The travelling mayor - Florida Times Union

Mayor Alvin Brown has been jet-setting across the nation touting the benefits of relocating to Jacksonville. With trips to California,  Washington, D.C. and Boston, Brown has been showing up in person to solidify relationships and put Jacksonville on the minds of key decision makers.

Some may be critical of the mayor not being in City Hall, but in order to bring jobs to Jacksonville you have to go to where the jobs are.

As the article says, City Hall isn't always the most effective place to get the job done.

See the article in the Florida Times Union. 

City Council drawing new district lines - Florida Times Union

Jacksonville City Council is drawing new district lines. I had the pleasure of attending the Reapportionment Committee meeting on Wednesday. The initial maps look good for the most part, save for some concerns raised by Councilman Brown - who's district went surprisingly vertical in these new maps.

Some "sub-committees", such as the south-east districts, are meeting today (Friday 7/29) to discuss modifications concerning their districts.

One question facing the council is determining how they will define a "community of interest", and then keeping those communities within a cohesive district that falls withing the population window. No one said this would be easy.

The committee has until August 15 to submit a plan to the Rules Committee.

Read the story at the Florida Times Union.

City dismisses unfair labor practice complaint against Police

Below is a copy of a press release from the Mayor's office regarding the unfair labor practice complaint filed by the Peyton administration against the Fraternal Order of Police.

CITY DISMISSES UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE COMPLAINT AGAINST F.O.P.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – July 28, 2011 – The City of Jacksonville has dismissed an unfair labor practice complaint filed with the Public Employees Relations Commission against the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5-30.

Downtown's Commodore Point - Metro Jacksonville

Metro Jacksonville explores one of the oft forgotten, historic sections of Jacksonville with this article detailing Commodore Point.

Exploring Downtown's Commodore Point

Mike Hogan's new job - Florida Times Union

Rick Scott names Mike Hogan to a lucrative public unions commission. Has experience and union support.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Clark renews debate over Legal Aid funding - Florida Times Union

Even though the City Council passed a bill levying new fines to support the Legal Aid fund, Councilman Richard Clark deemed it necessary to renew debate. A repeal bill has been filed by Clark and will be presented to the Council tomorrow night.

Read the full story at the Florida Times Union. 

JSO pulling Police scanners from local newsrooms - Florida Times Union

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, citing costs, pulls plug on police scanners for media. Media outlets assert they are more than willing to cover that cost. They see the move as a way of hindering the free flow of information and controlling the media, under the guise of cutting costs.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Police and Fire Pension deal heading back to city council - Florida Times Union

Changes to Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund are heading to City Council for approval.

Story via the Florida Times Union.

Brown questions validity of regional transportation center - Metro Jacksonville

Mayor Alvin Brown was wise to slow down the momentum on the proposed Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center. Currently estimated to cost a whopping $180 million, the Mayor's Office, City Council, and JTA would be smart to consider reducing and compacting the scale of the enormous complex. Here are examples of recently completed or expanded transportation centers in cities of similar size along with their overall capital costs. In addition, aerials illustrate the scale of Jacksonville's proposed complex in relation with those in actual operation.

Story via Metro Jacksonville.

State Senate Election too costly for Jacksonville? - Florida Times Union

Special election for Hill's seat too costly.

Opinion piece by Ron Littlepage in the Florida Times Union. 

Personal note: Not sure I agree, but it is a valid point. It is hard to predict how much money Hill's efforts could bring into the city; and even if that can be done it would be wrong to compare an assumption with the Supervisor of Election' figures. Brown is taking a gamble.

Birthers desperate to ruin Brown's reputation - Florida Times Union

Florida Bar finds 'insufficient evidence' in claim against Alvin Brown as attorney. 

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Personal note: Do not expect this to be the end of people seeking to discredit Alvin Brown. Many are upset with how the election turned out and are grasping at anything that can make the Mayor look bad. It seems Jacksonville's "birther" population has found a new target as a result of an election that did not go their way.

