Some believe additional parking may be the answer to the Jacksonville Landing's woes, but history suggests that the center's ability to draw in national tenants will not be completely solved by a parking garage.  Here are several things that, if implemented, may improve the Landing's viability.

Some say, "Jacksonville is a diamond that wants to remain coal". What would it be like if Jacksonville were a city that didn’t hate itself... led by people who acknowledged its achievements?

With the economic slowdown and Florida's Property Tax Amendments, Jacksonville is in a bit of a budget crunch.  The city owns a lot of property downtown that is not contributing the the revitalization effortor the tax rolls  Today, Metro Jacksonville takes a look at five city-owned properties that should be sold to the provate sector as soon as possible.

City Council members Jack Webb and Glorious Johnson should be commended for their efforts to try to find a way to somehow slow down the rising number of foreclosures here in Jacksonville.  In 2007 there were more than 15,000 foreclosure filings on 9,540 properties in Duval County (many properties had second mortgages on them).  That is a 39% jump from the 2006 numbers.

What a shocking statistic to have learned recently while New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in town as part of his national convention on curbing violent crime and reducing illegal guns. Here it is:  Jacksonville has only 10% of the population of NYC, yet experiences 25% of their murders!  Wow.  It's no wonder that Sheriff John Rutherford recently indicated the city was teetering on the brink of lawlessness, stating "If we don't turn this thing around, we could be the next Detroit."

How Folio's Man of the Year, Craig Van Horn Became Springfield's Greatest Liability

(and conned hundreds of thousands of dollars for his failing real estate empire)

“There is probable cause that some Jacksonville elected officials violated state law by failing to report as gifts taxpayer-financed outings to football games, concerts and other events BUT THEY SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED.” (emphasis added).

Have we been sold a bill of goods by the city?  Is the renaissance of downtown over before it even began?  Apparently some downtown business owners think so.

On Tuesday, voters will go to the polls and decide on the Republican nominee for President.  Most of the talk about this week's election has centered on how the democrats aren't here (Florida's Democratic delegates were stripped when the primary was moved), on whether or not Giuliani will be done after Tuesday (polls show him fighting for third), and who is going to pull out the win in what is now a statistical tie between Mitt Romney and John McCain.  Turnout among Democrats and Independents is expected to be very light, since Florida will have no impact at the Democratic National Convention, and Independents have just one issue on the ballot.

In the past couple of weeks, Mayor John Peyton has come under a bit of fire from a group of Jacksonville residents.  Peyton in trouble by his boss (the citizens) has become commonplace. No matter where he chooses to jump, he seems to hit a landmine.