Duval County | featured news

A Week with Baseball Legends will end at the same place it started: J.P. Small Memorial Stadium.
On Sept. 16 Jacksonville used the field to screen "42," a movie about the life of Jackie Robinson, and several retired Major League Baseball All-Stars will mentor 150 invited kids during a clinic at the ballpark Saturday.
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Local child welfare services will be the topic of discussion as the Family Support Services of North Florida hosts a town hall meeting from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, at the Department of Children and Families’ Roberts Building, Auditorium at 5920 Arlington Expressway in Jacksonville.
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Florida State College at Jacksonville hosts an international “Observe the Moon” event from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, in North Campus Parking Lot 1 at 4501 Capper Road.
The free event is part of NASA’s International Observe the Moon night, and joins locations all over the globe to encourage observation, appreciation and understanding of the moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration.
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Pod Rods takes a wild ride ‘round the ‘Ring in a Lotus; checks out a Lego Caterham; goes very fast in some land speed record holders; and take a seat at the Paris auto show. Plus, check out the myriad of automotive events near and far and sooner as well as later:
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Federal retirees who were swindled by a man their agencies contracted to provide retirement advice can’t sue the federal government, a judge in Jacksonville has ruled.
“While the rampant fraud here calls out for a remedy, one cannot be secured from the United States,” U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan concluded in an order dismissing a case brought by 141 people who lost millions of dollars to Kenneth Wayne McLeod.

Jacksonville’s bus operator is looking at updating fares, possibly raising rates for riders over time, allowing transfers, and changing its policy of allowing people over 65 to ride for free.
Nathaniel Ford, CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, said the easy answer in its effort to boost “fare recovery” is to raise rates, but the agency must be careful because any action could impact ridership.
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The Duval School Board meets today with Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to discuss the district’s future. The meeting, which beban at 10:30 a.m. at district headquarters, comes after a week of speculation that there might be a vote on Vitti’s employment status in the district. Board member Scott Shine and Vitti say that late last week Chairman Ashley Smith Juarez threatened to vote to terminate Vitti if he didn’t resign. Vitti refused and Shine publicized the exchange.

Expect a detour next week on the Mathews Expressway’s eastbound ramp to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Gator Bowl Boulevard, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The ramp is scheduled to close from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday as part of an ongoing $13 million project on the area roadways.
Traffic headed east on the Mathews Expressway will detour south on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard and east on Gator Bowl Boulevard to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway interchange.

Although most of the six-member Duval School Board said they want a mediator to help them work better together, three members Friday voted against hiring one within 30 days, seeking instead to delay it.read more

Local child welfare services will be the topic of discussion as the Family Support Services of North Florida hosts a town hall meeting from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, at the Department of Children and Families’ Roberts Building, Auditorium at 5920 Arlington Expressway in Jacksonville.
read more