Powdered alcohol, Bill Bishop and Orange Park JEA bills are all in the headlines today.
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Headlines
Florida lawmakers are trying to ban the sale or possession of powdered alcohol. The company Lipsmark LLC recently received approval from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to begin selling its product, Palcohol, a powdered alcohol that is turned into an alcoholic beverage by adding water. However, the company does not expect to begin selling the product until this summer.
Colorado, on the other hand, is welcoming Palcohol with open arms. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law allowing the sale of the product in his state.
Councilman Bill Bishop decides not to endorse either mayoral candidate. The former mayoral candidate held a press conference Tuesday to announce that he was not making an endorsement for mayor in the 2015 election. He also announced that he would be running for mayor again in 2019.
Orange Park residents will see a jump in their electric bill this month. JEA announced that a 10 percent public service tax is going into effect starting today.
Two Duval County school buses were involved in a crash in under a week. Tuesday morning a woman driving a Honda was trying to get around a school bus in Ortega to turn left when she miscalculated the distance between the curb and the bus. Last week, a woman driving a Mercedes did not stop at a red light at Phillips and Beach Boulevard pulling out in front of the bus causing the school bus driver to hit the vehicle.
Candidate Ken Jefferson joined Melissa Ross on 'First Coast Connect' to discuss the reasons why he believes he is the best choice for Jacksonville's Sheriff. Jefferson promises to reduce violent crime by 25 percent in his first year in office and increase police involvement in the community. Jefferson also says he will establish a Citizens Advisory Council — instead of a Citizens Review Board — to guide the Sheriff's Office.
"Single-stream" recycling may be more convenient, but more of it ends up in the landfill. Many cities and towns, like Jacksonville, have begun adopting the single-stream recycling system which automatically organizes recyclables in a large sorter. However, upwards of 40 percent of the recyclable content received ends up being unusable.
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