Visitors flock to Jax to see the school district headquarters
As the McDougal family settles into its hotel room in downtown Jacksonville, Dad asks the kids, “What would you guys like to do?” Freckle-faced 10-year-old Butch says, “Gee, Dad, I want to see the School Board building. I’ve heard so much about it!” “I bet it’s a heck of a lot better than the one […]
The Hero Who Won’t Back Down: Paul Forte’s 40-Year Fight for the Northside
Activist, businessman, patriot, inventor and volunteer Paul Forte has been called many things, but one moniker often repeated by others is champion of the city’s Northside. Forte has been actively involved in going up against city officials for nearly four decades trying to make his neighborhood, and all of Jacksonville, what he considers a better […]
Explore “One Big Beautiful Bill”: A New Interactive Look at Where the Money’s Going
The White House has launched a new website to help Americans better understand what’s in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill — and more importantly, what it means for everyday people. It’s called One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), and it’s a fresh, easy-to-use online hub that walks you through where the money is going […]
They Gave Everything. We Gave Them a Parking Lot. Jacksonville Can—and Should—Do Better.
Jacksonville is a city with deep military roots and a proud population of veterans. We show up at parades. We say “thank you for your service.” We display flags. But at some point, words must give way to action. Right now, one of our most sacred monuments — the Veterans Memorial Wall — sits in […]
Take a look: Mayor’s spending plan is out for public review
Mayor Donna Deegan has prepared her spending plan for the next fiscal year, and the City Council will pore over it this summer, adopting the final version in late September. Deegan wants to spend $4 billion. That does not include the costs of the city’s independent authorities, which prepare their own budgets. If she follows […]
Chemtrails Go Mainstream—Now Even the Feds Are Talking About It
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin unleashed the conspiracy theory floodwaters. The EPA’s press release, posted yesterday, was titled “EPA Releases New Online Resources Giving Americans Total Transparency on the Issues of Geoengineering and Contrails.” Truthfully, the word total might be an overstatement. CLIP: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin promises total chemtrail transparency (2:58). So far, the EPA’s “new” […]
Tallahassee Is Gaslighting Us — They’re “Protecting” Vulnerable Adults by Exploiting Them
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from watching the Florida Legislature, it’s this: when a bill sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Take CS/SB 106, for example — a bill with a noble-sounding title: “Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults.” Who could oppose that? We all want to protect the elderly from scams and […]
Feds cut funds for planner’s fantasy
The long-awaited effort to cut spending in Washington, D.C. is having a positive effect in Jacksonville already. It was announced from City Hall that $147 million in federal funds for the Emerald Trail would not be forthcoming, as the government strives to avoid even more crippling debt. Just four years ago, the cost to build […]
Stop the Emotional Pendulum: From Grit to Fragility — and What We’re Losing
Throughout history, one of the most consistent motifs is the ‘pendulum swing’ – society’s tendency to attempt to correct one extreme and inadvertently lurch into another. Prohibition tried to solve alcoholism by banning alcohol altogether, and accidentally fueled bootlegging and speakeasies; McCarthyism sought to root out communist spies and ended up blacklisting innocent Americans; the […]
Government schools are getting better
Duval school officials are taking a victory lap because the district got an “A” rating from the state for the first time in history. The state ranks individual schools and also districts, giving them letter grades. All of Northeast Florida now consists of A districts, in Duval, Nassau, Clay and St. Johns counties. But the […]