WJCT News Now

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week: Election season starts with a bang as three St. Johns County lawmakers are charged with an unauthorized voter guide. A new law increases penalties for mandatory reporters who don’t report suspected child abuse.  A grand jury is digging into Douglas Anderson’s history of teache...

Jacksonville-based EverBank will keep its headquarters downtown after questions about its future location, and the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Board rejects a proposal for a Daily’s gas station in Fruit Cove following opposition from nearby residents. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our election season coverage continues with 4th Congressional District candidate Brit Robinson. The self-described Democratic Socialist is positioning herself as the voice for young, working class voters, calling the current administration “fascist and authoritarian” and accusing her incumbent opponent of being “complicit” in an anti-democratic agenda. Robinson faces fellow...

Thousands of Duval County Public Schools students are experiencing homelessness, and a local nonprofit is turning to basketball to raise awareness and support before the new school year. Plus, Colorado State University has lowered its Atlantic hurricane season forecast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mayo Clinic calls it addictive, unsafe and ineffective. Opponents call it “gas station heroin.” But for Patti Wheeler, it’s the tragic cause of death for her 27-year-old son Robert “Wyatt” Wheeler, who suffered a fatal seizure just six weeks after he began taking Kratom. With the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announcing July 1 that it is implementing a temp...

A Heat Advisory is in effect across Northeast Florida as forecasters warn that feels-like temperatures could reach up to 110 degrees. Also, Fernandina Beach approves new regulations for e-bikes and other personal mobility devices, setting speed limits and penalties aimed at improving safety. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Jacksonville landlord’s real-life squatters nightmare drew local and national attention for dramatically highlighting the maddening legal hurdles some homeowners face when trying to evict these unwanted and illegal tenants. Now, her story is just one of several featured in a new Hulu docuseries — and isn’t even close to being the worst. We ask her about the path from crime vict...

Charges have been filed against five people, including two sitting St. Johns County commissioners and a St. Augustine Beach city commissioner, in connection with an alleged fake Republican voter guide distributed during the 2024 primary election. We'll also look at the future of Jacksonville's Riverfront Plaza, where European Street Cafe has been selected to operate the park's café as the d...

With the passing of July 4th, election season gets underway in earnest, along with our candidate interviews. Firebrand First Coast lawmaker Angie Nixon joins us to discuss her bid for U.S. Senate, in which she faces Republican incumbent Ashley Moody and fellow Democrat Alex Vindman. Nixon comes to the race with a funding disadvantage but with a reputation as a fighter (albeit one with few legislat...

A judge has ruled that a Libertarian candidate can remain on the ballot in Jacksonville’s upcoming City Council special election, setting up a three-way race for the open seat. Plus, Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford announces his retirement after leading major transit projects, including the launch of the nation’s first autonomous vehicle public transit system. See om...

The dividing lines created or reinforced by segregation and redlining sustain a toxic tide, according to a new report in The Florida Trib. Intensive flooding from recent hurricanes, and increasingly, during ordinary rainstorms, carry a range of pollutants. But in historically Black communities in Jacksonville, those floodwaters carry an additional hazard. Trib investigative journalism fellow Trini...

The Jacksonville Housing Authority is proposing a new policy that would give many housing assistance recipients three months to find a job under a pending federal housing rule, though some residents say that timeline is unrealistic. Plus, Jacksonville is preparing for its two-day FreedomFest celebration, with officials urging attendees to arrive early, expect traffic and bridge closures, and take...

After the Legislature hastily approved a ballot initiative to slash property taxes, Florida is just beginning to reckon with the costs. If approved by 60% of the voters in November, the measure would almost instantly slash the budgets of cities and small towns by more than $8 billion, according to a new nonpartisan analysis by the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference. That loss would compou...

A new pilot program in Jacksonville between the city and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development aims to expand affordable housing through modern manufactured homes, with the first site planned for the city’s Northside. Also, a wide range of new Florida laws take effect as the state begins its new fiscal year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A series of secretive proposed land swaps involving private property owners and the National Park Service have raised alarms that Georgia's largest barrier island could be facing more, and more intensive development. The swaps involve trading publicly held land for environmentally strategic, privately held parcels — something the Park Service says will allow the agency to conserve more vulne...

The Baldwin Middle-Senior High School principal is facing a felony charge after an allegation that he failed to report child abuse. Also, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed the state’s new budget while using his veto power to cut more than $800 million in proposed spending. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decades of industrial manufacturing has polluted both ground and water in Brunswick, Georgia, and surrounding Glynn County, which is home to four federally designated Superfund sites and 12 state-regulated hazardous waste sites. That pollution is showing up in the bloodstreams of residents. Research into the health effects of chemical exposure dates back to 1997, when a local health department sai...

JEA’s Board of Directors is set to consider proposed rate increases for electricity, water, and sewer service as the utility addresses projected revenue gaps. Also ahead, a new section of the First Coast Expressway opens in Clay County, expanding the toll road network and bringing new traffic changes as the larger project moves toward completion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among this week’s topics: Text messages the city refused to release are now public. What do the once-secret documents tell us about a criminal investigation sparked by City Council President Kevin Carrico? The governor formally brings an end to the Alligator Alcatraz era. JEA’s current CEO testifies before th...

Newly released text messages shed more light on discussions involving Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico, a nonprofit executive, and a proposed JEA land deal and board appointment. Plus, a former St. Johns County teacher has filed a federal discrimination complaint, alleging he was removed from his position because of his gender identity and intersex condition. See omnystudio.com/li...

Commemorating the Confederacy through streets or community names like “Dixie,” “Rebel” and “Plantation” carries clear connotations for some. As noted in a social media post referenced in a new research study, “The developer might as well [put] a sign at the entrance saying, ‘Whites Only.’” Titled Confederates in the Cul de Sac , the schol...

A Jacksonville neighborhood transforms via a long-awaited transition from septic tanks to city sewer service, with the Christobel Septic Tank Phase Out Project expected to bring improvements to nearly 500 homes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The once sleepy, quaint and borderline podunk vibe of 1980s and ‘90s St. Augustine is now ancient history in the Ancient City. In its place: a buzzy tourist favorite that ranks high on influencer feeds and glossy magazines’ Top 10 lists. T-shirt and seashell shops have given way to upscale Airbnbs, sleek coffee vendors and, now, four Michelin recognized restaurants. Some who’ve w...

JEA CEO Vickie Cavey faces questions from a Jacksonville City Council investigation into workplace concerns, leadership changes, and the utility’s decision-making process. Plus, Florida’s more than $114 billion state budget heads to Governor Ron DeSantis as lawmakers await his decisions ahead of the new fiscal year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As multiple investigations into JEA continue, local climate activists are calling on the Jacksonville utility to lower rates and commit to phasing out the use of fossil fuels. The demands are outlined in a new petition calling on JEA to reduce emissions, improve air quality and find more sustainable plans to reduce energy costs long term. The move comes as solar power use grows and coal usage decl...