Category Archives: County News

Rayonier Applies to Get Into the Bioethanol Production Business

By Mike Lednovich Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) of Fernandina Beach has submitted an application to [...]

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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 [...]

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After 4 Years, Port Tells Feds It Has No Tug Contracts

By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority, along with Port of Fernandina operator [...]

Port Loses a Frustrated Realtor to Help With Lot Sales

By Mike Lednovich Highly respected Amelia Island property broker John Hillman sent Ocean Highway and [...]

Port Eats Another $40,000 to Correct Termination

By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority had to do an about-face on [...]

Port Commission All Over the Place on Lot Sales

By Mike Lednovich With their real estate agent listening via a cellphone, Ocean Highway and [...]

Port Director Exit Pay Will Cost More for Doing it Right

By Mike Lednovich “A contract is a contract,” Ocean Highway and Port Authority Commissioner Mike [...]

Port Tugboat Mess Is Running up Costs for Customers

By Mike Lednovich The deadline to have the Port of Fernandina’s tugboat Fort Clinch certified [...]

New Port Customs House Wrinkle: Feds Will Prevail

By Mike Lednovich The latest twist in the ongoing controversy regarding the U.S. Customs and [...]

Arts Alive Is Cranking Up in Nassau Schools

By Wilma Allen Starting next week, hundreds of local kids will be raising their paint [...]

Port Commission Still Short of a Valid Budget

By Mike Phillips It was an unhappy crew of port authority commissioners who gathered Wednesday [...]

Huge School Tax Increase Debated — but Passed — by Board

By Mike Lednovich It’s bad news for local property owners as the Nassau County School [...]

Update on Vote-by-Mail Confusion

The Observer recently reported that 12,295 vote-by-mail registrations in Nassau County had been invalidated by [...]

Like Voting by Mail? You Probably Have Some Work to Do

By Mike Lednovich Nassau County Supervisor of Elections Janet Adkins has been notified that 12,225 [...]

The Latest (7:30 am Aug 30): Still Under Tropical Storm Warning

Issued By Jacksonville – FL, US, National Weather Service Affected Area Coastal Nassau County Description [...]

Tough Talk from Customs: New Port Facility or Else

By Mike Lednovich The Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) has so little money available [...]

Big School Tax Hike in the Works

The District School Board of Nassau County is proposing a tax levy of $109 million, [...]

County Has a New Planning Director

Nassau County’s new planning director is Elizabeth Backe. She has almost 25 years of experience [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Are OHPA’s Dire Finances a Formal Emergency?

By Mike LednovichThe Ocean Highway and Port Authority’s attorney and accountant are working with the [...]

Is Port-City Dispute Nearing Resolution? Stay Tuned

By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach claims each year that the Ocean Highway and Port Authority [...]

New Library Director Selected

Julie Cannavino has been selected to serve as the next Nassau County library director. She [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Port May Sell Residential Land to Pay Legal Debts

By Mike Lednovich The Port of Fernandina took the first step Wednesday toward potentially selling [...]

Port Finances Are ‘At The Cliff’s Edge’

By Mike Lednovich The Port of Fernandina’s crushing legal debt may threaten its ability to [...]

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 [...]

Stunner: Commission Accepts Developer’s Tall Towers Offer

  By Mike Lednovich The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted 4-1 to [...]

How Nassau County Makes Elections Secure

By April L. Bogle Janet Adkins, Supervisor of Elections (SOE) for Nassau County, addressed eight [...]

The Attorneys Speak: Riverstone Proposal Is ‘Deeply Flawed’

Dear Chair and Members of the Nassau County Commission: I, along with Reese Henderson, represent [...]

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 [...]

Here’s a Special Way to Love the Beach

By Shari Roan Along with the maritime forest, Amelia Island is best known among nature [...]

Here’s the Latest Riverstone Tall Towers Offer

By Mike Phillips The shroud of mystery has been lifted from the latest settlement proposal [...]

Why the Secrecy on New Riverstone Offer?

Since May 22 of last year, Nassau County and Riverstone Properties have been at a [...]

Do Nassau Sea Turtle Lighting Regs Need Work?

By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics The resurgence of loggerhead sea turtles along the Florida and [...]

Commentary: What Will it Take to Be United in Keeping Our Paradise?

By Suanne Thamm Hatfields vs. McCoys. Sharks vs. Jets. Natives vs. Newbies. Isn’t it about [...]

Why a Mine in Georgia is Our Problem, Too

EDITOR’S NOTE: Many Nassau County residents don’t know that St. Marys Riverkeeper, as part of [...]

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 [...]

Port Commission Will Vote on its Plan March 8

The Ocean Highway Port Authority (OHPA) commissioners are preparing to vote on a final version [...]

Nassau Firefighters to Train for Derailments

Nassau County Emergency Management (NCEM) will hold a multi-agency tabletop emergency response exercise in its [...]

