Andrew Jackson High School, Interline Brands, and the First Coast Expressway are in the headlines affecting Northeast Florida today.
Welcome to WJCT First Read, your daily weekday morning round-up of stories from the First Coast, around Florida, and across the country. We'll also preview some of WJCT's upcoming news programming.
Andrew Jackson locked down, student arrested
A student at Andrew Jackson High School allegedly brought a gun to school Tuesday causing the school to go into lock down. The student was found with a gun off campus and arrested. (First Coast News)
JEA says it cannot fulfill Mayor Brown's request to fix the pension fund debt
In response to a request the Mayor made in February for the electric authority to provide $40 million a year to make up the deficit in the Police and Fire pension, JEA presented a report showing that they were financially unable to comply with the request. They offered an alternative that included a one-time paymentof $120 million at a future date. (WJCT)
Family Promise of Jacksonville Hosts Cardboard City
The 4th annual Cardboard City event to benefit Family Promise of Jacksonville kicks off Friday, November 21 at 4 p.m. This year a new walk-through experience, "The Homeless Journey" is being added to the event. (WJCT)
Downtown Investment Authority considering incentives package for Bostick Building
The DIA board is considering providing Wine Lounge Concepts $500,000 in grants and a $250,000 loan to turn the building into an upscale steak restaurant called Cowford Chophouse. The Bostick Building at the corner of Bay and Ocean Streets is commonly referred to as the "Jaguar building" due to the mural painted across its windows. (Florida Times Union)
Interline Brands agrees to pay $40 million to settle lawsuit over unsolicited fax ads
The class action lawsuit claims that the Jacksonville based company sent unsolicited ads by fax that were in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. (Florida Times Union)
New section of First Coast Expressway opened
A new length of road connecting 103rd Street and Chaffee Road opened Tuesday. Construction of the remainder of the project being built by the Florida Department of Transportation that extends from I-10 to Blanding Boulevard is expected to be completed by summer 2016. (Florida Times Union)
Lapse in contract could cause some to go without food
Food distribution at the Schell-Sweet Center at Edward Waters College has been suspended due to a change in contract, and is not expected to be resolved until early 2015. (First Coast News)
Today at 9 a.m. on 89.9 FM, quarterly series Policy Matters with Rick Mullaney will air in place of First Coast Connect. Policy Matters explores how public policy issues, including taxes, healthcare, pensions and downtown development affect our daily lives.
Rick’s guests for the November 2014 edition of Policy Matters are U.S. Congressman Ander Crenshaw and State Attorney Angela Corey.
First Coast Connect returns in its normal time slot on Thursday!
You can get all the latest headlines online at WJCTNews.org, on our Facebook page, and on Twitter @WJCTJax. You can follow Ray Hollister on Twitter @RayHollister.
