Category: Government

By Sara K. Clarke Orlando Sentinel Orange County’s hotel taxes for the month of September soared by 99.4 percent over a year earlier, after including a big boost from a secret settlement the county received from online-travel company Expedia.

The commission said no, unanimously — but some members of the public spoke in support of a proposal yesterday that sought acceptance for a plan that would turn over management of public lands in our area to the federal control of the Department of Interior, National Parks Service.

St. Johns County Tax Collector Dennis W. Hollingsworth, CFC, in an effort to make paying your tax bill as convenient as possible, offers several different options sure to suit the needs, schedules and preferences of all St. Johns County residents.

Supervisor of Elections, Vicky Oakes, announced to Historic City News readers that tomorrow evening, November 1, 2011 at 6:00 p.m., a Special Joint Meeting to review public input from the District 1-5 Town Hall Redistricting meetings will be held and additional revised plans will be reviewed.

Florida’s foreclosure epidemic continues to haunt the state, but federal programs designed to keep people in their homes are having a hard time trickling down to distressed homeowners.

Darrell Locklear, Assistant Administrator of Operations for St. Johns County, announced to Historic City News that he is ready to ask the Board of Commissioners Tuesday to approve an $8 million-dollar agreement that will pave the way for Lowes to open a major home improvement store in St. Augustine.

Since November 13, 2006, residents of St. Augustine and St. Johns County have heard Global Wrap’s technical officer and local activist Edward A. Slavin, Jr., harp on the importance of federal management of public lands in our area — Tuesday morning, he’ll make another pitch.

Beginning Tuesday November 1, Historic City News readers who own property in St. Augustine and St. Johns County can expect to find their tax bills in the mailbox as the 2011 tax season begins.