Fundraising good for Duval Delegation - Florida Times Union

Northeast Florida congressional delegation has good fundraising quarter.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Brown makes hard choices in budget - Florida Times Union

Road to Jacksonville mayor's balanced budget involved hard choices, planning for future.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Jacksonville Redistricting meetings update - Florida Times Union

The people speak out on fair districts at local meetings.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Brown aiming to boost job market through downtown development - Florida Times Union

New Jacksonville mayor seeks quickened pace to compete for jobs. Priorities placed on JEDC and revamping Downtown.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Brown passes budget baton to Joost and City Council

In a soaring and charismatic speech, new Jacksonville Mayor Brown presented his budget to the new City Council at 10:00am this morning. It was a short, but sweet speech in which Brown has closed the $60 million budget shortfall facing the city and upheld many campaign promises he made in one fell swoop. Now it will be up to City Council to deliberate, make their adjustments and pass the final

version. The deadline is scheduled for October 1.

Brown spoke is a manner similar to that of a charismatic reverend. I even heard an "amen" proclaimed a few rows ahead of me in the Council Chambers. It reminded me of hearing someone at the inauguration say that if he didn't win the election, he would have had a career in a church somewhere. The speech was motivational, calling all stakeholders to get involved in the process. If we are to succeed, Brown said, it would take everyone working together.

Normandy Blvd getting a facelift - Florida Times Union

Repaving project begins on Normandy Boulevard. A stretch of road from Herlong Airport to the Equestrian Center will be getting revamped soon. Construction is scheduled to end in the summer of 2012.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

GP debates miss important details - Florida Times Union

A new look at Georgia-Pacific pipeline proposal.

Two chemical experts who studied water pollution at a Putnam County paper mill said Thursday debates about building a wastewater pipeline haven't looked at important details.

Story Via the Florida Times Union.

Mayor Alvin Brown’s budget cuts 225 jobs but adds four development offices - Florida Times Union

"Saying structural changes are needed to shore up the city’s financial position, Mayor Alvin Brown plans to cut about 225 jobs and trim programs in the budget he will submit to the City Council on Friday.

At the same time, the mayor said he will create four new, “leanly staffed” offices to focus on particular aspects of economic development.

Brown will submit a balanced $962.5 million budget at 10 a.m., down $27.8 million from this fiscal year. City revenues have plummeted due to falling property values, but Brown will not raise taxes or fees to compensate."

Story continued at the Florida Times Union.

Fine waived for Audrey Gibson's aide - Florida Times Union

Ethics panel to waive $1,500 fine against former Audrey Gibson aide. Fine was levied for delinquent tax forms. Fine was dropped due to hardship, as the aide is now unemployed as Gibson's seat was term limited.

Via the Florida Times Union. 

Alvin Brown names four more to his administration - WOKV

Brown names Hugh Greene, Wally Lee, Jerry Mallot, and Don Shay to his new administration.

Story via WOKV.

St Johns Water District faces layoffs - Florida Times Union

St. Johns River Water management District facing major layoffs as director faces retirement.

Story via the Florida Times Union.  

Conservatives for a Better Jacksonville make a big difference in Mayor race - Florida Times Union

Peter Rummell's political group poured $431,000 into Brown's mayoral campaign. The big win came from expensive get-out-the-vote effort.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Brown comes out against transportation center - Florida Times Union

Mayor Alvin Brown against transferring more land to JTA without detailed plan. New mayor fears another courthouse debacle. JTA confident they can come up with specifics.

Story via the Florida Times Union. 

Lieutenant Governor Carroll gets high marks, but hasn't yet fit job description - Florida Times Union

Lt. Gov. Carroll gets high marks, but hasn't yet fit job description


Story via the Florida Times Union.

A Peek in Jacksonville Beach - Metro Jacksonville

Jacksonville's Atlantic coastal city is a sun-beaming hideaway for visitors and a transit-friendly, all-inclusive community to its residents. An 8-square-mile mix of housing, hotels, retail, dining, nightlife, and outdoor recreation is enough reason for those who live there to "never cross the ditch" - and enough for guests to follow. MetroJacksonville takes a photo tour to see just why.

Story via Metro Jacksonville.

Surface Parking Lots: A Downtown Vibrancy Killer - Metro Jacksonville

According to Downtown Vision (DVI), more than 50% of downtown Jacksonville's streetscape consists of "dead space" - either parking lots, garages, vacant buildings, or buildings less than 25% occupied. This collection of aerials visually highlight the impact dead spaces (surface parking and underutilized vacant property) in downtown Jacksonville and a number of cities across North America have. Naturally, those with the least amount of surface lots tend to be the most vibrant pedestrian-scale environments.

Story via Metro Jacksonville.