Sign of the times

Real Estate Office
With continued weakening of new and resale homes and fewer sub-prime loans available from lenders, slow real estate sales are taking their toll on real estate agencies — and St. Augustine is no exception.

There has been some consolidation in the local market; some real estate franchises have been sold to out-of-town investors and some independent and franchise agencies have been closed altogether.

Cathedral Festival this weekend

Cathedral Festival
Great entertainment is lined up at the Mission of Nombre de Dios; starting Friday at 5:00 pm until Sunday at 10:30 pm.

You are invited to come enjoy local entertainment and put on those dancing shoes during the celebration April 18-20, 2008.

Confusion over bid for Mayor

Joe Boles
Local discussion forums and news sites have been speculating whether George Gardner will in fact run for re-election. Gardner, a former Mayor, currently holds Seat 3 on the St. Augustine City Commission; a seat which expires this year and was changed by voter referendum in November, 2006.

Current Mayor Joe Boles, who holds Seat 5, does not come up for re-election until 2010.

Woman avoids Internet scam

Scam
A St. Johns woman narrowly avoided becoming a victim to an apparent Internet scam according to an incident report filed by Deputy Sheriff Gabe Bagby this weekend.

The complainant is a “mystery shopper” which is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service.

Hastings Town Commission Meeting

Two items on tonight’s regular agenda before the Hastings Town Commission are likely to spark some debate.

During the “Old Business” segment, Lt. Dan Chitwood will address actions taken at the commission’s meeting last month when they passed a resolution saying they didn’t want the proposed Sheriff’s Agricultural Work Farm facility to be built near the existing Hastings’ Youth Academy.

Ag Center burglary nets almost $30,000

Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Property Crimes Unit are investigating a burglary that occurred at the Agricultural Center, according to an incident report filed by the center’s director, David Dinkins, early Friday morning.

Stolen was nearly $30,000.00 worth of county owned agricultural equipment including a John Deere tractor; itself worth over $27,000.00.

Weather rollercoaster

Our forecast: Today: Clouds increase with a 15% drizzle chance, high 63, 65 at the beach. A dip in the Jetstream will bring unusually cold weather this way. A trough…