Claire Heddles - Jacksonville Today
ReporterClaire joined WJCT as a reporter in August 2021. She was previously the local host of NPR's Morning Edition at WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee. During her time in East Tennessee, her coverage of the COVID pandemic earned a Public Media Journalists’ Association award for investigative reporting.
Claire grew up in the desert city of Tucson, Arizona and received a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. As a student, her work with Al Jazeera's Contrast VR won a Webby award. After graduation, Claire worked at NPR as a national desk intern.
Claire’s work has aired nationally on NPR’s All Things Considered, and she has bylines at NPR, The Advocate Magazine and Truthout.
Outside of reporting, Claire enjoys trying new recipes and restaurants around Jacksonville, throwing pottery and spending time outdoors. You can contact Claire with tips, story ideas or comments at (904) 250-0926, cheddles@wjct.org or on Twitter @claireheddles.
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The site in Neptune Beach — Jacksonville's only city-funded, drive-through testing site — will give only 150 rapid tests and 100 PCR tests each day on a first-come, first-served basis. The city says the site is running out of money. -
Starting in the new year, recycling will be picked up on the same day as trash in St. Augustine Beach. It has to be put on the curb in a city-issued blue recycling bin. -
With COVID cases soaring, the clinic in Jacksonville wants to be sure it has enough treatments on hand before taking appointments. They will reopen Tuesday. -
Mayor Lenny Curry wrote on Twitter that "'the science' isn't science" and that he is against vaccine mandates, as COVID cases surge nationwide. -
The Clay County Schools superintendent has followed the lead of Flagler County Schools and removed "All Boys Aren't Blue," a critically acclaimed memoir of growing up Black and queer. -
City data shows most people in Jacksonville won't lug their recyclables to one of the city’s 15 drop-off sites. Haulers collected less than a 10th of the normal amount last week. -
The first owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver, are giving two $500,000 grants to local nonprofits to assist with Afghan refugee resettlement efforts. -
Base pay for teachers is getting a $1.6k bump in an approved union contract, bringing all teachers to Gov. Ron DeSantis' benchmark for districts around the state. -
Mayo Clinic epidemiologist Greg Poland says Florida's low levels of screening for the omicron variant could be dangerous for the state, but people can protect themselves by getting vaccinated. -
Democrat Tracye Polson and Republican Nick Howland led the race in fundraising, and will now face a runoff election February 22.
