First Coast

Due to the number of positive COVID-19 cases at Baldwin Middle-Senior High School and resulting close-contacts exceeding the 20% threshold, Duval County Public Schools says the school will shift to online learning beginning Wednesday.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper, the Northeast Florida Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation’s First Coast Chapter are calling for the city of Jacksonville to stop accepting coal ash through local ports after a barge from Puerto Rico spilled as much as 4,000 tons of the industrial byproduct into coastal waterways. 

Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri’s office announced Wednesday that Hazouri was back in the hospital due to complications from his July 2020 lung transplant surgery and that he would return home for hospice care by day's end. 

Builders can expect higher JEA rates this year for the one-time fees they pay as their share of the cost for expanding water and sewage plants so JEA can keep up with growth.

The first link of a planned 30-mile Emerald Trail that will connect historic urban neighborhoods to Downtown, the St. Johns River and other waterways began with some ceremonial shoveling early Tuesday.

The City Council unanimously approved a partnership with the Jacksonville Jaguars to build the team’s proposed $120 million football performance center. 

St. Johns County school employees and visitors will have to wear a face mask or shield on school property.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars coach and executive vice-president Tom Coughlin revealed in a guest column published in the New York Times on Tuesday that his wife Judy was diagnosed last year with progressive supranuclear palsy, a brain disorder that affects the ability to walk, speak, think and control body movements.

Jacksonville-based GuideWell, the parent company of Florida Blue, announced Tuesday it is acquiring the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan of Puerto Rico called Triple-S Management for $900 million in equity value.

Twenty-two Afghan refugees have arrived in Jacksonville over the past three weeks as the Taliban takes over their country.

At least 3,586 students have opted for virtual learning this school year, according to a Duval County Public Schools (DCPC) spokesperson. This number is expected to continue climbing as the district processes applications from a brief open enrollment period last week. More than 1,400 students enrolled in Duval Virtual Instruction Academy (DVIA) before the school year started August 10.

Tossing out a July decision, a full federal appeals court will hear a battle about whether a transgender male student should have been allowed to use boys’ bathrooms at Nease High School in St. Johns County.

Jacksonville’s hot housing market continues to lure new players. The real estate go-between company Ribbon announced Tuesday it is expanding to Jacksonville and several other Florida cities.

Duval County Public Schools has joined the growing list of Florida school districts defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on school face mask mandates. 

Implosion is now the safest way to demolish the Berkman Plaza II, the contractor tearing down the 18-story structure said Aug. 23.

The Home Depot wants to open a delivery center in Northwest Jacksonville after it builds-out the facility in Perimeter West Industrial Park at northeast Interstate 295 and Pritchard Road.

In a news conference Sunday afternoon, Ju'Coby Pittman refuted accusations leveled against her by five of six former Clara White Mission executive board members. 

Void Magazine has announced its September issue will be the last one for its high gloss print edition.

An investigation into a Duval County Public Schools teacher terminated after displaying a Black Lives Matter flag found that the teacher engaged in poor judgment when it came to separating her personal beliefs from her professional responsibilities. 

Five members of the executive board of the Clara White Mission resigned this week over concerns with leadership, especially amid last month’s COVID outbreak at the Downtown facility. 

The result of the city of Jacksonville’s “Safer Together” initiative was unveiled this week, with its final report shining light on the relationship between local law enforcement and people of color.

Changes are on the way for public health’s free COVID-19 testing program in Glynn and Camden Counties.

More than 8,000 students have opted out of wearing masks within Duval County Public Schools within the second week of school — a small number representing only about 6.5 percent of the 125,000 students on campus. But teachers say the numbers are disproportionately dispersed classroom-to-classroom.

The Jacksonville-based Wounded Warrior Project nonprofit it’s making about 40,000 phone calls to support veterans amid the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s takeover by the Taliban. 

There are now Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment clinics in Jacksonville, Ormond Beach, and a handful of other locations around Florida.

LifeSouth is once again testing blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies.

Area Congressman John Rutherford (R-04) met with sheriffs from across Northeast Florida at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Thursday to discuss federal legislation he says would harm local law enforcement. 

Trevato Development Group has started clearing the Southbank site where it intends to build The 1230 Hendricks, a 345-unit apartment project with a parking deck and ground-level retail space.