The annual assault on Florida’s popular open government laws continues this legislative session. Even as the public clamors for greater transparency and access to their elected officials and government, our own Representative, Cyndi Stevenson, has added to the problem by introducing a bill that would hide voter registration records from media and members of the public.
Counties across Florida collectively bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in hotel bed tax revenue — but the uses for that money are limited. Historic City News has reported when controversial organizations have used pressure locally to influence who the recipients of that money will be in St Johns County and what percentage of their “ask” will be funded.
Florida Department of Transportation Community Outreach Specialist Allen Nelson has updated Historic City News with the weekly lane closure report containing information regarding ongoing construction projects and traffic impacts for the coming week. Our readers and subscribers will be updated every Friday by 5:00 p.m., with some unavoidable exceptions and state holidays.
Florida Highway Patrol Troop G Public Affairs Officer, Master Sergeant Dylan L Bryan, reported to Historic City News that, following a three-county long pursuit by law enforcement officers, Benjamin Cody Dirkhising, a 30-year-old resident of 11976 Arbor Lake Drive in Jacksonville, is in custody and being held in the St Johns County detention center without bond since 6:59 p.m., Friday, January 21, 2022.
In the Spring of 1964, St Augustine would be the final stage of what was called “The Great Moral Drama” leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Historic City News remembers the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Civil Rights movement in St. Augustine, aided by this compilation from the St. Johns Cultural Council.
The St. Johns County Utility Department reported to Historic City News that for the safety of crews and the public, two access points to the Ponte Vedra Pointe shopping center will be restricted during an underground pipeline project scheduled for completion in late February 2022.
Historic City News founder Michael Gold was invited to meet with former St Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver this week on a visit mixed with business and pleasure. The now-retired Shaver, like many Florida retirees, finds that although her life with her two children and granddaughter is abundant, with hobbies including photography and appearances as a washboard player in a local band, she misses her day-to-day involvement before leaving the public eye.
Sallie O’Hara, Executive Director of Vilano Beach Main Street, Inc., a Florida Main Street community, announced to local Historic City News reporters last week a “new beginning” for the organization; one of three community groups within the Vilano Beach and North Beach footprint that includes North Shore Improvement Association and the North Beach Community Alliance.
