Author Archives: Mike Phillips
Commentary: What a Mess We Are In, Fernandina!
By Suanne Thamm Confused. Frustrated. Unhappy. Angry. Suspicious. These are just a few of the [...]
Mar
Story and Song Names an Executive Director
The Board of Directors of Story & Song Center for Arts & Culture has selected [...]
Mar
Nassau Big/Little Sisters Pair Named Tops in Florida
Every year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America chooses two volunteer mentors (called ‘Bigs’) and [...]
Mar
Friend of Sturges Pressured Antun to Terminate Martin
By April L. Bogle William Bailey, a friend of Fernandina Beach City Commissioner David Sturges, [...]
Mar
Florida Main Street Day Is Coming Up
Tallahassee – Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced today, March 15 as this year’s [...]
Mar
A Big Win for Cruise Ships Opponents at Port Commission Meeting
The cruise ship idea is dead. As the Port of Fernandina master planning process drew [...]
Mar
Employers Wanted for Youth Work Program
CareerSource Northeast Florida (CareerSource NEFL) is recruiting regional employers to serve as job sites for [...]
Mar
Professional Development for Business Women
The Eight Flags Charter Chapter of American Business Women invites all Nassau County women to [...]
Mar
News Commentary: Commission’s City Manager Search Gets Off to a Ragged Start
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach is searching for its most important executive, the city manager. [...]
Mar
Commission Gives Unsafe Brett’s Structure a Pass
By Mike Phillips Neatly tucked into the March 7 city commission agenda was a small [...]
Mar
The Scramble to Fire a City Manager — And Then What?
By April L. Bogle This article highlights milestones leading up to and following the Feb. [...]
Mar
Think Ahead, Port! And Get Creative!
By Tammi Kosack Dear commissioners, As a stakeholder representative I have received scores of emails [...]
Mar
Commentary: A Good City Manager is Hard to Find — And Too Easy to Fire
Editor’s note: This commentary first appeared in 2015, but it’s as fresh as it was [...]
Mar
Second Year of Heroes for Barnabas
This year’s second annual Barnabas Center Fashion Show honoring Hometown Heroes took place on Monday, [...]
Mar
Port Commission Will Vote on its Plan March 8
The Ocean Highway Port Authority (OHPA) commissioners are preparing to vote on a final version [...]
Feb
Commentary: More Questions than Transparency in Firing
THAMM-O-GRAMM By Suanne Thamm When Vice Mayor David Sturges showed up at the City Commission [...]
Feb
A New Backpacks for Kids Program in Nassau
The Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, in partnership with the Amelia Island Tourist Development [...]
Feb
Nassau Firefighters to Train for Derailments
Nassau County Emergency Management (NCEM) will hold a multi-agency tabletop emergency response exercise in its [...]
Feb
Neighbors Seek Review of RV Park Approval
On Tuesday, Pirates Bay residents filed a writ of certiorari requesting judicial review of the [...]
Feb
As Expected, City Manager Fired
By Mike Phillips Was it a done deal? Of course it was. Well before the [...]
Feb
Mystery: Port Meeting Cancelled ‘Until Further Notice’
That’s all the notification said. The Wednesday meeting is cancelled. No reason given. It’s known [...]
Feb
Commentary: Cement Dust and Nassau’s Waterways
Editor’s note: St Marys Riverkeeper — one of 15 Riverkeeper units in Florida — [...]
Feb
Library Director Ends a Distinguished Career
Library Director Dawn Bostwick retired last week after 27 years of service, 22 of those [...]
Feb
LGBTQ Scholarships: It’s Time to Apply
Fernandina Beach Pride has announced that its yearly Fernandina Beach Pride Scholarship, which celebrates service [...]
Feb
Invader Raiders Are Death to Invasive Plants
If you went to the beach last fall and didn’t run into a bunch of [...]
Feb
Boat Ramp Repairs
The North End (Dee Dee Bartels) Boat Ramp is temporarily closed. A piling on the [...]
Feb
Grants for Florida Non-Profits Serving ‘Medically Complex’ Children
The CareSource Foundation has announced that nonprofit organizations in Florida are eligible for funding through [...]
Feb
Why the Tringali Townhouse Proposal Was Taken Off the Table
By Tammi Bach Fernandina Beach City Attorney I have reviewed application materials, engineered plans, emails [...]
Feb
How Fernandina Beach Came to Be Restored
The Amelia Island Museum of History will present a lecture by Buddy Jacobs on the [...]
Feb
Calling All Quilt-Lovers, ‘Quilts by the Sea’ Is This Weekend
The Amelia Island Quilt Guild’s triennial quilt show, Quilts by the Sea, will be this [...]
Feb
Restaurant Review: a Hidden Gem the Tourists Haven’t Found
By Dylan Bailey I have lived around the Amelia Island area for more than 15 [...]
Feb
Order of Publication
In the Juvenile Court of Putnam County, Tennessee at Cookeville, Tennessee Ann Marie Fisk VS [...]
Feb
A Bash to Kick Off Concours
CarCoterie hosts The Hangar, on March 4, as a kick-off to the widely attended Concours [...]
Feb
Port Decisions Coming into the Final Weeks
By Mike Phillips What was expected to be a conclusive port commissioners meeting last evening [...]
Feb
Commentary: A Voice of Reason from Suanne Thamm
Dear Readers: Some of you may remember that before I wrote for the Fernandina Observer, [...]
Feb
Late Commission News: a Move to Fire the City Manager
By Mike Lednovich Citing a litany of mismanagement and lack of communication, Vice Mayor David [...]
Feb
Big, Mysterious Surprise on Townhouse Proposal
By Mike Phillips City Hall was packed last night. Standing room only of citizens, many [...]
