Category Archives: City News
Corps Agrees to Move the Channel at No Charge
By Mike Lednovich The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to move the Amelia [...]
Nov
Division And Insults Mar Solemn Proclamation
By Mike Lednovich What was intended as a solemn city commission proclamation honoring transgender victims [...]
Nov
After Much Ado, Bean Won’t Read Transgender Proclamation
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach Mayor Bradley Bean notified Fernandina Beach Pride Monday that he [...]
Nov
Who’s In Charge Here? Golf Advisors, Manager Differ
By Mike LednovichBy Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach Golf Club General Manager David DeMay sent tremors [...]
Nov
A Short Announcement but Big News
Charlie George bounced into the Wednesday night Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board meeting like a [...]
Nov
Some Budget Juggling Gets an Executive Chef for Golfers
By Mike Lednovich Failing for years just to even break even, the Fernandina Beach Municipal [...]
Nov
A Wobble on Reading the Transgender Proclamation
By Mike Lednovich Mayor Bradley Bean notified Fernandina Beach Pride Monday that he was [...]
Oct
Commission Financial Reports Reveal Just a Little
By Mike LednovichFlorida’s tepid financial interest reporting requirements reveal very little about the financial income [...]
Oct
Commentary — Our City Crossroads: Bigger or Better?
By Chip Ross City Commissioner, City of Fernandina Beach Two separate but opposing points of [...]
Oct
Who Should Pay for Water Hookups? Ross Says 3-2 Vote Means Residents Pay
By Mike Lednovich Mayor Bradley Bean, Vice Mayor David Sturges and Commissioner Darron Ayscue ignored [...]
Oct
City Rezoning to Protect Land on State-Mandated Housing List
By Mike Lednovich The City Commission was unanimous in protecting parcels at the MLK Rec [...]
Oct
Grants for Main Street Facade Improvements
Fernandina Beach Main Street has started a facade improvement matching grant program. The program is [...]
Oct
Peck Center Field Issue Grows Bigger than the Field
By Mike Lednovich Impassioned members of Fernandina Beach’s black community came out Tuesday and voiced [...]
Oct
State of the City: A First of Five Responses to Ty Ross
STATE OF THE CITY – By Chip Ross 10 October 2023 Last week all the [...]
Oct
What’s With Atlantic Seafood? Good Question, No Answers
By Mike Lednovich When developer Ernie Saltmarsh assumed the lease on the failing Atlantic Seafood [...]
Oct
Hotels Get Right to Make Walkway Over Public Dune and Heritage Trees
By Mike Lednovich Championed by Mayor Bradley Bean and Commissioner Darron Ayscue, the Fernandina Beach [...]
Oct
Many Questions About a Dune Walkover for Two Hotels
By Mike Lednovich Two hotels are seeking to connect access with each other by constructing [...]
Oct
Code Change Study: Clarity or an End Run on Neighborhood Character?
By Mike Lednovich A parade of speakers voiced its concerns to the Planning Advisory Board [...]
Sep
Oh, by the Way: They Raised Their Salaries 50%
By Mike Lednovich There was no mention that the 2023-2024 Fernandina Beach city budget included [...]
Sep
A Tough Decision Gets a Board of Adjustments Variance
By Mike Phillips It can be tough serving on the Fernandina Board of Adjustments. People [...]
Sep
New Port Customs House Wrinkle: Feds Will Prevail
By Mike Lednovich The latest twist in the ongoing controversy regarding the U.S. Customs and [...]
Sep
Utility Chief Asks That New Study Be Used to Set Fees
By Mike Lednovich City Utilities Director Andre Desilet has sent a letter to city commissioners [...]
Sep
Commentary: Vote AFTER the People Have Spoken
By Mike Lednovich Twice in eight days the Fernandina Beach City Commission told residents your [...]
Sep
Fernandina’s New City Manager: Ty Ross
By Mike Lednovich It took the Fernandina Beach City Commission just over two hours to [...]
Sep
How Citizens Say OPHA Should Sell Lots
After hearing input in August from more than 40 citizens about the Ocean Highway and [...]
Sep
Meet the City Manager Candidates Monday
By Mike Lednovich Citizens can meet and ask questions Monday of the four final candidates [...]
Sep
Commentary: Bean’s Gavel Is Honorary, Not a Weapon
By Mike Lednovich Mayor Bradley Bean last Tuesday night silenced a sitting city commissioner who [...]
Sep
This Iconic Tree at the Downtown Entrance Needs Friends
By Mike Lednovich Representing an alliance of conservation groups, Julie Ferreira with the Nassau County [...]
Sep
Chip Ross Says It’s Density, One Slice at a Time
By Mike Lednovich Three decisions by the City Commission Tuesday night could clear the path [...]
Sep
Sturges Wants Commission to Talk About Density
By Mike Lednovich Vice Mayor David Sturges wants to discuss the definition of density in [...]
