First Coast Connect: It takes a village

First Coast Connect: Ask the Mayor

After the Legislature’s decision to put the future of property tax cuts before voters in November, we look at the potential blast radius of the revenue loss. In our monthly Ask the Mayor segment, we also ask Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan about her new blight abatement efforts, community blowback after a traffic-plagued Ironman event and her working relationship with incoming City Council president Nick Howland. Guest: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan Classically new From Rachmaninoff's 1st to Beethoven's 9th, the Jacksonville Symphony announces its upcoming season in a newly renovated performance hall. The orchestra’s 2026/27 concert season includes classical stalwarts like Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Mahler, but includes a pops series featuring songs from stage and screen, as well as by artists like Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffet and Paul McCartney. Of particular local interest is a one-night-only performance of an original musical score written to accompany the 1926 silent film, The Flying Ace, which features an all-Black cast and is the only full-length surviving "race film" produced by Norman Studios in Arlington. The performance marks the film’s 100th anniversary. We ask the orchestra’s director how the performances were chosen and what he’s looking forward to after this summer’s extensive acoustic renovations to Jacoby Symphony Hall. Guest: Courtney Lewis, music director, Jacksonville Symphony Philippines Independence Day As the city with the largest Filipino population in Florida, Jacksonville undertakes a celebration of Pinoy pride at the weekly Riverside Arts Market under the Fuller Warren Bridge this weekend. The event features multiple food vendors selling Filipino favorites like lumpia, pancit, halo-halo, adobo, sisig and much more. The event also features a Manila streetwear fashion show, a performance of the traditional Tinikling dance, a kids zone and more than 50 Filipino retailers and entertainers. The event commemorates the 128-year anniversary of the Pacific island nation’s independence from Spanish rule. The Philippines Independence Day Celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13. RAM is free and open to the public. Guests: * Nique Dayrit Davis, board member, Jax Filipinos [https://jaxfilipinos.org/] * SJ Osborne, market manager, Riverside Arts Market [https://riversideartsmarket.org/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Morning Report: Budget Uncertainty in Jax and Florida Earthquake Tremors

Jacksonville city leaders are preparing for difficult budget decisions as uncertainty grows over a proposed property tax referendum that could significantly reduce city revenue. We’ll hear why funding for a planned downtown Publix and other projects may face increased scrutiny. Also, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Cuba was felt across much of Florida, including Jacksonville. Officials say the tremors caused concern but posed little threat of damage or a tsunami. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

First Coast Connect: Council President-elect Nick Howland

The city’s commitment to nonprofit spending — from healthcare for the poor to programs for at-risk youth and families — will be thrown into stark relief as the city crafts a budget in the shadow of potentially massive tax cuts. It’s a difficult posture for any lawmaker, but one that incoming City Council President Nick Howland will inherit ahead of a statewide vote on property taxes this November. We ask Howland how that fiscal reality might distill local priorities, and how it could affect projects likely to be decided on his watch, like a new Duval County jail and future Downtown incentives. We also ask how a series of investigations, including a State Attorney’s Office probe of current council President Kevin Carrico, may be affecting public perceptions of the office. Guest: Nick Howland, Jacksonville City Council president-elect Legend has it ... After a 46-year career in law enforcement, including three decades with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and 15 years as a school resource officer at Parkwood Heights Elementary, Officer Willie Perry got his flowers — and then some. A recent schoolwide sendoff included a children's book, The Legend on the Sidewalk: A Story for Officer Willie Perry, written by the school’s reading coach about Perry's lasting effect on the students. A copy of the book was also provided to every student at the school. We talk to the author and “The Legend” himself about the impact and rewards of his years of service to the Arlington school. Guests: * Amy Clark, author of The Legend on the Sidewalk [https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Sidewalk-Officer-Willie-Legends/dp/B0GRG4WTYW], reading interventionist at Parkwood Heights Elementary * Officer Willie Perry, recently retired school resource officer, Duval County School Police See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Morning Report: School Bus Camera Tickets and New Grocery Openings in Jacksonville

During today’s episode, we look at the first month of Duval County’s new school bus camera enforcement program, which resulted in nearly 3,200 citations for drivers accused of illegally passing stopped school buses. We’ll also preview Aldi’s continued expansion in Jacksonville, with several former Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations set to reopen as Aldi stores in the coming weeks. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

First Coast Connect: Week in Review

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week: * Famed environmental attorney Erin Brockovich enters the data center controversy even as Nassau County hits pause on their construction.  * A St. Johns County teacher is fired over a yearbook rap lyric she says she didn’t quote. * Local governments start to grapple with the possibility of losing as much as half their funding to property tax cuts. * A zoning proposal that some say would have limited public participation is withdrawn from City Council. Guests: * Obi Umunna, attorney and political consultant * Jack Webb, attorney and former Jacksonville City Council president * Jake Stofan, city and state government reporter at Action News Jax * Noah Hertz, St. Johns County reporter, Jacksonville Today Love fest A St. Marys community theater presents a darker but still comedic spin-off of one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history. Trouble at the Tropicabana parodies the iconic characters of I Love Lucy, featuring Lucy, Ricky, Ethel and Fred as they get involved with mobsters and movie moguls in an interactive murder mystery. Hosted for one day at Cottle and Gunn, a locally owned vintage shop in downtown St. Marys, the performance also includes a three course, Cuban-inspired meal. Guests: * David Wyttenbach, director, Trouble at Tropicabana * Vicki Wyttenbach, actor playing Lucy * Deborah Cottle, actor playing as Ethel * Carlos Semidei, actor playing Ricky See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.