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Letters from readers: Don't stifle peaceful assembly Letters from readers Don't stifle peaceful assembly In the heat of hastily contrived inspiration, also known as knee-jerk reaction, state leadership intends to ramp up and apply the heavy hand of punishment as a first response. It would seem to be an obvious deterrent but any legislation that assumes guilt by tenuous association is flawed. The proposed anti-riot bill does nothing to protect a citizen’s right to peacefully assemble when a few bad actors can throw rocks, start fires, assault first responders or loot businesses and disappear...

OPINION Eastside needs a trust fund I remember attending a city function years ago and talking with a City Council member about the city being unable to fund various projects, citing lack of revenue. This council person said, “Don’t you believe that. We can always find the money.” That statement, I believe, is still true today, especially when the administration and 12 council members supported the give-away of more than $230 million for one project. Now that the Lot J project is gone and we know that the city was willing and able to accept  a ROI of 44 cents on the dollar it’s time ...

Letters from readers: When will Curry be held accountable? Letters from readers When will Curry be held accountable? On Monday we finally got a look at the City Council’s investigative committee’s year-long deep look into the attempted sale of JEA and who was behind it. I think everyone knew all along who was behind it, and now we know that it was Mayor Curry. He knew about this deal as far back as 2017. I cannot count how many times the Mayor and his administration denied knowing nothing about the JEA sale, and in fact saying numerous times that JEA was NOT for sale. Now we find out he ...

Letters from readers: Jacksonville needs to focus on resiliency Letters from readers Jacksonville needs to focus on resiliency I fully expect our new Chief Resiliency Officer to hit the ground running and be in the forefront concerning the various proposals surrounding Lot J, Metropolitan Park, the Shipyards and the Stadium as well as any other plans for development underwritten or in any way supported by taxpayer money. It’s unfortunate that our leadership is so far behind the eight-ball in addressing factors being brought forward, finally, by aggressive investigation and reporting as well...

Letters from readers: Rutherford was within his rights Letters from readers Rutherford was within his rights Wow! Two letters came down pretty hard on our Congressman John Rutherford (and 120 of his Congressional colleagues) for supporting the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General in support of President Trump's unsuccessful efforts to reverse the results of the presidential election.  I have to admit that I myself was relieved  that the Supreme Court ruled as it did, because our country faces challenges aplenty that must be focused upon and addressed now.  But we should note tha...