Jacksonville, Florida | featured news

A new $44.2 million high-rise bridge on Heckscher Drive over Sisters Creek is set to open to traffic Monday, ending more than two years of construction, according to the Florida Department of Transporatation.
The new bridge has two 12-foot travel lanes, 10-foot shoulders and six-foot sidewalks on both sides. It replaces a 1950s-era drawbridge and eliminates decades of highway traffic waiting for boats to pass under the bridge when it’s raised, state officials said.

A free monthly career and employment counseling seminar for veterans, transitioning military members and their families will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at Suite 120 at City Hall at 117 W. Duval St.
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Duval’s Superintendent Nikolai Vitti will deliver his State of the Schools presentation this morning at Atlantic Coast High beginning at 10 a.m., to an invited audience.The Duval School Board also set an emergency meeting for 1pm today to discuss the “turnaround” plans for a few schools and related student assignments. They will meet at district headquarters.
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Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jacksonville’s Norman Studios with a rare screening of “The Flying Ace,” a 90-year-old silent film shot there, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the preserved National Historic Landmark studio complex at 6337 Arlington Road.
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Duval’s Superintendent Nikolai Vitti will deliver his State of the Schools presentation this morning at Atlantic Coast High beginning at 10 a.m., to an invited audience.The Duval School Board also set an emergency meeting for 1pm today to discuss the “turnaround” plans for a few schools and related student assignments. They will meet at district headquarters.read more

Dear Call Box: For months, I’ve driven by a large banner on the side of a building saying “Future Home of St. Francis Animal Hospital.” The building is on Atlantic Boulevard in St. Nicholas. Can you tell me when the hospital is moving in?
B.G., Southside
 
Dear B.G.: The future has arrived. St. Francis opened Aug. 1 in its new facility at 2727 Atlantic Blvd. The word “future” has been blacked out on the easily accessible signs and doubtless, the banner will change.

A former naval aviator will take over command of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet on Friday, as the U.S. Navy says bon voyage to his predecessor at a change of command and retirement ceremony at Mayport Naval Station.
Rear Adm. George W. Ballance is retiring after 36 years of service. He will be relieved by Rear Adm. Sean S. Buck.
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Searchers who retrieved the data recorder of the sunken cargo ship El Faro are scheduled to talk to reporters Friday at Mayport Naval Station.
A submersible controlled from the tug USNS Apache recovered the recorder Monday from about three miles below the ocean’s surface off the Bahamas. El Faro sank there Oct. 1 during Hurricane Joaquin, killing 33 people onboard.
Searchers had tried twice before to recover the recorder, which was designed to hold audio recordings and data about conditions during the 12 hours before the ship sank.

A former naval aviator will take over command of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet on Friday, as the U.S. Navy says bon voyage to his predecessor at a change of command and retirement ceremony at Mayport Naval Station.
Rear Adm. George W. Ballance is retiring after 36 years of service. He will be relieved by Rear Adm. Sean S. Buck.
read more

Searchers who retrieved the data recorder of the sunken cargo ship El Faro are scheduled to talk to reporters Friday at Mayport Naval Station.
A submersible controlled from the tug USNS Apache recovered the recorder Monday from about three miles below the ocean’s surface off the Bahamas. El Faro sank there Oct. 1 during Hurricane Joaquin, killing 33 people onboard.
Searchers had tried twice before to recover the recorder, which was designed to hold audio recordings and data about conditions during the 12 hours before the ship sank.