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Once again, the city is having disturbances, but they are not the same as before
Riots in Jacksonville, again. The city went through this 60 years ago. I was there. There is a vast difference in the two events. In 1960, black Americans were supporting the cause of civil rights. Most were following the guidelines of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated non-violence. For example, young black people…
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Numbers on school crime and safety continue to fluctuate but show a glimmer of improvement
Eye on Jacksonville noted last year that Jacksonville had the highest rate of school safety incidents in the state. But the latest figures show improvement. The School Environmental Safety Incidents Rate (SESIR) data are for crimes and rules violations during the school year. They are published by the Florida Dept. of Education based on numbers…
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Stunned Republicans don’t understand anger of constituents
Yesterday the City Council voted for their new President. The City Council is comprised of 13 Republicans and 6 Democrats. The winner of the vote was Tommy Hazouri – a Democrat. Only 3 Republicans voted against him. See the final vote tally here: There was a big push by the Republican constituents to ensure the…
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Everybody in the media wants to be Sherlock Holmes these days
One of the things that happened to the newspaper business as it started down the path to oblivion was the creation of “investigative reporters.” I never heard the term before the Watergate scandal, when the media succeeded in bagging a (Republican) president. After that, everyone wanted to be an investigative reporter, like Bob Woodard and…
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Scott Wilson: Wrong day to politic, sir!
Scott Wilson chose Memorial Day to hold a press conference. It was to inform the media of his decision to stick with Tommy Hazouri instead of changing his pledge to one from his own party for the position of City Council President. That’s his right to do so and to vote any way he pleases.…
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Pension reform numbers are not turning out as expected
What a difference a year makes. Every year, the city’s annual financial statement shows the condition of the city’s finances. Last year, the one for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2018, was released on March 29. Mayor Lenny Curry wrote in it, “As I have learned from my experience in the private sector, you…
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Death of former deputy is the final chapter in a week of suspense and death from the city’s past
Lester Parmenter died last week, closing the book on an event that held the attention of Jacksonville residents for a week in October 1961. Parmenter was a retired policeman. In 1961 he was a Duval County deputy sheriff, patrolling on the westside. He came upon two men parked in a car and decided to check…
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When elected officials forget to vote their values, we suffer
You may not be aware but right now there is a big election coming up. You have no vote and you will either benefit or suffer from the consequences of the voting tally. The vote is for the new City Council President and the race is on between Tommy Hazouri (D) and Danny Becton (R).…
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Local media unimpressed by huge parade of boats showing support of President Trump
The stirring sight of hundreds of boats cruising down the Intracoastal Waterway waving American flags and colorful signs thrilled thousands of people May 16 – everyone, it seems, except the local media. Although the media had been notified in advance, there was scant coverage and even that brushed off the event. The display was a…
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Eye predicted headline in TU today about JEA back in August 2019 thanks to JEA employees!
Today’s headline in the Times Union states: Curry’s former chief administrator, political strategist worked for JEA bidder, according to documents In August 2019, Eye wrote about the men surrounding Mayor Curry in a post here: Is Mayor Curry leading or others pulling his strings? In that post we stated the following: “The most recent breaking…
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An empty lot now stands where Jacksonville’s long-sought redevelopment dream once stood
The bare earth at the foot of Laura Street in downtown Jacksonville serves as a metaphor for the old adage “you can’t fight City Hall.” Just 30 years ago, the Jacksonville Landing was an almost new building housing shops and restaurants – intended to replicate Baltimore’s famous Harborplace, and built by the same company. The…
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So-called voting reforms would make the elections process worse
An all-out effort is under way by the Democrat Party to use the current health crisis to further revamp the voting procedure in a way that would almost guarantee increased fraud. “Coronavirus gives us an opportunity to revamp our electoral system,” is how Barack Obama’s former attorney general Eric Holder put it in a magazine…
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Is Tommy Hazouri our Joe Biden? #metoo
As women across the country watch Joe Biden get a pass for his #MeToo accusations, locally we are doing the same thing. Have we no shame? Eye wrote about Tommy Hazouri’s administration and the past issues with Ms. Darlene Tye. Ms. Tye won a lawsuit against the city and Mayor Hazouri for being denied a…
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Here comes the money train and City “Haul” is queued up to get aboard
“Free money” from the federal government has arrived in City Haul and is being redistributed, ostensibly to lower-income Jacksonville citizens who have been adversely affected by the Chinese virus. Not that we don’t trust them to do it correctly, but we hope someone monitors the process, just as a matter of fiduciary prudence. City auditors,…
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Setback for pro-homosexual law could lead to it being invalidated
Jacksonville’s contentious and controversial “human rights” ordinance was dealt a blow at the hands of Florida’s First District Court of Appeals this week. Twice barred by a local circuit judge who said the plaintiffs lacked standing, lawyers for Liberty Counsel got those actions reversed and the case was sent back to the Circuit Court to…