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In a darkened radiation lab, Eric “Mitch” Mitchell had to lie still as high-energy X-rays targeted a cancerous spot on his spine for destruction. He wore a Superman T-shirt for good measure.
All Mitchell, 48, could feel was the beat of his requested background music, 1990s hip hop.
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Education in how to turn beautyberries into jelly comes to the Duval County Extension office’s Canning Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19.
The course at the canning center at 2525 Commonwealth Ave. is $20 per person. Pre-registration and pre-payment required by calling the center at (904) 255-7450.
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A Sunset Safari will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at the White Oak conservation facility at 581705 White Oak Road in Yulee.
The sunset tour of the 12,000-acre facility will offer visitor updates on White Oak events and a view of the animals that live there.
New arrivals that could be glimpsed on the tour are White Oak’s new white rhino calf, born June 23, as well as the Grevy’s zebra foal born soon after, according to facility officials.

HIV prevention is spotlighted at the next Family Support Services of North Florida’s Breakfast Learning Series at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Edward Waters College’s Schell-Sweet Community Resource Center at 1697 Kings Road.
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NEW YORK — Delta fliers faced delays, cancellations and more headaches Wednesday as the Atlanta-based airline struggled with its computer systems for the third straight day.
More than 150 flights were canceled by the morning, in addition to the 800 scrapped Tuesday and 1,000 canceled Monday. Hundreds of other flights were delayed Wednesday morning.
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About 37,000 students in St. Johns County saw their summer break end Wednesday with the first day of classes for public schools.
That will mean more school buses, minivans, bicyclists and pedestrians on the streets during Wednesday morning’s rush hour. Drivers are also reminded to pay attention to school zone speed limit changes, which have not been in effect during the summer break.
School is also back in session today in Baker, Nassau and Putnam counties.

U.S. Senate hopeful and Manatee County homebuilder Carlos Beruff will visit Jacksonville at 11 a.m. on the Eastside.
His choice of location for his town hall is an interesting one for a Republican primary challenger. Jacksonville’s Eastside Branch Library is in a heavily black voting precinct where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 13 to one. Only Republicans can vote in the Aug. 30 primary when he faces off against incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio.

Two former Jacksonville City Council presidents say Mayor Lenny Curry’s plan to use a sales tax to pay down the city’s $2.85 billion pension debt amounts to “taxation without representation” for future generations and is a mistaken way to resolve the high-profile problem, a rare rebuke of a plan that has otherwise enjoyed virtually unanimous support from Jacksonville’s political establishment.
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