Animal House: Five Star Veterans Center goes to the dogs…
…and cats…and ponies… The first clue that the Five Star Veterans Center is not a typical therapeutic counseling center is that CEO Col. Len Loving, USMC (Ret.), is shadowed everywhere he goes on the 3 ½ acre campus by a super-sized red German shepherd. Athena, the colonel’s silent best friend, was saved from a puppy […]
Local Folks: Alexei Acosta
Although Alexei Acosta isn’t a Jacksonville native, he has an immense amount of love for his new home and wants to use his business to showcase the city the way he sees it. “I very much, unapologetically, try to be as much of a local as I can,” he said. “I really do just love […]
Loyal to Local: des Islets Florist & Gifts
.For small business owner Miranda “Randy” des Islets, combining her passion for floral and jewelry design was a natural fit, a lifetime in the making. “I used to save up my birthday money to attend jewelry camps during the summer and buy jewelry-making supplies,” she said. “I started fixing jewelry pieces on the playground.” Today, […]
Animal House: Orphan kitten fosters save most at-risk shelter pets
Many visitors to local animal shelters are unaware that there is an ongoing crisis behind the scenes that surges during the spring and summer. Each day, orphaned kittens flood into shelters, and the harsh reality is that shelter staff cannot possibly care for all of them. And while shelter volunteers provide invaluable help, the greatest […]
The Way We Were: Richard McGee
Richard McGee has always been an avid outdoorsman and an artistic creator. More than 15 years ago, he decided to combine the two and took up painting as a hobby. “I’ve always been able to sketch and draw,” he said. McGee has spent most of his life hunting and fishing, so he chooses wildlife scenes, […]
Animal House: Jacksonville Gallops into Action with American Wild Mustangs
Wild mustangs still freely roam on U.S. public rangelands. Yet, readers may be unaware that these living symbols of America’s rich, Western pioneer and frontier history also live around Jacksonville. They were obtained through a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) federal program that manages wild herds. Wild mustangs and burros (or donkeys) are defined […]
Local Folks: Warren Cooke
Warren Cooke had no idea that a playful comment he made to his dad in 1997 foreshadowed his future life as a rock star. But that’s exactly what happened. Cooke moved with his family from Tampa to Jacksonville that year to attend Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (DA). “If I’m going to go to […]
Local Folks: Joel Marroquin
Love brought Joel Marroquin to Jacksonville, and less than two years later, that love gave him a baby boy and a new career – a whirlwind of change in a short amount of time. “There was a lot going on,” Marroquin said. “But it’s very exciting for us.’ Originally from San Diego, California, Marroquin moved […]
