Category Archives: Commentary
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
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
Commentary: Cement Dust and Nassau’s Waterways
Editor’s note: St Marys Riverkeeper — one of 15 Riverkeeper units in Florida — [...]
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Commentary: a Heartfelt Argument for Girls’ Softball
by Amber Stuckey Board Member of Elm Street Little League Some of my fondest [...]
Jan
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
It Came from the Attic: A Community Show and Tell Event
For lovers of old objects and photographs, the joy comes more from the story behind [...]
Dec
Commentary: Questions for Michael Lednovich
If elected, what would be your first priority as a new commissioner? Finishing the city [...]
Nov
Commentary: Questions for Darron Ayscue
Editor’s note: This is the third response of four by candidates in the city commission [...]
Nov
Commentary: Questions for James Antun
Your first priority if elected. if elected, my first priority as a new commissioner would [...]
Nov
COMMENTARY: Whither Nassau County?
By Bill Gingrich Nassau County voters cast their election ballots in favor of who they [...]
Nov
Commentary: What a Remarkable Community Effort Looks Like
By Pam Hart Chair of the Protect Nassau Now or Never PAC We are thrilled [...]
Nov
COMMENTARY: How Covid Has Changed Health Care
By Diana Twiggs, MD It is not an exaggeration to say the coronavirus pandemic forever [...]
Nov
Dear 15%: Come on in With the Rest of Us!
By Mike Phillips Observer Editor I learned two new words this election: undercount and overcount. [...]
Nov
COMMENTARY: How Did We Do?
This is not a place that loves bond issues – even though they are a [...]
Nov
COMMENTARY: Our #2 Schools Spend More Than the #1 Schools
By Richard Lamken Schools division lead in County Citizens Defending Freedom Nassau County School District [...]
Oct
City Commission Essay by Candidate Staci McMonagle
Editor’s note: The Observer invited Fernandina Beach City Commission candidates to write an essay about [...]
Oct
Candidate Essay by Darron Ayscue: Common Sense, Not Nonsense
Darron Ayscue for City Commission Seat 5, Fernandina Beach EDITOR’S NOTE: A few weeks ago, [...]
Oct
Candidate Essay by Mike Lednovich: Preserving Our City’s Quality of Life
Mike Lednovich for City Commission Seat 4, Fernandina Beach EDITOR’S NOTE: A few weeks ago, [...]
Oct
The Myth of City-County Discontent
By Dale Martin, City Manager In the midst of the current campaign season for two [...]
Oct
Candidate Essay by Genece Minshew: Better Ways to Get Things Done
Genece Minshew for City Commission Seat 5, Fernandina Beach EDITOR’S NOTE: A few weeks ago, [...]
Oct
Commentary: Another Close Call
By Faith Ross Luck was with Amelia Island again as the predicted heavier winds and [...]
Oct
We Can Reduce Suicide in Our Community
By Virginia Foxworth September is Suicide Prevention Month in the United States. The Nassau County [...]
Commentary: A Proposal for Funding Public Maintenance
By Gerald Decker I have a suggestion for getting our many visitors to help Fernandina [...]
Sep
Take Note of a Very Important Referendum on the November Ballot
By Mike Phillips Nassau County has a reputation for disliking bond issues, but it also [...]
Sep
Commentary: Time for a New Bike at City Hall?
Editor’s note: The Observer has invited all seven City Commission candidates to submit an essay [...]
Who Are We?
(Editor’s note: I’ve been thinking of creating a regular section in the Observer that asks [...]
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