Jacksonville Today • 25th June 2026

Unredacted texts tie Carrico’s JEA board pick to Nassau teen center project | Jacksonville Today

Newly released, unredacted text messages sent and received by Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico reveal the close timing between an attempted Nassau County land acquisition by his nonprofit boss and his nomination of that same boss to the JEA board. 

The unfiltered text exchange between Carrico and Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida CEO Paul Martinez was released Thursday by the State Attorney’s Office in response to a public records request by Jacksonville Today, along wit...

Jacksonville Today • 23rd June 2026

JEA chief executive testifies in Jacksonville City Council workplace investigation | Jacksonville Today

JEA CEO Vickie Cavey faced questions Monday from a Jacksonville City Council Special Investigatory Committee in its probe of alleged workplace toxicity at the city-owned utility.

Committee members pressed Cavey on the treatment and dismissal of JEA’s senior leadership team members during her tenure.

The utility CEO also denied any influence from the Mayor’s Office when questioned about a canceled lobbying contract with Ballard Partners. 

Cavey was the highest-ranking JEA executive to be subpoe...

Jacksonville Today • 10th June 2026

More details emerge in JEA texts from City Council president | Jacksonville Today

As Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico got ready to nominate his boss for a spot on the JEA board, he sent the candidate a text message:

“Guess it’s time they get a new board member to show them who’s boss.. … You ready to play the game?”

The text was sent Jan. 20, three weeks before Paul Martinez, head of the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida, was tapped for the utility’s board.

The text was included in more that 1,000 documents Carrico delivered to the State Attorney’s Off...

Jacksonville Today • 9th June 2026

Public records delay: City releases council prez’s subpoena response after more than 100 days | Jacksonville Today

After months of public-records requests by Jacksonville Today and other local outlets, and attorney intervention, the Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday released President Kevin Carrico’s response to a Feb. 24 subpoena from the State Attorney’s Office. 

Jacksonville Today has the records and will follow up with a story on what is in them as soon as possible. To date, the State Attorney’s Office has not confirmed why it’s looking into Carrico’s communications. The documents could shed light...

Jacksonville Today • 1st June 2026

Jacksonville officials stare down $300M hit from DeSantis’ property tax plan | Jacksonville Today

As Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee to debate Gov. Ron DeSantis’ property tax cut proposal, Jacksonville city leaders could be staring at a loss that exceeds $300 million for city services. 

DeSantis called the Legislature back into a special session that began Monday to vet his plan to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to redesign the state property tax code.

His plan would raise the homestead property tax exemption for a homeowner’s primary residence from $50,00...

Jax Daily Record • 19th May 2026

Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll: Downtown Publix is ‘the most important thing we’re doing’ | Jax Daily Record

As Gateway Jax prepares to seek Jacksonville City Council approval of incentives for a mixed-use project that includes a full-service Publix grocery store, the CEO of the group said May 19 it was critical to the success of Gateway’s Pearl Square development.

During a media tour, Gateway principal Bryan Moll said that without a full-service grocery store, “it would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to do what we’re doing at this scale.” 

Moll made the remark after showing active constructi...

Jacksonville Today • 12th May 2026

City Councilman Rory Diamond pledges study of Hogpen Creek sediment | Jacksonville Today

At low tide, the dock off Williams “Jake” Jacobs’ backyard on Seven Pine Island on Hogpen Creek is sitting on silt.

Around 10 a.m. Monday, the water level was at about 6 inches.  Homeowners on Hogpen Creek have been trying for years to get the city to share the cost of removing the sediment buildup — a problem city officials say is from natural processes. 

“Every single day I see the backyard and how terrible this situation is becoming,” Jacobs says.

Now, some residents want the Jacksonville Ci...

Jacksonville Today • 7th May 2026

No fraud found in Healthlink Jax, but a budget battle could be brewing | Jacksonville Today

The Deegan administration will keep funding its Healthlink Jax telehealth service unchanged in the mayor’s proposed budget later this year, according to a city spokesperson.

The mayor’s desire to keep the program going comes as a draft report released Tuesday by Jacksonville City Council’s DOGE Committee found no evidence that the program’s provider, Telescope Health, could have committed Medicare and Medicaid fraud — allegations floated by council member Rory Diamond during the six-month pro...

