Staff bloggers

I traipsed through my neighborhood a few hours ago when it stopped raining for awhile (it's back now). There were lots of other sightseers out, too. Hmmm, it seems a storm really brings out a sense of community. What would it be like if the walking/biking community was always so robust?

People were everywhere snapping photos of all the crazy flooding, including me, as you can see by the photo album on this site. There was even a guy (the one on the left) riding his bike and text messaging while the water was almost to the top of his wheels. It's only halfway up in the photo, but the water gets deeper toward the middle of the intersection. I wonder if he was sending photos to his friends who are somewhere dry, like the midwest.  

I'm feeling lucky that my street didn't flood, but it came pretty close. Makes me wonder what it would have been like if a Category 1 had hit us head on like was the forecast at first. I mean, this was a not-too-strong tropical storm and the river still overflowed its banks. Yikes. Something to think about.

Here's a photo of my husband and our dog at Stockton Street and Riverside Avenue. She wouldn't go out this morning in the wind and rain, so the lull seemed like an opportune time to walk her. Please note the plastic bag in my husband's back pocket in case she, well... Oh, and this was before my husband decided to change into shorts and sandals to go wading to the river's normal edge. Don't ask me why, but a lot of people were doing that.

That's all for now. Please stay safe on the roads! Check out my photo album for more in Riverside. There's also tons of photos on Jacksonville.com. 

All-

For the latest Fay coverage, visit Jacksonville.com

We will post news here as we get it in, but Jacksonville.com will have the most current news. If you're a Twitter user, check out our Jaxdotcom Twitter feed. 

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments. 

Click here for a searchable database of the 2007-2008 FCAT grades.

2007 - 2008 FCAT grades were released today. For a searchable database of area FCAT grades, click here

Faced with about $86.6 million in lost revenue and rising costs, the Duval County School Board is looking into cuts that would affect individual schools and employees. Suggestions include dropping middle school athletics; stopping magnet school bus routes; slashing funding for art, music and P.E. by $1.7 million; cutting health care benefits by $6 million; and reducing workdays for employees. We want to know: are these the right cuts? Should there be different options on the table? Should there be cuts at all? How concerned are you about what's being suggested? Give us your opinion.

News submitted by the Mike Peterson Foundation:        12 local students named Stars of the MonthFoundation’s “Just Read It” program celebrates reading improvements
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 4, 2008) – The Mike Peterson Foundation is honored to announce this month’s 12 winners of its “Just Read It” program, a reading incentives program developed in partnership with Duval County Schools. Students in grades three through eight have the opportunity each month to be named a Star of the Month, honoring their achievements in reading. Winning students will receive a VIP tour of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, in addition to a private meet and greet with Peterson and a personalized award on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
March winners are:
Elementary School CategoryAntonio Singleton 3rd grade St. Clair Evans Academy Najee Whyte 3rd grade Ramona Blvd. ElementaryVanessa Ruales 4th grade Twin Lakes AcademyDarius Shivers 4th grade West Jacksonville ElementaryBiala Alfirjani 5th grade Brookview ElementaryZoya Williams 5th grade Louis Sheffield Elementary
Middle School CategoryDerriniquka Smith 6th grade Jefferson Davis MiddleMichael Ball 6th grade DuPont MiddleAl Prince 7th grade Fletcher MiddleMegan Nelson 7th grade Joseph Stilwell MiddleTimothy Stewart 8th grade Mayport MiddleTyler Taylor 8th grade Landmark Middle      

Peterson created the Mike Peterson Foundation as a means of giving back to his hometown of Alachua and his NFL hometown of Jacksonville.  The Foundation’s mission is to support families in need in the community and to stimulate the positive development of youth through football, academic and other outreach projects. For additional information, please visit www.mikepeterson54.com.

Photos by Heather Lovejoy/Staff

It seems as if "For Rent" signs are scattered on every street in Riverside.

When I was covering the Tangerine Festival in Riverside's Memorial Park in January, I talked to quite a few people. None of them lived in Riverside. Several told me they moved to Springfield because they could no longer afford the rent in Riverside. I'd like to hear from anyone out there who is seriously considering moving to Springfield for that reason. With all the new developments, how do you think the landscape in Riverside has changed? Are artists, musicians and singles being priced out of the neighborhood, long known as a haven for them? Is Springfield on its way to becoming the "new Riverside?"

