Mary Beth Ridderman

By Julie Kerns Garmendia Resident Community News Mary Beth Ridderman  spends many hours each week as a volunteer at Hubbard House domestic violence shelter, works fulltime and will complete her second Master’s degree (in mental health counseling) at the University of North Florida in Spring 2014. Her first Master’s, also from UNF, was in sociology. […]

Neil Presser – Avondale Liquor & Wine Family Business

By Julie Kerns Garmendia Resident Community News Jacksonville and its beaches have always drawn Northerners eager to leave the cold behind for sunshine and better opportunities. That was exactly what motivated the first of Neil Presser’s relatives to relocate to Jacksonville during the Great Depression. “My late mother, Lillian Fink Presser, had two brothers, Ben […]

Sweet reality show set in historic Springfield

Jacksonville, more specifically, historic Springfield, has a new celebrity in town. From Peter and Allison Behringer, the folks who brought you sea salt caramels and other delectable organic candies, comes a new reality show, Sweet Pete’s The Show. According to Behringer’s publicist Chris Sams, Sweet Pete’s The Show is visually stunning programming with a full […]

Agencies and businesses work together to save homeless pets

By Kate A. Hallock Resident Community News Nancy Williams of The Haskell Group, who is also a volunteer with Friends of Jacksonville Animals, recently invited Riverside area businesses to a luncheon for the purpose of getting information out about Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) and what the area businesses can do to help in […]

Jessie Ball duPont Fund to repurpose the Haydon Burns Library

Downtown building to provide green home for nonprofit, philanthropic organizations By Nancy Lee Bethea Resident Community News The Haydon Burns Library, located at the corner of Downtown’s Ocean and Adams streets, housed books, periodicals, music and more for four decades. Now it holds collective memories of generations who grew up watching puppet shows or fingering […]

Bicycling in Jacksonville not for faint of heart

Avid cyclists want safe, dedicated bike lanes By Kate A. Hallock Resident Community News For a city that has one of the nation’s most eclectic neighborhoods with environmentally-friendly residents and those who can be considered minimalists when it comes to bicycling over driving, Jacksonville has a terrible reputation. In fact, it has been rated the […]

Intolerant neighbors put an end to fundraising events at local brewery

Intuition Aleworks fined for noise violations According to a press release from the Intuition Aleworks, a residential neighbor filed complaints about the noise coming from fundraising events in the craft brewery’s open-air space at 720 King Street. Cari Sanchez-Potter stated in the release, “It is with heavy heart that we announce that we are no […]

Tree trimming gone awry in historic district

Residents heated for several reasons By Kate A. Hallock Resident Community News If last month’s 90 degree temperatures are any indication, residents in 5 Points are going to get hotter. As if they were not already hot under the collar over the JEA’s recent tree trimming initiatives. Seems that every two years or so, the […]