Friday on our weekly “First Coast Connect” Media Roundtable, we featured Florida Times-Union reporter Sebastian Kitchen, Folio Weekly editor Claire Goforth and WJCT reporter Ryan Benk. We also spoke with Dylan Read, lifestyle director of Shearwater, about Earth Day events Saturday in St. Johns County. HandsOn Jacksonville CEO LeAnn Daddario told us about next Sunday’s Celebrate GOOD Festival and artist Lana Shuttleworth talked about her exhibit being unveiled Friday night at the Space Gallery.
Media Roundtable
Our panel talked about Duval County Public Schools superintendent being offered the superintendent’s job in Detroit. The fallout from sexist and racist comments made by Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, to Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville. He apologized on the Senate floor but shortly after broadcast resigned his seat. The panel also talked about the Downtown Investment Authority approving Shad Khan’s plan to redevelop the Shipyards property and the Jacksonville City Council giving preliminary approval to Mayor Lenny Curry’s pension reform plan.
Shearwater
Earth Day is Saturday. The day of the year when one billion people around the world celebrate this planet by showing support for environmental protection. There are a number of local celebrations of Earth Day taking place all around town. One in St. Johns County and is also a fundraiser for St. Johns County Schools. The residential community Shearwater will be holding its first 5K On the Trails and a one-mile fun run/walk. It begins at 8 a.m. It starts and finishes near the Shearwater Kayak Club.
Celebrate GOOD Festival
The Celebrate GOOD festival is held every year by HandsOn Jacksonville to honor volunteers in the community. It will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 30 at Friendship Fountain on Jacksonville’s Southbank. It will include live music, food, celebrity appearances and several activities.
Lana Shuttleworth
Shuttleworth uses common plastic castoff materials, particularly traffic safety cones, to create lavish landscapes and sculptural figures that challenge the viewer’s comprehension. A Jacksonville native, she recently returned home after living in Los Angeles for over a decade.
The Los Angeles Times praised her work, writing “you find yourself looking at these everyday plastic objects in a whole new way.”
The Space Gallery show is entitled "more than this." In addition to Shuttleworth, it includes the creations of Matthew S. Bennett and Jan Tomlinson Master.
Producer Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.
