Opinions differ on COVID insurance claims for small businesses
Small business owners across the country who have been devastated by loss of revenue and/or employee work productivity due to COVID-19 are now left wondering whether their insurance policy covers their losses. Locally, some in the insurance business say no, while other attorneys say, “definitely maybe.” At-Large Group 4 City Councilmember Matt Carlucci, a State […]
Parks committee goal: Get every park a ‘friends’ group
Community members, park advocates and Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) members are teaming up to elevate public parks and green spaces throughout Riverside and Avondale. Some parks, such as Boone Park South and Memorial Park in Five Points, already have ‘Friends’ groups that lovingly care for, clean up and reforest them, while many other parks – […]
Nonprofits face uncertain future due to COVID-19
A “Wild West” kind of climate has affected many businesses since the Coronavirus descended in March, but perhaps no other group has been as heavily impacted as Jacksonville’s nonprofit sector. Many of Jacksonville’s charitable organizations were holding their own until COVID-19 hit, leaving the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville’s vital support system for the […]
Stimulus bills offer monetary relief to struggling businesses, nonprofits
Sensitive to the plight of small businesses, many of which have struggled to survive since the Coronavirus pandemic descended in March, Jacksonville City Council members voted unanimously May 26 to offer a financial lifeline to help kickstart their endeavors to reopen. The bill, which was introduced by District 5 Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber of San Marco […]
Former Roosevelt Square taking shape as Ortega Park
Builders are tirelessly working on renovation and construction at Ortega Park, the former Roosevelt Square retail center that contains a Publix, Stein Mart, Ulta Beauty, and other stores. Publix, which anchors the center, is also near the end of a $930,000 interior renovation project. Dwaine Stevens, director of community relations for Publix supermarkets, said […]
Oak Street repaving project to include bike lanes, eliminate parking
The City of Jacksonville will begin repaving Oak Street this summer, and residents and business owners are helping shape what the area will look like after the project is done. Right now, City officials are considering reducing the size of the lanes of traffic and adding bike lanes after the paving is done between Margaret […]
Brooklyn area booms with residential, retail growth
Scott Riley fondly remembers his time living in the Brooklyn area, located between Five Points to its south and LaVilla and Downtown to the neighborhood’s northeast. About four years ago, he lived in a tiny 600-foot studio apartment in the multi-family complex called 200 Riverside, next to Unity Plaza. It was a place with amazing […]
Construction rolls along despite pandemic
One of the few silver linings of widespread COVID-19 closures is that when fewer people are on the road it makes it easier to complete construction projects, such as the build out of Southern Grounds, a coffee restaurant planned for the Shoppes of Avondale, and other City projects long in the works for the area. […]
