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Jacksonville Today •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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...
WJCT News 89.9 •

First Coast Week in Review

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week.

• Florida sheriffs push back on mass deportation policies, saying there needs to be a path to citizenship for certain undocumented residents.
• School prayer is under the microscope in Duval County as two groups object to the evangelical bent of invocations.
• The “60-day” legislative session ends, momentarily, but work on the budget, taxation and redistricting remains unfinished.
• Racist incidents at two Florida universities put conservative campus groups in the crosshairs.
• Duval County cancels a courthouse sculpture, despite having already spent $300,000 on the nonexistent artwork.
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