Opposition to Southbank development gets second set-back
The proposed 13-story apartment project by Ventures Development Group cleared a big hurdle last month when the Downtown Investment Authority approved the final design for the riverfront project on Prudential Drive, rejecting an appeal against the Downtown Development Review Board’s approval in June. Baptist Health and the owners of the former Aetna building had objected […]
Pavers replaced around Navy Memorial on Southbank
The Jacksonville Navy Memorial, also known as the Lone Sailor, on the 4,000-foot Southbank Riverwalk has a new set of pavers with a somewhat different look, according to Sandra Fradd, co-founder of Downtown Dwellers. “The old pavers were deteriorating from an overspill of water. The circle around the fountain used to be yellow,” she said. “It […]
San Marco to be first neighborhood with complete bicycle lane
When the repaving of Hendricks Avenue is completed next year San Marco will be the first neighborhood in the city with a complete bike lane, running from Baymeadows Road to Prudential Drive. And when reconfiguration of traffic on Riverplace Boulevard is done, that bike lane will go all the way to downtown. Attorney Chris Burns, […]
Library budget cuts upset advocates
When Roxanne Henkle, president of Friends of the Willowbranch Library (FOWL), read through Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s 378-page 2017-2018 proposed budget, she got a sinking feeling when she saw what was slotted for the Jacksonville Public Libraries. While funding for “same level of service” (salaries, contracts with security, etc.) was approved with slight modifications to […]
Motorists given fair warning to reduce speed, stop for pedestrians
In an effort to reduce vehicle crashes off St. Johns Avenue into adjacent properties, the Florida Department of Transportation began installation in early August of IIRPMs (internally illuminated retroreflective pavement markers) from Greenwood Avenue north to Van Wert Avenue. The $100,000 safety project was estimated to be completed in four to six weeks by Petticoat […]
Mayor signs bill, turns Cecil Field memorial site over to nonprofit
Twelve weeks after its introduction and just eight weeks after Jacksonville’s City Council approved the bill, Mayor Lenny Curry executed a lease agree- ment Aug. 23 with POW/MIA Memorial Inc. to establish a memorial at Cecil Field to honor POW/MIA service men and women. The bill, which was jointly sponsored by District 14 Councilman Jim […]
Children’s Home Society of Florida basketball court restored
What better way to celebrate a new basketball court than to hold a tournament? That’s what Children’s Home Society of Florida did Aug. 1 when more than 50 volunteers, staff and friends of CHS gathered to officially break in the new court with the inaugural Building Bridges Basketball Tournament. The old court was practically unusable […]
Middle school mentoring program develops life-long relationship
Karen Morales-Diaz thought she was in trouble one day in 2010 when she was called to the principal’s office at Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School, where was a seventh-grader, but she couldn’t figure out why. It turns out she wasn’t in trouble at all. She had been chosen for a mentoring program […]
