Author Archives: Mike Phillips
Solar Farm Proposed on Heavily Wooded Airport Land
By Mike Lednovich The leaseholder of Amelia River Golf Course wants to clear-cut 36 acres [...]
May
New Head for Regional Community Foundation
After a nationwide search, the Board of Trustees of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida [...]
May
Disc Golf at Simmons Road Park Will Get a Look
By Mike Lednovich A disc golf group pitching Simmons Road Park property as the site [...]
May
Commentary: When is a Public Prayer Out of Line?
By Linda Hart Green “Will you offer a prayer, Reverend?” I have been asked that [...]
May
Commentary: The Times Have Changed, Mr. Knocke
By Darlene Drury FBHS class of 1974 I was born and raised a Fernandinian. When [...]
May
Riverstone: Hard-nosed FAQs from Conservationists
Since announcing the formation of Citizens Against Runaway Development (CARD) we have heard from many [...]
May
Carolyn Edna Phanstiel: Teacher, Activist — and Friend
Carolyn Edna Phanstiel was born in Queens, New York, February 28, 1938, and died peacefully [...]
May
Help Needed, Help Appears — That’s Community
By Tom Oliver Occasionally you get to witness an act of true community. This started [...]
May
This Hot New Place in Yulee Will Make You Happy
By Dylan Bailey On its website, Grumpy’s Restaurant says it is bringing dining back to [...]
May
Better Together: A ‘Village’ of People Helping Stressed Families
By Elizabeth Matthews Ramona is the single mother of two young daughters; a Florida transplant [...]
May
$1,000,000 for Piney Island Conservation
By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Nassau County got what it wanted in its No. 1 [...]
May
St. Johns Ferry Is Resuming Its Historic Role
Officials greet car number 1,000,000 to cross on the ferry By Lauri deGaris The St. [...]
May
Public Notice
In the Juvenile Court of Putnam County, Tennessee at Cookeville, Tennessee Ann Marie Fisk VS Ivory [...]
May
Future of Sports Fields Is a Stinker of a Problem
By Mike Lednovich Where will kids play soccer? That question was mulled by the City [...]
May
Advisory Board Will Tackle The Downtown Parking Issue
By Mike Lednovich The chairman of the Community Redevelopment Area Advisory Board (CRAAB) wants the [...]
May
Commentary: Mr. Nicklas Has Opinions. Now, Here Are The Facts
By Chip Ross Steve Nicklas writes an opinion column called “Steve’s Marketplace” for the Amelia [...]
May
Hours of Pride Comments, But No Change
By April L. Bogle Mayor Bradley Bean announced at last night’s City Commission meeting that [...]
May
City Attorney: Don’t Cancel Pride Events
By April L. Bogle Fernandina Beach City Attorney Tammi Bach will advise city commissioners against [...]
May
Knocke Pushes to Cancel Pride Parade, Festival
By April L. Bogle Citizens Defending Freedom-Nassau (CDF-Nassau) is asking Fernandina Beach cty commissioners to [...]
May
Commentary: Bad Advice on ‘Special Privileges’ for Developers
By Faith Ross Recently Tammi Bach, the Fernandina Beach City Attorney, gave a workshop for [...]
May
Commentary: The Divine Creation is Wonderfully Diverse
By Rev. Linda Hart Green Is difference dangerous? There are those who think so. [...]
May
Front Porch Beaders Reach a Whole Community in Need
By Elizabeth Matthews Front Porch Beads began as an effort to bring a family together [...]
Apr
Hofbrau Amelia: Real German? Ja! Recommended? Jawohl!
By Dylan Bailey Hofbrau Amelia is Fernandina’s only German pub and biergarten. My question now [...]
Apr
Businesswomen: How to Shine
The Eight Flags Charter Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) invites all businesswomen [...]
Apr
Citizen Group Forms to Sue Riverstone — If Need Be
A new non-profit, Citizens Against Runaway Development (CARD), has been organized to oppose the proposed [...]