Please e-mail your thoughts to me at heather.lovejoy@jacksonville.com. Be sure to include contact information. Thanks!

Heather Lovejoy, reporter

Hey users, let's hit this one out of the park: 

We want to know how you feel about the parks in your part of Jacksonville. Are there enough? Are they big enough? Is there enough to do in them, or do they need more programs and equipment? What about maintenance and cleanliness? Be specific about what's needed and where.

Give us your thoughts and let's get some real feedback and ideas generated that might help where help is needed - and give a shout-out where one is needed as well.

Riverside is such an interesting place to live. It's urban, historic and you can have close encounters with wildlife. Possums, millions of tiny lizards, raccoons, doves, your neighbor's strange yellow lab...

Seriously, though, my dog and I recently had a couple of brushes with a large owl. A couple of weeks ago we were walking at night around the corner of Barrs and Park streets by the foot center when one came swooping down over us and then up into a tree. Let's just say that if my dog had been challenged to a duel, she would have run away, dragging me behind, holding onto the leash for dear life. Then, just a few nights ago, we were walking around the same corner when we heard a very loud, unpleasant-sounding screech. It was so striking that we both stopped in our tracks and looked around for awhile. We didn't see anything. I thought maybe it was a screech owl, but a little Google action helped me determine it was a barn owl. (Turns out, screech owls don't really screech the way barn owls do.) I'm assuming it was the same owl we had seen before.

Listen to the "typical call" here:

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Tyto&species=alba

Apparently, they don't make noise that often like some types of owls do, so maybe it was rare that it screamed just as we walked by.

(Oh, and just for the record, I always use a bag to pick up my dog's business.)

This question was recently posed to the Times-Union editorial e-mail group:

We would like your comments on the constitutional amendment up for a
vote on Jan. 29. If passed, the constitutional amendment on property taxes will double
the personal homestead exemption and save the average homestead property
owner about $225 a year. Supporters say government is fat and needs
to be forced to cut spending. Opponents say this approach for cutting taxes is all wrong and that the
potential damage to local government services isn't worth the annual
savings. What is your view and why? Your comments may be used as letters to the editor in either the main
paper or our community sections. If you don't want to be quoted, please say
so.

The comments that follow are all from Westside residents who responded. If you have thoughts on this topic, feel free to create a username and post a comment.

I  enthusiastically support Amendment 1.  We have strayed far from the basic primary functions of local government, which include operation of a criminal justice system, including police and courts; fire protection; health and sanitation; and streets and infrastructure.  Virtually all else is fluff.  It's nice to have a symphony orchestra, jazz festival, libraries, parks, programs for children and senior citizens, etc., but these are areas that should be supported primarily by user fees  Government has simply taken on too many responsibilities and taxpayers, particularly those of us who are retired on fixed incomes, are feeling the crunch.
Government schools consume a huge amount of tax dollars.   I have been paying taxes to support these schools for almost 40 years, although my children never attended them.  What's wrong with relieving non-users of the government school system of part of this burden and shifting it to the parents who have children enrolled in the public schools?
We need to get back to basics as far as spending local tax dollars is concerned.  Maybe the adoption of Amendment 1 will encourage our government leaders to shift course to that direction.
Edward D. Hagan

The only thing I can say about taxes in general is that they seem to continue to grow but not without reason.   We as home owners must be willing to share, via taxation on our goods and property, to enable our government to build and maintain infrastructure and to provide necessary services.  If we pass a constitutional amendment doubling homestead exemption I think it would be a grave mistake.  In Jacksonville alone we would experience a severe reduction in dollars for services at a time when we desperately need more.   We are advised that this amendment will save the average property owner about $225 a year.  This is pennies a day which doesn’t sound like much; but, do the math and see what it means to those government agencies that we rely on so much to provide the services necessary for our protection and standards of living.  With that said, I personally suggest a NO vote to this constitutional amendment on January 29.
Bud Goble

My response is that in its present form the proposed constitutional
change is bad for everyone.  On the surface it appears to be just what
every home owner wants, reduction of taxes, it isn't.  If it receives
60% of the votes cast, it will pass.  If this happens there will be a
hoard of new costs to everyone to replace the money lost due to an
increase to Homestead exemption, maybe even a state wide tax on income.
We all would loose, if that happens.
Keith Myers

