First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross

Fletcher High School and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts will remain closed thru at least next week, due to outbreaks of COVID-19. Officials from the Duval County Public School (DCPS) board said it had no choice but to shift these schools to virtual learning because of the percentage of positive cases.

With early voting underway since Monday, the turnout has been strong.

Meanwhile, a new poll from University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab shows the race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump to be a close one in Florida.

More than 19,000 early votes had already been cast in Duval County by 3 p.m. Monday – and that’s on top of the more than 77,000 who have already voted by mail.

Vice presidential Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will be campaigning in Jacksonville this evening, as Florida kicks off the first day of early voting.

On this week’s Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida, including:

• Fletcher High School has temporarily shut down due to spike in COVID-19 cases.
• Presidential candidates rallied separately in dueling town halls following the debate cancellation.
• Local congressional candidates debated the handling of the pandemic.  
• The Museum of Science & History wants to build a new museum at the Northbank Shipyards.
  

Wednesday night, First Coast voters heard from four congressional candidates at two events.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden are courting Florida voters with a virtual Town Hall and campaign stop in Miami, respectively.

On this week’s Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida, including:

• The city is looking at giving Lot J developers a $65.5 million interest-free loan.

The University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) has released new polls on presidential election and local hot button issues, including the proposal for a half-cent sales tax for Duval County Public Schools.

Florida officials extended the voter registration deadline until 7 p.m. Tuesday due to an “unprecedented” surge in traffic to the state’s voter registration portal on Monday, which caused site outages and triggered a lawsuit. Voting rights adocates claim the extension wasn't enough. A judge will hear the case Thursday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration are brokering a deal to finance Shad Khan’s proposed development of Lot J near TIAA Bank Field.

Florida’s has now been in Phase 3 of it’s reopening plan for just over a week.

On this week’s Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida, including:

This week is National Drive Electric Week, a nationwide celebration of the many benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

Some local physicians have formed the Northeast Florida Population Health Consortium, which is aimed at improving our public health and tackling serious health inequities in this community.

This week, students at Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) who opted for in-person education returned to brick and mortar school five days a week. Parents continue to express concern over the DCPS COVID-19 dashboard and say they want more information as schools continue to quarantine students and employees who have been exposed to a classmate or colleague with the virus

President Donald Trump paid no income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years due to losing much more money than he made, according to a New York Times investigation of tax information it obtained.

On this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross’ Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida, including:

President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Jacksonville Tuesday night, Sept. 24. Anyone who attends must sign a waiver acknowledging that they run the risk of contracting COVID-19 and cannot sue the president or his campaign if they get sick. 

As the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to rise, the concern for childrens’ safety at schools is growing, as well.

Professors from the University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville have formed a coalition of academics to work with other local advocates to ask the mayor and City Council to pass the “People’s Budget” for Jacksonville.

Four former superintendents of Duval County Public Schools are banding together to urge voters to support the half-cent sales tax referendum to build safe, secure and modern schools in Duval County.  

On this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida, including:

• The latest on the election in Florida

 A new report finds Florida is sliding deeper into an affordable housing crisis.

Duval County students are being transitioned back into classes five days a week.  

Florida has spent tens of millions of dollars to increase voting security since the 2016 election. Every county in the state has been audited. Five full-time cyber specialists have been hired. And nonpartisan groups are preparing responses to a variety of scenarios should Election Day chaos ensue.

Bars and taprooms across most of Florida were allowed to reopen Monday for onsite consumption at 50% occupancy.

On this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida this week, including:

Edible medical marijuana products have been approved, four years after Florida voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana. 

Florida’s reported COVID-19 numbers are beginning to trend downwards.  

As the 2020 presidential campaign heads into its final stretch, activists in Duval County are demanding increased access to mail-in ballots.