Boat Ramp Repairs

The North End (Dee Dee Bartels) Boat Ramp is temporarily closed. A piling on the [...]

Port Decisions Coming into the Final Weeks

By Mike Phillips What was expected to be a conclusive port commissioners meeting last evening [...]

Big Raise Approved for Nassau Teachers

By Wes Wolfe  Florida Politics Nassau County is making moves, working to better compensate the [...]

‘Impaired’ Properties Continued: More of the Story

By Mike Phillips Although the bureaucratic tangle around the Jasmine Street beach access clearly is [...]

The Port Thinks Big – and Bigger – and Bigger

The Port of Fernandina has completed its first draft of a 10-year master plan. It’s [...]

Records Settlement Vindicates Nassau Employee — and Rayonier

By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Another chapter involving former Nassau County Attorney Michael Mullin is closed, [...]

COMMENTARY: Whither Nassau County?

By Bill Gingrich Nassau County voters cast their election ballots in favor of who they [...]

Major Commerce Park Planned for Wildlight Development

Pattillo Industrial Real Estate (PIRE) has announced the development of a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial complex [...]

Nicole Evacuations Ordered for Zones A and D

Nassau County is calling for evacuations of zones A and D as Tropical Storm Nicole [...]

City Backs County Land Conservation Bonds

By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics A bond plan to kick-start Nassau County’s land conservation, amid [...]

The Myth of City-County Discontent

By Dale Martin, City Manager In the midst of the current campaign season for two [...]

Welcome to Fernandina Beach: A Kerfuffle Over the Sign

By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics Those wanting to turn Amelia Island into the sort of [...]

Operation Heavyweight Busts 54 Drug Dealers

Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper has announced that a months-long, multi-agency drug-dealing investigation has put [...]

A Break on Flood Insurance Premiums

Nassau County has once again received an improvement in its classification in the Community Rating [...]

Here’s the Word on Storm Debris

Hurricane Ian Storm Debris Assessment Preliminary damage and debris assessments by Nassau County’s emergency responders [...]

Evacuation Order Has Been Lifted

As of 8:30 a.m., the evacuation order for Nassau County has been lifted. While the [...]

As Ian Departs, Final Weather Service Advice

NWS JACKSONVILLE FL 455 AM EDT FRI SEP 30 2022 STORM SURGE WARNING REMAINS IN [...]

County Bulletin: Don’t Drop Your Guard Yet

Hurricane Ian downgraded to a tropical storm Hurricane Ian was downgraded overnight to a Tropical [...]

Beach Driving, Some Parking Suspended

Hurricane Ian causes some beach parking to be suspended As of 1:45 p.m., a decision [...]

County Opening Two Shelters

Nassau County has two shelters opening as of noon today in anticipation of Hurricane Ian [...]

Garbage Service to Resume

Waste Management has announced that it will resume residential garbage pickup in Nassau County  on [...]

Evacuation Order Zones A and D

The Following is an Evacuation Order for Zones A and D – Hurricane Ian As [...]

A Wednesday Morning Update From the City Manager

Morning Update from Fernandina Beach City Manager By Dale Martin Fernandina Beach City Manager As [...]

Serious Nassau Advice from the Weather Service

Issued by Jacksonville – FL, US, National Weather Service Affected Area: Coastal Nassau County LOCATIONS AFFECTED [...]

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 [...]

Nassau Schools #2 of 67 in Florida

By Wes Wolfe Florida Politics The Nassau County School District has a lot on its hands — [...]

Nassau County School Board Races Head to Runoffs

By Wes Wolfe, Florida Politics Nassau County, with its deep-red politics and ability to generate [...]

Alyson McCullough Takes Western Seat on Nassau Co. Commission

By Wes Wolfe, Florida Politics One of the nastier and more-competitive North Florida races not [...]

Hupp Huppmann Wins Nassau Co. Commission Battle

By Wes Wolfe, Florida Politics It was a thorough drubbing for incumbent Nassau County Commissioner Aaron Bell, [...]

Florida Department of Health – COVID-19 Situation Report – Week Ending July 28, 2022

Florida Department of Health July 30, 2022               [...]

Centers for Disease Control Issues Latest Report of Cases and Deaths in Nassau County FL

Centers for Disease Control July 18, 2022 [...]

Florida Department of Health – COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report – Weekending July 14

Florida Department of Health July 16, 2022               [...]

Improved Design for Nassau County Vote by Mail Ballots – Ballots On The Way!

Nassau County Supervisor of Elections Press Release VoteNassauFl.gov July 15, 2022 Janet H. Adkins, Supervisor [...]

Substantial Amelia Island beach Infrastructure Upgrade Pegged as Decades-Long Project

Florida Politics By Wes Wolfe July 13, 2022 The harmonization project is more like a [...]