Author Archives: Mike Phillips
Nana Teresa Has a Story — And Boy, Can She Bake
By Dylan BaileyNana Teresa’s Bake Shop is a special place. It has captivated the hearts [...]
Jul
Birdsong Photo Presentation Coming Up
The Amelia Island Museum of History will host Bill Birdsong’s presentation “Photography on Our Greenway” [...]
Jul
Commentary: OK Commission, Stop Kidding Yourselves About Taxes
By Suanne ThammNero fiddled while Rome burned. The Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) sticks its [...]
Jul
As City Considers Rollback Rate, Here’s What Would Not Happen
By Mike Lednovich At a city commission workshop Wednesday, Interim City Manager Charlie George outlined [...]
Jul
What’s With Sturges and Brett’s?
By Mike Lednovich In his first comments since a June inspection report of the supporting [...]
Jul
A celebration of Southern Grassroots Music
By Lauri deGaris Recently, a good friend of almost 40 years gifted me an LP [...]
Jul
Garden Street Bistro: A Fernandina Beach Jewel
By Dylan Bailey A hidden gem nestled in Fernandina Beach is Garden Street Bistro. A [...]
Jul
War Story at the History Museum
The Duncan Lamont Clinch Historical Society will gather at the Amelia Island Museum of History [...]
Jul
Two More Applicants for City Manager Make Twelve
By Mike Lednovich There are now 12 applicants for the Fernandina Beach city manager position [...]
Jun
Former Vice Mayor Joins City Manager Applicants
By Mike Lednovich Former Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor Len Kreger has joined nine other applicants [...]
Jun
A Grim Meeting as the Port Ekes Out a Budget
By Mike Lednovich A bleak future financial outlook for the Ocean Highway and Port Authority [...]
Jun
Commentary: Let’s Face Facts — Brett’s Has To Go
By Mike Phillips So here we go again. Yet another well-respected engineering firm has told [...]
Jun
Engineers Say Close and Fix Crumbling Brett’s. City Says Not So Fast
By Mike Lednovich A June inspection of the supporting substructure of Brett’s Waterway Cafe has [...]
Jun
Dance Superstar to Perform ‘The First Set’ July 13
By Wilma Allen If you’re looking for some world-class musical thrills and excitement this summer [...]
Jun
Nine City Manager Applications, So Far
By Mike Lednovich There are currently nine applicants for the vacant Fernandina Beach city manager [...]
Jun
Port Budget: Short of Money and, So Far, Ideas
By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) begins tackling its 2023-24 budget [...]
Jun
Cafe Karibo: Charming Setting, Great Food
By Dylan Bailey Nestled in the heart of historic Fernandina Beach, Cafe Karibo stands as [...]
Jun
“Contract Zoning” Pits County Against Its Citizens
Citizens Against Runaway Development (CARD), together with the Sanctuary Property Owners’ Association, has filed suit [...]
Jun
Big Staff Fuss Over a Few Parking Spots
By Mike Lednovich On paper the plan to add 19 new parking spaces to the [...]
Jun
Revolutionary Florida Lecture at the History Museum
The Amelia Island Museum of History will host George Kotlik’s presentation “East Florida in the [...]
Jun
Exec to Talk on Rayonier’s Forest Future
The Amelia Island Museum of History will host Mark Hebert’s presentation “Rayonier: Sustainably Managing Our [...]
Jun
Soccer Field Solution Is in the Works
By Mike Lednovich The Fernandina Beach City Commission has agreed to partner with Nassau County [...]
Jun
Beach “Harmonization” Passes — But to the City’s Tune
By Mike Lednovich A “harmonization plan” for all seven of the beach parks on Amelia [...]
Jun
Neighbors File to Stop Tringali Townhouses
Neighbors of the Tringali property surrounded by the Fernandina Beach Historic District have filed a [...]
