Jacksonville, Florida | featured news

What good is a new ordinance targeting blight without funding and little to no manpower — at least for now — to enforce it? Supporters answer, it’s a start.
The Clay County Commission voting 4-1 Aug. 23 adopted a anti-blight ordinance the majority touted as better than the old measure it replaces when it comes to cracking down on dilapidated houses, burned-out buildings and other deteriorating eyesores in unincorporated areas of the county.

Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence is scheduled to attend the 10:30 a.m. service at First Baptist Church Jacksonville downtown.
The church announced the visit by Pence and his family on its Facebook page Saturday. People planning to attend the service should arrive early and will be required to pass through metal detectors to enter the auditorium, according to the post.
read more

A thin blue line is literally about all that is left before a long-awaited homage to the city’s fallen police officers is completed outside Jacksonville’s Veterans Memorial Arena.
When it is added along with a plaque and paving stones, a dedication for the curved 10-foot-high wall full of the names of 61 officers killed in the line of duty since 1840 should be set for Oct. 1.
read more

GREEN COVE SPRINGS | The rustling “click-click” of thousands of Lego building bricks accentuated by the delighted laughter of discovery washed over the room in waves as children sorted through mini-mountains of the jumbled brightly colored toys to find that one perfect piece to snap into place and transform an idea from their imagination into reality Tuesday.
It was the first meeting of the Green Cove Springs Library’s LEGO Jr. Maker’s Club since school resumed after summer recess.

Police raided Jacksonville’s Eureka Garden complex on Labelle Street Thursday night, netting four arrests and the seizure of cocaine, according to the Sheriff’s Office.The drug bust came only hours after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio announced that a hearing will take place concerning the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspections process after viewing living conditions at Eureka, owned by what he called “the slumlords at Global Ministries Foundation.”

The Mathews Expressway’s eastbound ramp to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Gator Bowl Boulevard is scheduled to close from 8 p.m. Sunday through 5:30 a.m. Thursday to upgrade the guardrail system, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Traffic headed east on the Mathews Expressway will be able to detour south on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard, then east on Gator Bowl Boulevard to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway interchange.

Florida and the First Coast saw a decrease in the monthly unemployment rate for August, bucking a brief trend of rising jobless figures over the summer.
The state’s jobless rate came in at 4.9 percent in August, down from the 5.1 percent rate for July, according to figures released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Those figures are before seasonal adjustments are factored in, such as students returning to class after the summer break.

The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund is reviewing a letter from attorneys for John Keane, the fund’s former executive director, challenging a 20-percent reduction in Keane’s pension benefits.
Mayor Lenny Curry ordered the reduction in April based on a legal opinion issued by city General Counsel Jason Gabriel. He ruled the pension fund’s board did not have the authority to create the special pension plan for Keane and two other fund employees without City Council approval.

The things kids lose at school: Hats, jackets, sweaters, shirts, shoes, books, backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles, sports cleats. You name it, they lose it.
That ends up in the school’s lost-and-found, where it sits. And sits. And sits, until it’s thrown away or donated to a charity.
Twin Lakes Academy fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Smith had an idea this spring: Why not take the unclaimed stuff and get it to straight to fellow students who need it?

The nation’s 13th littoral combat ship will touch water for the first time Saturday when it’s launched in Wisconsin to start a journey that will end in its future home at Mayport Naval Station.Despite several recent issues with testing on similar ships already in the water, the company that built the future USS Wichita (LCS 13) is standing by its design.read more