Sydney Boles

The Jacksonville City Council has passed a bill to create a new code enforcement board with the power to shut down businesses deemed a public nuisance. 

If signed by Mayor Lenny Curry, the bill would create a nine-member review board will have the power to declare a business or property a public nuisance and then work with the property owners to address the issues. 

The board will also have the authority to issue fines and eventually shut down businesses that don’t comply. 

Jacksonville may impose a tax on gasoline to fund up to $930 million in improvements to roadways, drainage and transit, according to WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union, which reported Wednesday that Mayor Lenny Curry has been meeting with City Council members.

Clad all in black, including a black face mask, a man named Daryl was handing out trash bags to the residents of the tent city that occupies a LaVilla block near Downtown Jacksonville Tuesday morning.

The Northeast Florida Regional Council says the area ended 2020 with a GDP that was 3.4% lower than 2019’s. The region lost more than 40,000 jobs during the pandemic. But with more residents of the First Coast receiving their coronavirus vaccines, the economy is expected to start returning to normal. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Friday he will lower the age requirement to receive the coronavirus vaccine some time in March.

Citing health and safety violations, the city of Jacksonville is fencing off a LaVilla block near Downtown where homeless people have been living in an informal tent city. 

A group of nonprofit organizations, businesses and nonprofit organizations aimed at ramping up permanent disaster response in Duval County shared its progress Thursday with the Resilient Jax working group. 

A federally run COVID-19 vaccination site opened Wednesday at Gateway Town Center on the Northside. The site is operated by FEMA, but the shots are being administered by 139 military personnel, many of them from Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

The 2021 Florida Legislative Session is just getting underway, but candidates for state senate are already beginning to plan for the next election in 2022. The first candidate to file for District 6, which includes Jacksonville, is 20-year-old Brooklyn Owen, who is transgender. 

Kirby-Smith Middle School community members have moved a step closer to potentially choosing a new name for the school. 

Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry confirmed Monday that a complaint has been filed against him by fellow Democrat, Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis. 

Jacksonville's largest outdoor marketplace showcasing Black-owned businesses, arts, and culture is back this Saturday, February 27. 

A new coronavirus vaccination site is opening in Jacksonville at Edward Waters College. The Historically Black College will distribute about 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine per day and will prioritize residents of the New Town neighborhood where the school is located. 

The St. Augustine City Commission voted Tuesday to begin allowing public gatherings starting this spring. Events are slated to include arts shows, athletic events and music festivals. 

The Jacksonville City Council plans to hold a public meeting Thursday to discuss access to nutritious food in the New Town neighborhood. 

The meeting comes following reporting from WJCT news partner The Florida Times-Union, which revealed the lengths that residents of the northside neighborhood must go to reach a grocery store. 

A bill in a Tallahassee house committee would increase penalties for leaving dogs tethered and unattended in Florida. 

The city of Jacksonville has received $28.9 million from the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program to go towards rent and utility payments for struggling families. 

The Biden Administration announced Friday it would partner with Florida to open four new community vaccination centers, one of which will be in Jacksonville.

Between March and November of 2020, the nonprofit food distribution organization Farm Share handed out more than a hundred-million pounds of food across the Sunshine State.

On March 27, roughly 40 firefighters are set to climb the stairs of Jacksonville’s TIAA Bank Field to raise awareness about cancer among firefighters. 

Multiple food nonprofits are distributing free produce and non-perishables in the Jacksonville area this week for people experiencing food insecurity.

The Jacksonville Downtown Investment Authority voted unanimously Wednesday to approve environmental exploration on land next to Metropolitan park by Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s development company, Iguana Investments.

The city of Jacksonville has successfully relocated 48 people from a Downtown tent city into temporary shelters following the announcement of a major rehousing initiative, but a Downtown encampment remains.

African Americans make up 29% of the population in Duval County, but just 14% of vaccinations, according to the latest numbers from the state’s Department of Health (DOH). 

That’s an improvement from two weeks ago, when African Americans made up 11% of vaccine recipients. 

The Jacksonville-based Bee Friends Farm is expanding, with a new brick-and-mortar store opening later this month. 

Amber Ferrell, 17, is a varsity cheerleader, a member of the National Honors Society, and among the top in her class at Jacksonville’s William M. Raines High School. She attributes her achievements to her own hard work, of course, but also to an afterschool program called Girls, Inc. 

The CEO of UF Health Jacksonville said Thursday it may be a few weeks before his hospital  receives more doses of coronavirus vaccines. 

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced Thursday a $26.8 million investment towards phasing out septic tanks in three Northside neighborhoods. It’s on top of a $30 million investment made in 2016, and still far short of estimates of the project’s total cost. 

Jacksonville City Council members are holding a series of conversations after a speaker at a recent council meeting flashed a hand gesture that is associated with white supremacists.