Jacksonville, Florida | featured news

The Secret Life of Trees is the topic of a special presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Amelia Island Museum of History at 233 S. 3rd St. in Fernandina Beach.
In partnership with the Amelia Tree Conservancy, biomedical engineer Munsell McPhillips will discus barrier islands like Amelia Island, how they “work” and why the live oaks that grow on them help make them resistant to hurricane damage.
Admission is a $50 donation, seating first-come/first-served.

There were no major changes overnight as Invest 99L remains disorganized and continues to lack a well-defined center of circulation, according to Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
The First Coast News weather team reports environmental conditions should become more favorable this weekend as the system moves northwest towards the Bahamas. Upper-level winds are hindering development.
read more

As the National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary this week, St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos is being recognized for its place among America’s most important historic buildings.
The Castillo is the oldest city’s most enduring and iconic structure. It’s been the dominant architectural feature of St. Augustine for more than 300 of the city’s 451 years of existence.
The Castillo was declared a national monument in 1924 and taken over by the NPS in 1933. It’s been in the care of the NPS ever since.

A Wednesday tour of Jacksonville’s Air National Guard gave members of the City Council a chance to envision what it would be like to have state-of-the-art jets housed on the First Coast.
The tour included a presentation from top base officials, but the functioning aircraft shown on the ground and in the sky served as a look into the past of military technology.
“These are all antiques that we are looking at,” Councilman Al Ferraro said of the fleet after looking into the cockpit of an F-15.

As the National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary this week, St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos is being recognized for its place among America’s most important historic buildings.
The Castillo is the oldest city’s most enduring and iconic structure. It’s been the dominant architectural feature of St. Augustine for more than 300 of the city’s 451 years of existence.
The Castillo was declared a national monument in 1924 and taken over by the NPS in 1933. It’s been in the care of the NPS ever since.

A Wednesday tour of Jacksonville’s Air National Guard gave members of the City Council a chance to envision what it would be like to have state-of-the-art jets housed on the First Coast.
The tour included a presentation from top base officials, but the functioning aircraft shown on the ground and in the sky served as a look into the past of military technology.
“These are all antiques that we are looking at,” Councilman Al Ferraro said of the fleet after looking into the cockpit of an F-15.

There were no major changes overnight as Invest 99L remains disorganized and continues to lack a well-defined center of circulation, according to Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
The First Coast News weather team reports environmental conditions should become more favorable this weekend as the system moves northwest towards the Bahamas. Upper-level winds are hindering development.
read more

A new poll by the University of North Florida and The Florida Times-Union shows challengers Melissa Nelson and Charles Cofer well ahead of incumbent State Attorney Angela Corey and Public Defender Matt Shirk.
With a margin of error of 4 percentage points, the poll suggests a new state attorney and public defender will take office in January. The poll was conducted with 604 registered likely Republican voters from Aug. 20-23 by telephone.
See Also: Election Guide 2016

The group leading opposition to a half-cent sales tax for Jacksonville’s pension debt plans to purchase its first television ads in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election, though the group still hasn’t determined how much it will spend.
read more

Four times in as many years, courts have called Refik Eler, Jacksonville’s chief assistant public defender and the office’s death-penalty director, ineffective.
He ignored evidence, failed to properly investigate, and didn’t prepare adequately for trial, the courts ruled. Three of those cases involved death penalties. Two of the death sentences and the one life sentence were overturned because of Eler’s ineffectiveness. Now, taxpayers must pay to re-do those three trials.