Apr
Commentary: The Law Is Clear. Deny the Tringali Townhouses
By Taina Cristner In early 2006, at the beginning of the aughts’ housing bubble, the [...]
Apr
Mental Health TED Talk Coming Up
A Community Conversation is being hosted by the Nassau Chapter of the National Alliance on [...]
Apr
The Riverstone Vote Is Not What You Think — Read On
By Mike Lednovich County Commissioner John Martin said in emails Tuesday that people are erroneously [...]
Apr
Are We Up to The Challenge of Buying Riverstone’s Property?
By Mike Phillips Though there’s still a lot of tip-toeing going on in county government [...]
Apr
America’s Youth Program Needs Flooring Help
If you are not familiar with this very worthwhile charity, please look up their website, [...]
Apr
Stunner: Commission Accepts Developer’s Tall Towers Offer
By Mike Lednovich The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted 4-1 to [...]
Apr
How Nassau County Makes Elections Secure
By April L. Bogle Janet Adkins, Supervisor of Elections (SOE) for Nassau County, addressed eight [...]
Apr
Commentary: We Have a Chance to Degrade Our Home — or Add Value
Dear Nassau County Commissioners, The county’s reduction of coastal building height in 2021 was appropriate [...]
Apr
Commentary: A Church Where ALL means ALL
By Rev. Dr. Mark Charles I was told a story today about an individual in [...]
Apr
Gracie’s Kitchen: The Story of an Idea that Serves and Serves
By Elizabeth Matthews Gracie’s Kitchen is not a new organization. It’s not being rebranded, making [...]
Apr
The Attorneys Speak: Riverstone Proposal Is ‘Deeply Flawed’
Dear Chair and Members of the Nassau County Commission: I, along with Reese Henderson, represent [...]
Apr
Community Leaders Speak: The Riverstone Proposal Is a ‘Hail Mary’
A Letter to the Nassau County Commissioners and County Attorney: Nearly two years ago, the [...]
Apr
A Whale Baby Shower Bids The Calves Godspeed
By Lauri deGaris April 19 marked the end of the 2022-2023 right whale calving season. [...]
Apr
Here’s a Special Way to Love the Beach
By Shari Roan Along with the maritime forest, Amelia Island is best known among nature [...]
Apr
Study Shows Rates for a Self-Supporting Marina
By Mike Lednovich The Marina Advisory Board will discuss rates at its May 22 meeting. [...]
Apr
At First Meeting, Citizens Say Walking and Cycling Safety Is Worse
By Mike Spino At the first public series of meetings this week about walking and [...]
Apr
Election Fraud Speakers Find an Audience Here
By April L. Bogle A former law professor and a businessman turned podcaster preached their [...]
Apr
Port Is Deep in The Red, With Urgent Needs to Spend
By Mike Lednovich The Port of Fernandina is suddenly awash in hundreds of thousands of [...]
Apr
City Commission Goes Big-Time in Manager Search
By Mike Phillips For several weeks after firing former City Manager Dale Martin, a majority [...]
Apr
Marina Beefing Up Security With Gates
By Mike Lednovich Property theft and vandalism on boats docked at the city marina is [...]
Apr
Commission OKs Legal Support for Ethics Charge
Fernandina Beach city commissioners voted at Tuesday night’s meeting to approve paying legal fees for [...]
Apr
Commentary: No Matter Your Beliefs, Stand Up for the Tylers
By Rev. Linda Hart Green In 2010, I was a pastor in Ridgewood, New Jersey. [...]
Apr
Citizens Give Commission Some Jobs to Do on Manager Search
By Mike Lednovich The citizens committee tasked with advising the City Commission on finding the [...]
Apr
Commentary: OK Kids, Let’s Buckle Down
By Suanne Thamm Some years ago a now-departed neighbor added a new acronym to our [...]
Apr
New Round Coming Up for Training Entrepreneurs
Since 2020, $1,000 Start-Ups, Inc. has helped launch 30 small businesses in Nassau County through [...]
