Duval Schools Amend Code of Conduct; Kevin Carroll; Tiffany Manning

At Tuesday night’s Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Board meeting, parents rallied and school board members heard intense public comments.

Most participants were asking the school board to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order and require students to mask up when school begins next week.

Following hours of debate, the board voted 5 to 2 to require masks with an option for parents to opt-out if they do not want their students to comply.

Duval Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and DCPS Chairwoman Elizabeth Andersen joined us Wednesday morning to tell us more.

Kevin Carroll

Kevin Carroll, a healthy 46-year-old from Ponte Vedra, decided not to get the COVID vaccine. He came to regret that decision after spending a week at Mayo Clinic’s Intensive Care Unit after contracting the virus. Carroll joined us with a message from his family: Get the vaccine.

COVID-19 Testing

Many First Coast residents report difficulty in getting a COVID-19 test in a timely manner. Avecina Medical hopes to change this by reopening drive-thru testing sites across Jacksonville.

Dr. Samal Soleymani, CEO and President of Avecina Medical, spoke with us about the demand.

Tiffany Manning

Local artist Tiffany Manning is on her way to the ArtPrize festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan to showcase her Feminine Soul Project. Manning spoke with us about her inspiration and hopes for the project.

What’s Good Wednesday

• Mandarin Garden Club is hosting its $1 Clothing and Jewelry Sale on August 6-7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year's event will also feature a “Pop up Plant Sale.”
• VyStar Credit Union announced Wednesday that three leaders in its organization were featured in a segment of the Military Makeover Operation Career TV show, which airs on Lifetime and is hosted by Montel Williams.
• Beaches Energy Services, the City of Jacksonville Beach, and the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol concluded their annual public awareness campaign to protect sea turtles during nesting season. The campaign, called #CleanDarkFlat, aimed to raise awareness of ideal beach conditions for nesting sea turtles.

First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Associate Producer Katherine Hobbs can be reached at khobbs@wjct.org or on Twitter at @KatherineGHobbs.