HISTORIC CITY NEWS
Historic City News has been published daily since March 2000. Reporting local news for St Augustine and St Johns County Florida, Historic City News is the county's only free press. Our mission is to hold public figures accountable to the public.
With only 5 days remaining until the 2022 Primary Election in St Johns County, Historic City News visited several of the Early Voting locations accessible from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm through Saturday, August 20, 2022. Ballots may be cast by mail, or at any one of the supervised drop-off boxes, or voted in person at a designated Early Voting location of your choice, however, there will be no in-person voting Sunday or Monday.
At this moment in time, the retirement of Tracy Wilson Upchurch from his office as Mayor of the City of St Augustine creates opportunities we haven’t seen since long-incumbent mayor Joe Boles was ousted by political newcomer Nancy Shaver in November 2015. We called that election for Shaver and were the only media organization to give her their endorsement. The “political insiders”, including the St Augustine Record editorial board, said a relatively new resident “couldn’t get elected” against Boles.
More than 50-years ago, the late Phil Genovar invited Historic City News editor Michael Gold and other members of his scout troop to visit his spacious, family estate along the San Sebastian River. After a quick tour of what seemed like an endless stretch of secluded natural Florida, the guests were invited to put on their swimsuits and enjoy a morning of fun in the water and picnic lunch before heading home.
As Historic City News subscribers prepare for the August 23, 2022 Primary Elections, we reached out to Supervisor of Elections, Vicky Oakes to verify the locations where registered voters will cast their ballots on Election Day.
Historic City News reviewed details of the third amended complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the City of St Augustine as submitted by the Plaintiffs, H.K. Edgerton, William C. McCrae, Wade Ross, Jill Pacetti, and James Parham on July 8, 2022. At issue are injuries sustained at the hands of City officials who the Plaintiffs claim gave in to threats and intimidation when they improperly removed a 140-year-old memorial from the Plaza de la Constitucion.
The descendant of a black confederate soldier has filed a lawsuit in federal court naming the City of St Augustine as a defendant. In his third amended filing, an additional plaintiff and additional details have been added to his complaint.
City Attorney Isabelle Lopez and City Manager John P Regan have been placed “on notice” of a claim filed against the City of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Police Department, City Manager John Regan, Code Enforcement Manager Barry Fox, Sergeant Jerry Whitehead, Commander of Administration of the St. Augustine Police Department Richard Warner, Sergeant Brian Frasca, Officer Alexander Barrera, and Officer Matt Mitchell, by a local resident injured in connection with his opposition to the removal of the 1879 Confederate Veterans Memorial from the Plaza de la Constitucion.
Communications Manager Jamie Johnson reported to Historic City News that the St Johns County Chamber of Commerce will proudly bring back its in-person events, “Politics in St Johns”, for the 2022 election season. These meet-and-greet events allow the citizens to meet and speak with candidates who are running for public office.