I am not in favor of the proposed amendment.  I feel that the new fees that Jacksonville enacted will more than offset any possible savings I might have had.  And, the new fees will be with us forever.  Governments never cancel any fees or taxes, which is what a fee really is.  They just find more ways to spend the money.  Government is too fat, and needs to cut spending.  A good example of this is Denise Lee defending people who steal money from the tax payers.
Larry Parks

I have sent in my absentee ballet and I did vote for the doubling of the personal homestead exemption.  Reason for doing so was that the additional fees have been put on the table and will most likely be approved.  If not for that I would have voted no!  I will say that I do believe there are areas that can be cut and made more efficient.  Fact is most of my reasoning is based on what I read in the paper and hopefully what is printed there is accurate.  The city government does not listen to their citizens, proof of that is the Court House Fiasco we authorize 190 million and they are now trying for 400 million or even higher or the River Front and the ship yard area and probably many others that I have forgotten at this moment.  Most of the politicians are responsive while running for office but after they make it you never hear from them again until it is time to be re elected.  I would love to see a politician solicit opinions from their public and then follow through!  Thanks though for the time to blow steam!
Just a quick view of taxes coming in from a variety of sources should be able to support a clean, conservative government.
Lee G Bray

I am against the amendment as low tax cities such as jacksonville will be disproportionally injured by the drop in state money and will have to raise local taxes to compensate. N.E. FL should not pay for the sins of the greater Miami and southwest Florida areas. Let the southerners seek relief locally, not make the whole state pay for their largess.
Bill Knight

Doubling the homestead exemption in reality is a bad idea.
Believe it or not, there are probably thousands of homes in Florida whose value is less than or just slightly more than fifty thousand dollars. They in effect, would pay little or no personal property taxes and yet receive exactly the same services as a person who lives in a million dollar home.
Answer : Reduce the taxable rate on property and eliminate the homestead exemption altogether. Rates will go down and yet the state will actually recieve more in tax revinue. Run the numbers.
Jim Mangels

I, like most people, want to see my taxes reduced.  The supporters of
this particular amendment, are, indeed correct when they say that
government is fat and needs to be forced to cut spending. However, I
really don't believe that this is the way to go about it. It sounds like
a good deal, but is it really?   If homestead exemption is doubled in
order to "save" the average homeowner approximately $225 a year and yet
the local government adds additional taxes to each homeowner to make up
for the deficit lost - have we really "saved" ourselves any money. And
indeed, local services will be impacted by the reduction in money to our
local government, whether it be in police services, trash services, or
education. How could it not be?  The cost of living and doing business
is going up for all of us. We should think carefully before we vote
ourselves into more taxation.  Of course, we could vote against the
amendment and find that our local officials tax us for more anyway. I
think most citizens; including my self, don't fully trust the
politicians we have in office at the present time.  Most are the "fat
cats" we so carefully try to avoid.  Unfortunately, the 'cathouse' is
full.
Vicki Crawford

I'm for the amendment, no matter how little it saves.  The government needs to cut its spending.  A small amount now, a small amount tomorrow, a small amount the next day and it all adds up to incremental mugging.  They're trying to sell it as an insignificant saving.  OK.  It is.  That's not the point.  If you take $5 you don't need, it's wrong.  If we can't afford something, we don't buy it.  Let the government do the same.
Joyce Bates

I think the way it is presented on the ballot, I have my absentee
ballot, is all wrong.  There is so much legalese in the language that
most of the people will never understand what is being presented.  I
don't think the possible $225 dollar saving is worth the risk of loosing
emergency services.  This is another way for those who have big and
expensive houses in other states to bring their exemption with them.
What about all of us that have lived her most of our lives.  It's
another way for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.  I
don't think it's worth it.
Gary B. Hartley

I think the constitutional amendment has it's pros and cons.  On the upside it is meant to help the thousands of people who need financial help.  At the same time it will aid many who can well afford their property taxes.
The fees and taxes that are supposed to be enacted will be paid by everyone whether they can afford them or not.  There is not going to be that much of a break for the people who really need financial help.  The sad part is that the fees and taxes will be enacted whether the people want them or not and whether or not the constitutional amendment is passed. Nobody has said that if this amendment is not passed that the extra fees and taxes would not be enacted.  Novody is really going to win no matter which way this goes, except the already fat government.
Betty L. Roberts