Jun
TDC Taking Another Run at Beach “Harmonization”
By Mike Lednovich The Tourist Development Council’s highly criticized redesign of three city beach parks [...]
Jun
When a Cigar-Lover Becomes an Institution
By Dylan Bailey Scott Weaver, a retired Navy man, is an institution of sorts. His [...]
Jun
Seniors vs Crime Has a New Home
For the past 16 years, the Fernandina Beach Police Department has hosted Seniors vs Crime [...]
Jun
Democrats Sponsor Forum on New State Laws
The Democratic Club of Amelia Island is hosting a legislative forum on Monday, June 26 [...]
Jun
Commentary: A Budget Cut That Doesn’t Need to Hurt
By Mike Phillips Wow. Did that governor of ours ever give us something to think [...]
Jun
Governor’s Budget Chopping Claims Downtown Seawall Request
By Mike Lednovich Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed Fernandina Beach’s $1 million funding request to [...]
Jun
Port’s Problem with Customs Is Escalating
By Mike LednovichThe Port of Fernandina could potentially lose its “port of entry” designation because [...]
Jun
Disc Golf Proposal Soundly Defeated
By Mike Lednovich The proposal for a disc golf course at Simmons Road Park was [...]
Jun
Habitat Honors Ed Stanley With New Award
Nassau Habitat for Humanity (NHFH) has announced that this year’s inaugural Al Pertuz Impact Award [...]
Jun
Leadership Nassau Deadline is End of June
Over the course of 22 years, Leadership Nassau has grown to become the most exclusive [...]
Jun
Team Ohana Rows for a Cure and for Veterans
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach-based Team Ohana began its 2,800-mile journey Monday to row from [...]
Jun
Low-Key Tour of Potential Disc Golf Course Tuesday at 3:00 pm
By Mike Lednovich The City’s Parks and Recreation Department, along with representatives of a disc [...]
Jun
Commentary: Think About a Run for Commission — Yes, YOU
By Suanne Thamm Fernandina Beach wants YOU to consider running for city commission in 2024. [...]
Jun
Joy and Healing at the Pride Parade and Festival
By Mike Lednovich There was an abundance of rainbows, smiles and yes, love and support [...]
Jun
There’s Spirit Behind These Crochet Hooks
By Elizabeth Matthews Retiree and avid crocheter, Brenda Brubeck is no stranger to northeast Florida, [...]
Jun
An Inspiring Journey: Clarence and His Bagel Shop
By Dylan BaileyAloha Bagel is not just a popular bagel shop in Fernandina Beach; it’s [...]
Jun
Take Time to Honor the Sea on World Ocean Day
By Lauri deGaris In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly officially recognized June 8 [...]
Jun
Smooth Sailing for City Manager Search Plan
The citizen committee assisting with the Fernandina Beach city manager search got compliments from city [...]
Jun
Parking: The Worry Never Seems to End
By Mike PhillipsAh, parking. While northern cities worry about organized shoplifting and children shooting up [...]
Jun
Pride Panel at History Museum
In recognition of Pride Month, a panel of local LGBTQ+ residents will share their experiences [...]
Jun
Walk and Bike Task Force Draft Report Ready
Fernandina Beach Deputy City Manager/City Engineer Charlie George formed a citizens’ task force for safe [...]
Jun
Omni Joins Habitat in Drive to Build More Housing
Habitat for Humanity and Omni Amelia Island Resort have formed a partnership to help build [...]
Jun
Those Big, Munching Bugs are Native Lubbers
By Lauri deGaris A few days ago, I was asked to hop on over to [...]
Jun
Dance Festival: Tap, Vocals and Jazz
Tap dancer and singer John Manzari is bringing his show The First Set to the [...]
Jun
Say It Loud: No More Anonymity
By Mike Phillips Recent events have convinced me that our reader comments service needs a [...]
Jun
Author Kevin Powers Coming to Book Loft
National Book Award Finalist Kevin Powers, author of “The Yellow Birds,” is coming to [...]
