Aaron Bowman

The refined Jacksonville Human Rights Ordinance that prohibits discrimination against people based on gender identity and sexual orientation made it through it’s first City Council committee Monday afternoon. 

Voters in Jacksonville will be able to decide whether to allow a half-cent sales tax to improve the infrastructure and safety of Duval County schools this November.

City Councilman Aaron Bowman plans to file legislation this week requesting $300,000 in next year’s city budget to establish a permanent chief resilience officer position in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville City Council President Aaron Bowman’s picks for the new Charter Revision Commission have gone largely unopposed, but one of them got some push back at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Slot machines could soon be legal in Jacksonville, depending on what voters decide.

County Referendum No. 1 on the Nov. 8 general election ballot asks whether pari-mutuel betting facilities in Duval County can install slot machines.

Updated 5:42 p.m. on 01/29/16 

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is changing the city’s employment policy to prohibit discrimination of any kind. In a memo to city employees Friday, the mayor said he’s aligning with federal hiring standards.

Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri is pitching his human rights ordinance bill in one-on-one meetings with other council members. His first one, with Councilman Aaron Bowman, was Wednesday afternoon.

"He had some great questions to ask about the language, that we have to make sure that it’s in plain English and people understand what it does instead of having a whole list, a parade of horribles out there, people saying the sky is falling," Hazouri said after the meeting. "And it’s not falling.”

The largest city in Florida is getting its own IKEA store.

The Swedish home goods company says it will break ground in Jacksonville next summer with an anticipated opening date of fall 2017.