Jacksonville Today • 1st May 2026

Does Downtown Jacksonville need more office space? Some are betting yes. | Jacksonville Today

In Downtown Jacksonville, the office building was once the driver of real estate investment. But a decade of residential city policy and a global pandemic turned that on its head.

Downtown Vision Inc.’s annual State of Downtown Report released Wednesday shows a vacancy rate for offices in the urban core sitting at 27.4% — highest among major metros in Florida and nearly nine points above the national average of 18.5%.The real surge Downtown, according to the report, is in residential investme...

Jacksonville Today • 29th April 2026

Jacksonville keeps dishing out incentives — but will that change? | Jacksonville Today

The Jacksonville City Council approved taxpayer-backed incentive packages for three real estate development projects Tuesday night totaling $3.53 million in cash and $12 million in tax breaks.

In a 16-0 vote, city lawmakers approved $12 million in city property tax rebates to Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. for a proposed $550 million investment and expansion of its manufacturing facility at 7500 Centurion Parkway. Council members also signed off on nearly $3.53 million in forgivable and d...

Jacksonville Today • 25th April 2026

Florida's special session: Redistricting, vaccines and AI rights | Jacksonville Today

Florida lawmakers will return to Tallahassee on Tuesday for a special session that’s meant to tackle the desire of state Republican leadership to redraw the congressional district maps. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis called for the April 28 special session after delaying it one week and added two more of his legislative priorities to lawmakers’ agenda that failed to pass in this year’s regular session. In addition to redistricting, the four-day session will include a bill by Republican Sen. Clay Yarbroug...

The Iowa Mercury • 15th April 2026

Take 2: Colfax council member, Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe owner tries again for Statehouse

Brad Magg’s first job in food and hospitality was selling cookies and baked goods as a third-grader at Colfax-Mingo schools.

The Colfax native founded Magg Family Catering at 14 years old, and in high school added a Tropical Snow stand to his early portfolio.

The 39-year-old has always seen himself as an entrepreneur and restaurateur. Politics, he tells Iowa Mercury, came later — an extension of a desire to see Colfax buck the trend of small town retraction. Magg...

The Iowa Mercury • 6th April 2026

Iowa Dem pastor-lawmaker wants to help the wounded and ‘fix the road’ in 2nd Congressional District

Iowa State Rep. Lindsay James is on a growing list in Iowa and nationally of Democrats who are also clergy running for elected office in Washington D.C.

Maybe the most well known is Texas State Rep. James Talarico who’s making a bid for the U.S. Senate.

In Iowa, there are a trio of pastors representing the trend – James, a Presbyterian minister and one of three Democrats trying to secure the party’s nomination in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District; on...

Jacksonville Today • 23rd March 2026

Former JEA exec: Water fees have been an issue for years | Jacksonville Today

JEA’s former chief of staff says the public utility’s management has been trying for years to resolve its lax policy that’s caused the under collection of what are called capacity fees from several commercial water customers for decades. 

Kurt Wilson, whose position was eliminated in February by JEA CEO Vickie Cavey, testified under oath Monday during a hearing in front of the Jacksonville City Council’s Special Investigatory Committee on JEA.

In addition to Wilson’s testimony on the fees, the...

Jacksonville Today • 13th March 2026

With ‘These Truths’ public art project halted, funds might be redirected for other courthouse uses | Jacksonville Today

City leaders could soon consider repurposing the remaining money that was earmarked for a stalled public art project planned for the Duval County Courthouse.

City Council member and Duval DOGE Committee Chair Ron Salem tells Jacksonville Today he’s working on legislation to reappropriate the project’s remaining budget and is in talks with Circuit Court Judge Lance Day on what Day sees as the best use for the money.

The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville told DOGE Committee members March...

Jacksonville Today • 2nd March 2026

Vice chair of JEA board loses promotion over CEO flap | Jacksonville Today

The executive committee of the JEA board has rescinded its nomination of Vice Chair Rick Morales III to be the board’s next chair, after his recent call for the CEO of the city-owned utility to resign.

Instead, the committee voted Monday to recommend MG Orender to lead the utility’s board of directors. Board member Arthur Adams Jr. was nominated to be JEA’s next vice chair, but just hours after the vote, his future on the board became uncertain.After the committee’s endorsements, Jacksonville...