Jun
Thai Spice Cafe: A Bit Pricey, But Worth It
By Dylan Bailey I had been craving Thai food all week, which is strange [...]
Jun
There’s Help for Women’s Eating Disorders
By Elizabeth Matthews In a world where the prevalence of eating disorders continues to rise, [...]
Jun
Off and Running: The City Manager Search Process
By Mike PhillipsThe citizen committee that is assisting the search for a new city manager [...]
Jun
The Ancient Mayhaw Is Making a Comeback Here
By Lauri deGaris Mayhaw is a variety of hawthorn tree noted for slender branches with [...]
Jun
Short Access Closure at American Beach Thursday
The water and sewer conversion project at American Beach is underway. The contractor, U.S. Water [...]
May
Behind The Saturday Market: Loving Caretakers
By Dylan Bailey The Fernandina Farmer’s Market is a special place. If you’ve driven down [...]
May
County Roads to Get Much-Needed Work
By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Two contracts approved this week open up more than $8.8 [...]
May
Grant Moves Rendezvous Restoration a Bit Further
By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics More than 20 years after the historic venue closed, a [...]
May
Commentary: Only True Believers Welcome at CDF Meetings
By Mike LednovichEvidently Citizens Defending Freedom – Nassau believes freedom isn’t for everybody. CDF’s meeting [...]
May
Citizens Sue County Over Riverstone Settlement
The Citizens Against Runaway Development (“CARD”) filed suit against Nassau County yesterday in the Fourth [...]
May
Dawn Mayes: the Newest Minister at the Oldest Church in Town
By Elizabeth MatthewsReverend Dawn Mayes has recently assumed the role of pastor at the First [...]
May
Island BBQ: A Fever Dream of Buffet Choices
By Dylan Bailey One of my favorite things about Amelia Island is the diversity of [...]
May
Huge Pushback on Clearcutting 36 Acres for Solar
By Mike Lednovich The City Commission has told Florida Public Utilities it is in favor [...]
May
Knocke Group Gets Bingo Banned, but Pride Event Is Still On
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach Pride has quickly pivoted, replacing bingo with various games for [...]
May
It’s Canning Time Again — 214 Years Later
By Lauri deGaris In order to provision French forces upon the sea, Napoleon offered 12,000 [...]
May
Knocke Group Trying to Halt Pride Bingo Event
By Mike Lednovich Citizens Defending Freedom is attempting to stop a Drag Queen Bingo event [...]
May
Search Committee Agrees on One Thing: No Looking Back
By Mike Lednovich The chairman of the Citizens City Manager Search Committee sparked a conversation [...]
May
YoungLife: For Teens at Their Own Pace
By Elizabeth Matthews YoungLife Youth Ministry is a national organization that seeks to reach young [...]
May
Aloha Bagel Is a Feast for More Than Your Eyes
By Dylan Bailey Aloha Bagel and Deli made waves when it opened its doors in [...]
May
Her Grace and Courage Were the Greatest of Many Gifts
By Kathleen Arsenault Carolyn Phanstiel came into my life my senior year at FBHS, 1964-65. [...]
May
Port May Sell Residential Land to Pay Legal Debts
By Mike Lednovich The Port of Fernandina took the first step Wednesday toward potentially selling [...]
May
She Was Many Things, but First a Great Teacher
By Raymond Arsenault Carolyn Phanstiel, who died earlier this week at the age of 85, [...]
May
No Vote Tuesday on Solar Array Proposal
By Mike Lednovich There will be no vote Tuesday by the city commission to amend [...]
May
Port Finances Are ‘At The Cliff’s Edge’
By Mike Lednovich The Port of Fernandina’s crushing legal debt may threaten its ability to [...]
May
Women’s Club Awards Six Scholarships
The retiring President, Sue Dwyer and incoming president of the Women’s Club of Fernandina Beach, [...]
May