Sep
Port Commission Seeks Input on Lots to Be Sold
Port commissioners are sponsoring an outdoor listening session for the public at one of the [...]
Aug
City Manager List Is on the Table from Citizens Committee
By Mike Lednovich The search for a new Fernandina Beach City Manager that began with [...]
Aug
Commentary: A Highly Seasoned Boater’s Advice on Our Marina
By Wally Moran Having stopped in Fernandina Beach by boat more than 50 times myself, [...]
Aug
Commentary: Sidewalks vs. Trees Need Not Be a Conflict
This is an open letter from the Nassau County Sierra Executive Board to fellow stakeholders [...]
Aug
City Marina Dock Fee Increase Paused Until Next Year
By Mike Lednovich There is no denying the fact that the city marina is a [...]
Aug
Commission Decides Against Increasing New Development Fees
By Mike Lednovich The City Commission did an about-face Tuesday on funding improvements to the [...]
Aug
Tough Talk from Customs: New Port Facility or Else
By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) has so little money available [...]
Aug
Port Plans to Add Two Fabric Warehouses
By Mike LednovichThe Port of Fernandina is ready to start building two fabric warehouses on [...]
Aug
After a Shambles, Port Votes to Sell Historic District Lots
By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) voted 4-1 Wednesday to sell [...]
Aug
Nine Manager Candidates Presented to Citizen Committee
By Mike Lednovich Colin Baenziger & Associates has submitted nine city manager candidates to the [...]
Aug
City Opens Up Path to Bigger Shopping Centers
By Mike Lednovich By votes of 4-1, the Fernandina Beach City Commission Tuesday paved the [...]
Aug
An Update on the City Manager Search Process
Here is the schedule going forward for selecting the new Fernandina Beach city manager: Now [...]
Aug
Brett’s Lawyers Up, Threatens to Sue
By Mike LednovichAn attorney for Center Street Restaurant Group, owners of Brett’s Waterway Cafe, is [...]
Aug
New Wrinkles in RV Site Plan: Townhouses and City Annexation
By Mike PhillipsThe developer of a proposed RV park on Nassau County land on Sadler [...]
Jul
Port Hears First Broker Ideas About Land Sale
By Mike LednovichDuring a special meeting of the Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) Thursday, [...]
Jul
What’s With the Alachua Project? Contractor Shortages
Curious people want to know: What’s going on at the seemingly stalled Alachua rail crossing [...]
Jul
By 3-2, City Votes Rollback, Sets Up $2.5 Million in Cuts
By Mike Lednovich Joyce Tuten speaks against rollback After 50 minutes of debate over the [...]
Jul
Marina Fuel Leak: 76 Days and Counting
By Mike LednovichA leaking fuel line at the city marina fuel dock has resulted in [...]
Jul
Final 55 Manager Candidates Ready for Committee Review
By Mike LednovichThe final tally for candidates for the Fernandina Beach city manager is 55, [...]
Jul
Proposed PILOT Deal: A Park for the Debt
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach City Commissioner Chip Ross is pitching a lawsuit settlement with [...]
Jul
City Critic Was Getting Free Trash Service for Five Years
By Mike LednovichNews-Leader columnist Steve Nicklas, who repeatedly criticizes city spending as wasteful, has been [...]
Jul
Commentary: It Isn’t Just $30,000 — It’s the Principle of the Thing
By Mike PhillipsThe cost of the city commission’s 50% pay raise that’s under discussion is [...]
Jul
Amid Big Cuts, a Big Raise for Commissioners?
By Mike LednovichFernandina Beach City Commissioners are cutting funding for sidewalks, beach walkovers and paving [...]
Jul
Commission Stands Firm on Cutting Capital Improvements
By Mike LednovichThe needle didn’t budge over the proposed 2023-24 capital improvement budget as the [...]
Jul
Manager Applications Up to 42 — 19 with Crucial Experience
By Mike LednovichTen more applications have been received for the vacant Fernandina Beach city manager [...]
Jul
Dale Martin the Unanimous First Choice for Flagler Beach Manager
By Mike Lednovich Former Fernandina Beach City Manager Dale Martin was selected Friday as the [...]
Jul
Is Port-City Dispute Nearing Resolution? Stay Tuned
By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach claims each year that the Ocean Highway and Port Authority [...]
Jul
City Manager Search Extended to July 21
By Mike Lednovich Colin Baenziger & Associates, the city’s executive search firm, notified city commissioners [...]
Jul
A Flurry of Applicants Ends Manager Search With 32
By Mike Lednovich Five current or former city managers and a city administrator were among [...]
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
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
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
Nine City Manager Applications, So Far
By Mike Lednovich There are currently nine applicants for the vacant Fernandina Beach city manager [...]
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
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
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
Disc Golf Proposal Soundly Defeated
By Mike Lednovich The proposal for a disc golf course at Simmons Road Park was [...]
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
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