Feb
Commentary: Eminent Attorney Challenges City Attorney on Important Land-Use Case
Editor’s note: The following piece of advice to the Fernandina Beach City Commission was written [...]
Feb
Worldwide, Cement Dust is a Serious Issue
Editor’s note: I’m very liberal about reader comments. So long as you aren’t calling [...]
Feb
Commentary: It’s No Wetland — It’s a Mud Bank That Could Be a Park
By Bob Allison City citizens who have read the waterfront plan I provided to the [...]
Feb
Huge Concrete Dust Bags Rupture at Port
By Mike Lednovich Residents of the historic downtown neighborhood near the Port [...]
Feb
Commentary: Does This City Want to Lose $500,000 a Year on its Marina?
By Chip Ross Ten years ago, when former Commissioner Pat Gass asked when the city [...]
Feb
It’s a Non-Partisan City Government — But Are You Sure?
By April L. Bogle I don’t know anyone who wants the political battles being fought [...]
Jan
Big Raise Approved for Nassau Teachers
By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Nassau County is making moves, working to better compensate the [...]
Jan
Commentary: Townhouses in a Neighborhood That Cherishes Its History – and the Law
By Julie Ferreira The Fernandina Beach City Commission is poised to make a significant decision [...]
Jan
Commentary — Townhouses: A View From the Historic District
By Taina Cristner Most of us are very concerned about the impact this new [...]
Jan
Commentary: A Rebuttal of a Rebuttal on Waterfront Plans
By Bob Allison I read with interest Commissioner Chip Ross’s rebuttal to my article about [...]
Jan
A Friend of Fernandina and The Observer Has Passed
Editor’s note: We were saddened to learn of the death of Malcolm “Mac” Noden. While [...]
Jan
Pay Up to Tee Up: Golf Fees Soaring on the Island
By Mike Lednovich Domenick Gambardella and Carla Foreman were stunned after receiving an email late [...]
Jan
A Starring Role for Trees at City Hall
It was a good evening for trees at this week’s Fernandina Beach City Commission meeting. [...]
Jan
Commentary: Much Ado Over an Old Waterfront Plan
Editor’s note: It’s unusual, I know, for one news organization to publish a rebuttal to [...]
Jan
It’s Time Again to Get Books to Children
Ferst Readers of Nassau County is once again partnering with Nassau County Public Schools for [...]
Jan
Restaurant Review: The Old/New Crab Trap Is a Delight
By Dylan Bailey The Crab Trap, at 31 N. 2nd St., was long a staple [...]
Jan
Habitat Is On a Roll
As the Nassau Habitat for Humanity team rings in the new year, breaking ground on [...]
Jan
COMMENTARY: A Proud and Fearless Day, 45 Years Later
By Alexandra R. Lajoux Yesterday in Fernandina Beach, our community hosted the biggest local parade [...]
Jan
COMMENTARY: Why the Rush to Change City Elections?
By Genece Minshew Well, that did not take long. Less than a month in office, [...]
Jan
Port-City Meeting Worked in More Ways Than One
By Mike Phillips The city commission and port executives and commissioners had a mutually respectful [...]
Jan
Legislators Hear From Tree Advocates
By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Conservative state legislatures like to pass municipal preemption laws to [...]
Jan
Free Dental Clinic for Kids
Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is hosting the Jacksonville Dental Society’s annual Give Kids [...]
Jan
Barnabas Fashion Show Fund-Raiser
This year’s second Barnabas Center Fashion Show Honoring Hometown Heroes takes place Monday, Feb. 27, [...]
Jan
COMMENTARY: Let’s Keep Our Non-Partisan Elections Non-Partisan
By Arlene Filkoff On the Fernandina Beach City Commission agenda for Jan. 17 is an [...]
Jan
Genealogy Group to View New Software
The Amelia Island Genealogical Society will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in the Community Room [...]
Jan
Fernandina Memories at the Museum
On Monday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m., the Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society will present [...]
Jan
Three Churches, One Partnership Offering Spiritual and Physical Support
By Elizabeth Matthews The COVID impact was felt far and wide. During that time, three [...]
Jan
More Than a Concert: A Bridge for Peace
The 22nd season of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival continues with a timely performance on Tuesday, Jan. [...]
Jan
Local Man Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A 35-year-old Fernandina Beach man, Cooper Morgenthau, has pleaded guilty to [...]
Jan
Starting Point Open House: Jan. 13
Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare will host an interactive open house Friday, Jan. 13, 4-6 p.m., [...]
Jan
Job-Hunting? Here’s a Virtual Job Fair Jan. 12
More than 30 companies throughout the region will be connecting with job seekers during the CareerSource [...]
Jan
Commentary: a Heartfelt Argument for Girls’ Softball
by Amber Stuckey Board Member of Elm Street Little League Some of my fondest [...]
Jan
If You’ve Lost Someone, This Is For You
“Understanding Grief” is designed to help people learn that healing is possible after the death [...]
Jan
Want to Honor a Really Special Park Ranger?
The Florida Park Service Ranger Association is hosting the 2023 Park Ranger of the Year [...]
Jan
‘Impaired’ Properties Continued: More of the Story
By Mike Phillips Although the bureaucratic tangle around the Jasmine Street beach access clearly is [...]
Dec
Library Book Club Back in Business
After an extended Covid-caused hiatus, the Friends of the Library Book Club has regrouped and [...]
Dec
Commentary: What’s the Risk at Jasmine Street? And Why is it a Mystery?
By Mike Phillips Somehow, on July 11, the Jasmine Street beach access and some [...]
Dec
No More Crepes, but a Good New Restaurant
Editor’s Note: The author is our new restaurant and culture writer. Think that’s an odd [...]
Dec