HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS The six-month hurricane season began June 1st and forecasters predict between 13-20 named storms. As of this writing, we have already made it to Tropical Storm Claudette, which dumped heavy rain on the Southeast over Father’s Day weekend. SCHOOL RENAMINGS After almost a year of debate, the Duval County School Board voted Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
BRIGHTLINE TRAIN SERVICE Brightline, the high-speed rail service from Miami to Orlando, has completed over 50 percent of its construction on the extension to Orlando. Brightline has invested $4.2 billion in the 170-mile extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport. Local officials held a public relations event to mark the occasion on May 19th signing Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
BUILDING COLLAPSE In the early morning of June 24th, a condominium building in Surfside collapsed, trapping hundreds of people and killing at least eleven, as of June 29th. The Governor issued an executive order to allow the Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies to assist in the recovery efforts. Websites have been Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
Escambia and St. Johns Counties are celebrating unique anniversaries in July. The counties were established by ordinance on July 21, 1821 by Provisional Governor Andrew Jackson in what is now Plaza Ferdinand in Pensacola. Considered Florida’s original counties, they covered the entire territory within modern state boundaries. The Suwannee River was the border between Escambia Read more about Escambia and St. Johns County Anniversary[…]
NEW SCHOLARSHIPS The budget includes $305,000 annually to provide college or trade school scholarships for descendants of a 1920 mob attack on black Ocoee residents through the Randolph Bracy Ocoee Scholarship Program. Almost 60 African Americans were killed during the attack, which happened after Mose Norman, an African-American unable to pay a poll tax, was Read more about Issues of Interest[…]