The St. Johns County School District is facing a $10 million budget shortage for 2009 and says all district budgets will be reduced by 25 percent and all school budgets by 20 percent, making a $1 million reduction.

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.

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.

As more local students and St. Augustine residents consider using their computer’s high-speed Internet connection for making and receiving telephone calls, a potentially lifesaving service that most of us take for granted must also be considered.

POTS, an acronym for “plain old telephone service”, has been used for years to access 9-1-1 operators in fire, police and medical emergencies.

County Engineer Darrell Locklear reported some good news today for five families in jeopardy of having their homes wash into the Atlantic Ocean.

Gerry Stokes’ home on Coastal Highway (SR A1A North) as well as the homes of four other families located north of Vilano Beach are covered under a local “state of emergency”.

St. Johns County government provides an effective method for citizens to file complaints and track efforts taken by county employees to resolve those issues with PRIDE. The Public Request Inquiry Data Exchange (PRIDE) is available to anyone with Internet access and users have the option to remain anonymous.

The St. Augustine Record was reporting yesterday that Jones will seek re-election after six years on the St. Augustine City Commission.

When Historic City Media spoke with the Supervisor of Elections Office on yesterday, we were told that they could not find any record that Jones has filed as a candidate for re-election. The website maintained by the Supervisor’s office is checked regularly by our news reporters and as of the writing of this story, there is still no record that Jones has properly filed.

For the past three years, there has been an ongoing dispute between the City of St. Augustine, the state Department of Environmental Protection and some local activists — with Ed Slavin as well as Tony and Judith Seraphin at the forefront.

Slavin, who is sometimes credited with uncovering the violation of state Department of Environmental Protection rules, maintains his own blog, critical of the City’s actions at this link.