Called to the office: Meet your new principal!

Called to the office: Meet your new principal!

There’s a new teacher at the helm of John N.C. John Stockton Elementary School in Ortega Forest. The Resident is pleased to introduce you to Charlene McEarl, who was named principal of the neighborhood school this summer. Join us as we welcome McEarl to the neighborhood and get to know this longtime educator:   Name: […]

Community to launch San Marco by Design

The Duval County Health Department and the Health Planning Council NE Florida are hosting a community celebration to officially release the details of the San Marco by Design (SMBD) project. With the help of the community, the project will work to shape the future looks of the neighborhoods. Keynote speaker Dan Burden, executive director the […]

Lakewood concert series continues

Lakewood Presbyterian Church will be hosting a benefit concert Aug. 19 to support United Community Outreach Ministry as part of its Lakewood Concert Series. The concert will feature LPC’s Minister of Music, Rodney Cleveland, performing organ works by Albrecht, Bach, Locklair, Mendelssohn, and Walton. The concert is free, but monetary gifts or donations of non-perishable […]

City named top arts destination

Residents here have known this for a long time, but now the rest of the country is clued in: Jacksonville is a pretty incredible arts destination. Readers of AmericanStyle magazine ranked Jacksonville 15th on its list of top arts destinations in the country among big cities with populations of 500,000 or greater. Jacksonville was also […]

School grades reveal improvement at Fishweir, Spring Park

The Florida Department of Education has released the 2012 school grades for Duval County Public Schools. Despite the anticipated decrease in school grades, Duval County Public Schools was the only school district in the state to increase the number of “A” schools and decrease the number of “F” schools. “A decrease in school grades was expected because of the increased rigor,” […]

Community garden interest budding

By Susanna P. Barton   Plans for a community garden at the old Willowbranch Branch Rose Garden Park are beginning to take root. After years of discussion and planning, Riverside Avondale Preservation’s “Green Team” committee has met with city officials and gauged local interest in the garden — which would start with 20-25 garden plots, […]

Neighborhood survey targets Riverside/Avondale, San Marco to rid streets of visual pollution

Neighborhood survey targets Riverside/Avondale, San Marco to rid streets of visual pollution

By Steve DiMattia   A dead tree. A rusted fire hydrant. A cracked sidewalk. Graffiti on a road sign. You may travel Riverside/Avondale daily and not necessarily notice these signs of degradation among all of the otherwise historic beauty of the neighborhood – “we get used to ugly,” the saying goes. But for 150 City […]

Open water swimmer glides forward

Open water swimmer glides forward

By Susanna P. Barton   When Riverside resident Jim Alabiso reflects on the recent “Up the River” 12-mile swim for the St. Johns, he says he’s so pleased has to pick his jaw up off the floor. “We had 42 volunteers and 100 supporters and sponsors, it’s just incredible,” Alabiso said last month in the […]