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First Coast Connect

Donna Deegan's Political Future; Caregiving; MOSH; St. John’s County Anniversary

Donna Deegan announced her candidacy for Jacksonville mayor on WJCT's First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Heather Schatz, WJCT News
Donna Deegan takes the stage to campaign for Andrew Gillum on Oct. 22, 2018, at a Jacksonville rally.

First Coast News anchor, and marathon founder Donna Deegan, one of Duval County's most prominent Democrats, is strongly considering running for Jacksonville mayor. 

Deegan previously ran for Congress in 2020 but lost to Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL4). She recently formed a new political committee titled “Donna for Duval” amid discussions of her potential run for 2023 bid for mayor. Duval County is starting to trend blue following both the 2020 presidential election where Joe Biden won the county, and the 2018 gubernatorial election where candidate Andrew Gillum won in Duval. 

Deegan joined us to discuss her political future.  

Cost of Caregiving 

A new studyconducted by AARP revealed the financial toll of caregiving. The study revealed not only that there are 48 million people in the United States who are looking after their loved ones, but that family caregivers spend an average of $7,200 out of pocket annually  on taking care of their loved ones. 

Jeff Johnson, the State Director for AARP Florida joined us to talk about the cost of caretaking. 

MOSH 

The MOSH will be hosting a "Rock the Moon" concert and planetarium experience to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the moon landing. The event, which is taking place on July 17 will feature the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society along with the local band Skyview. 

Eddie Whisler, the Vice President of Education Services and Director of the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium at MOSH joined us to discuss the concert and Planetarium experience. 

St. John’s County Anniversary 

St. John's County is ringing in its 200th year. To celebrate its 200th anniversary, the St. Johns County Public Library System has partnered with the St. Johns Cultural Council and Flagler College to host an educational symposium titled, St. Johns County: Then, Now, and the Future. The symposium is taking place on July 17 at 2:00 pm at the Flagler Auditorium. The festivities also include a Time Capsule Dedication Ceremony which is taking place on July 21. 

Christina Parrish Stone of The St. Johns Cultural Council joined us to discuss the celebration.

Mackenzie Guiry can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org

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Mackenzie Guiry is a senior multimedia journalism major at the University of North Florida. She spent her first two years of college at Florida Atlantic University.