Jacksonville Today • 11th February 2026

Ocklawaha River restoration gains steam in Legislature | Jacksonville Today

A renewed effort to remove a portion of the Kirkpatrick Dam and restore the Ocklawaha River to its natural flow in Putman and Marion counties will face its final committee hurdle Thursday in the Florida Senate.


Senate Bill 1066, introduced by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, faces its final stop before arriving on the Senate floor. The House version, by Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, already passed through committees unanimously.This is the closest that longtime advocates of draining the Ro...

AP News • 10th February 2026

Florida prosecutor subpoenas city of Jacksonville over immigration enforcement

A state prosecutor has subpoenaed the city of Jacksonville to look for evidence of what the Florida attorney general alleges is immigration enforcement interference by Mayor Donna Deegan’s Hispanic outreach coordinator.Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the subpoena in a post Monday on the social media platform X. Uthmeier wrote, “If there’s evidence that (Deegan’s) administration coordinated to impede immigration enforcement and harbor criminal aliens, we will hold them accountab...

Jacksonville Today • 3rd February 2026

Florida DOGE report raises questions for City Council | Jacksonville Today

After a review of the Florida DOGE report on local government spending, the Jacksonville City Council auditor says she could not conclusively identify the $199 million that the state entity claims the city spent wastefully.


Council Auditor Kim Taylor went through her analysis of the state DOGE report during a meeting of the City Council’s city-level Duval DOGE committee on Tuesday. Three of the committee members said the analysis appears to identify about $90 million cited by the state as was...

The Iowa Mercury • 2nd February 2026

Classroom Clinic wants to take virtual mental health service business model statewide, beyond

By Mike Mendenhall
Sue Gehling began primary care work as a nurse practitioner in 1997 in rural Iowa when children with mental health care needs quickly grabbed her attention.

“Over the years, I listened to a lot of parents describe their stories to me – the despondency that they expressed, the frustration, the difficulties navigating the system. It was very moving, to be honest,” Gehling told The Iowa Mercury. “And it was upsetting to me and frustrating that our system makes...

The Iowa Mercury • 30th January 2026

Tragedy in Minneapolis, Congress ‘abdicating its responsibility’ on tariffs, and more with Iowa congressional candidate Dave Dawson

By Mike Mendenhall
Dave Dawson — a Democrat seeking his party’s nomination to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District — says the online images and videos of recent federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis have left him “shocked.”

The 51-year-old attorney and former Iowa House member from Lawton tells The Iowa Mercury that there should be a full investigation into the death of 37-year-old Renee Good — the Minneapolis mot...

Jacksonville Today • 28th January 2026

Deegan responds to criticism of Ramallah Club post | Jacksonville Today

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is responding to criticism about photos posted on her social media account Tuesday — on Holocaust Remembrance Day — of her speaking at The Ramallah Club, an organization serving Palestinians. 


The Jewish Federation of Northeast Florida is the latest entity to call out the timing of the photos, which the federation called “insensitive and tone deaf.”Deegan administration officials confirmed that the photo was taken Saturday during the mayor’s speech at The Ramal...

Jacksonville Today • 22nd January 2026

Jacksonville food study aims to eliminate urban farm barriers | Jacksonville Today

At Eartha’s Farm and Market, the nonprofit’s director grows herbs, greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, 240 blueberry bushes, fruit trees, grape vine and more on 2½ acres on Jacksonville’s Northside.  


“Anything you can grow in Florida, we grow,” director Sarah Salvatore told Jacksonville Today.The Clara White Mission initiative hosts programs and provides resources for other local growers and urban farmers, as well as people affected by food insecurity. Its weekly Saturday farmers market accepts SNA...

Jacksonville Today • 15th January 2026

ICE action sparks tension in Jacksonville | Jacksonville Today

Federal immigration officers have spread across Jacksonville in the past week, raising concerns among some residents that the government is overstepping the just powers it derives from the consent of the governed.


Tension arose on several fronts: The National Baptist Convention, meeting in Jacksonville, assailed the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; a Jacksonville city official was suspended for an immigration-related post on social media; anti-ICE demonstrations cited t...