Apr
2023 Waste Contract: Once-a-Week Garbage
By Chip Ross The first reading of the city’s new agreement with Waste Management will [...]
Apr
Ancient Presbyterian Group Is Being Planted Here
By Elizabeth Matthews Pastor Tom Hawkes and his wife Ann did not relocate to Amelia [...]
Apr
City Has Found a New Airport Director
Interim City Manager Mark Foxworth has announced that Sam Carver, who currently manages the Witham [...]
Apr
Art Auction to Support Police Good Works
The Fernandina Beach Police Foundation (FBPF) is holding a ticketed VIP art auction to benefit [...]
Apr
It’s Blueberry Season — and a Season for Ancient Stories
By Lauri deGaris Blueberries are native to North America and can be found in every [...]
Apr
Here’s the Latest Riverstone Tall Towers Offer
By Mike Phillips The shroud of mystery has been lifted from the latest settlement proposal [...]
Apr
Author to Speak on Florida in WWII
A presentation called “War in Paradise: World War II in Florida” will be at 6 [...]
Apr
Final Port Plan Gives Community What It Wanted
By Mike Lednovich After 18 months of work, the Ocean Highway Port Authority unanimously approved [...]
Apr
A Dirty Trick at Le Clos Turned Remodel Into Oblivion
By Dylan Bailey Le Clos has made another official statement on its Facebook page, retracting [...]
Apr
Commentary: Some Hard Truths About Parking Lot A
By Chip Ross Recently Amelia River Cruises emailed me concerning an action taken at the [...]
Apr
Ethics Charge Filed Against Vice Mayor
By Mike Lednovich Vice Mayor David Sturges is facing an ethics investigation by the Florida [...]
Apr
In-Person Job Fair Coming Up
The Nassau County Chamber of Commerce is hosting an in-person job fair on Thursday, May [...]
Apr
Volunteers Needed to Advise on Elder Issues
ElderSource, a nonprofit organization that works to empower elders, adults with disabilities and their caregivers [...]
Apr
Set Free: a Church for Recovery and Redemption
By Eizabeth Matthews I’m sitting across from someone I’ve spoken to many times over text [...]
Apr
Beloved Le Clos Abruptly Closes
By Dylan Bailey Le Clos, an iconic Fernandina historic district restaurant since 1996 is no [...]
Apr
City Manager Search: Back to Square One
By Mike Lednovich Executive search firm Strategic Government Resources says it will not provide only [...]
Apr
Walker? Cyclist? Here’s Your Chance to Be Heard
The new Citizens’ Task Force for Safe Walking and Biking in Fernandina Beach invites the [...]
Apr
Casual Chamber Concert With a Norwegian Flair
Join the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival (AICMF) 5 p.m. April 16 for a fun-filled [...]
Apr
Heritage Tree Trolley Tours
Join your friends and neighbors in supporting the Amelia Tree Conservancy’s heritage tree trolley tour. [...]
Apr
The Uses, and The Magic, of Our Sands
By Lauri deGaris North Florida’s beaches are made up of three common types of sand [...]
Apr
Tree Conservancy Celebrates 10 Years
Amelia Tree Conservancy is marking its 10th anniversary of protecting Amelia Island’s tree canopy. A [...]
Apr
Why the Secrecy on New Riverstone Offer?
Since May 22 of last year, Nassau County and Riverstone Properties have been at a [...]
Apr
Area 51 Korean Grill: Very Good, and Longer Hours
By Dylan Bailey Our restaurant reviewer Area 51 Korean Grill touts an impressive blurb on [...]
Apr
Walking/Cycling Safety Study Needs Your Ideas
Fernandina Beach citizen surveys reveal that safe and accessible walking and biking is a priority [...]
Apr
Pulitzer-Winning ‘Proof’ Opens Here April 14
By Linda McClane The award-winning drama “Proof” opens April 14 at Amelia Community Theatre. The [...]
Apr