Local Folks: Anna Valent

Local Folks: Anna Valent

Helping her community and being of service is at Anna Valent’s core. She knew from a young age that being involved in something bigger than herself was what she was meant to do – and she does just that. Not only professionally as the incoming executive director of Dreams Come True, but through her volunteer […]

New EverBank Branch Brings Convenience for Ortega

New EverBank Branch Brings Convenience for Ortega

EverBank is moving its Florida banking headquarters to a new location at the corner of Herschel Street and San Juan Avenue in Ortega. EverBank President of Florida Banking Curt Cunkle said he expects the new branch to open this summer. This is a relocation of its branch at 501 Riverside Ave. – its current banking […]

Fisher Retires, Sells Agency

Fisher Retires, Sells Agency

After a notable and well-respected 35-year career at the helm of Fisher Agency, Mary Fisher has completed the sale of the firm to Erin Gordon, owner of Savvy Partner. Fisher began merging her branding, website and public relations agency with Gordon’s digital marketing agency in 2020; now that it is complete, Fisher will officially retire […]

Play Ball: Life Lessons Learned on the Diamond

Play Ball: Life Lessons Learned on the Diamond

The Hendricks Avenue Baseball League (HABL) kicked off its new season on Saturday, Feb. 24. For more than 75 years, the community baseball league has introduced generations of children to the sport and instilled the love of the game. This season will host 351 kids, divided among 32 teams in four different age groups: T-ball […]

Douglas Anderson Students Win YoungArts Awards

Douglas Anderson Students Win YoungArts Awards

Four local Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DA) students were among the nearly 700 visual, literary and performing artists named as 2024 YoungArts award winners. Maurice Chakour (Jazz/Guitar), Ayanna Nelson (Voice/Jazz) and Ayviana Singh (Theatre/Spoken) were selected as competition winners. Kierra Reese (Visual Arts) was listed as a notable Winner with Distinction. These students […]

Spring Start Date for Park Street Enhancements

Spring Start Date for Park Street Enhancements

The Brooklyn community will soon be seeing progress on the long-awaited road enhancements planned in the Park Street Road Diet. Discussions and plans for this project, part of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), stretch back several years. The development team on this project include Prosser, Inc. and Prime AE. According to a summary of the […]

City Raises Contention Over Ethics Bill

City Raises Contention Over Ethics Bill

The Jacksonville Ethics Commission has issued a statement opposing a state bill containing amendments that it says would result in “reducing anti-corruption efforts of all local ethics commission in the State of Florida.” The bill in question – Senate Bill 7014 – was passed on Feb. 1 with amendments added “last minute,” the statement continued, […]

Historic Firsts for Miss Wolfson Competition

Historic Firsts for Miss Wolfson Competition

Sofia West was all smiles as she was crowned Miss Wolfson 2024 during the “Saturday Night Fever”-themed annual pageant at Samuel Wolfson School for Advanced Studies on Jan. 27. The competition was the closest ever in the pageant’s history, as there was a tie for first runner-up between Ella Hutsell and Skye Mason-Raper, with both […]