Politics

Jacksonville City Council offers new ways to stream meetings

Published

2 months ago

October 24, 2025

Lights … camera … legislation.

Those who have been frustrated by the Jacksonville City Council’s streaming options have new ways to access telecasts.

It’s called Jax+, and it will allow viewers to access livestreams of committee and council meetings on the official city of Jacksonville YouTube channel, Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV.

The City Council hopes this makes people feel more connected to local government.

“Transparency and access to government are the foundation of a healthy democracy,” said Teresa Eichner, Public Information Officer for the City of Jacksonville City Council.

“By live-streaming Council meetings, we’re breaking down barriers to participation and inviting our community to take an active role in the legislative process. This is about ensuring every resident can stay informed, engaged and empowered.”

The City Council website will continue offering streaming and archived video as well.

“We are committed to making our government more accessible and transparent,” said City Council President Kevin Carrico.

“By live-streaming our meetings, we encourage residents to stay informed and engaged with the decisions that shape our community.”

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Politics

Byron Donalds supports ban on stock trading for Congress — except through a broker

Published

12 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds will support a stock trading ban for members of Congress, but still wants to keep his broker.

The Naples Republican, who is running for Governor, discussed the issue with the Fox News radio affiliate in his district, 92.5 FM WFSX. The topic came up as U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, presses for a floor vote on a stock trading ban through a discharge petition.

“Luna and I talked about this, actually, yesterday on the (House) floor. But when it comes up for a vote, I’m voting for it,” Donalds said. “I have always been opposed to members trading positions.”

But notably, he put conditions that aren’t included in the legislation Luna favors right now. Donalds, a former private wealth manager before his election to Congress, said members should still be allowed to own stocks, just not to direct trades.

“Let me just get it out there because I know people say, ‘Well, Byron, you own stocks.’ I do, but my stocks are traded by my financial advisor, Tom Moran, in Naples. They’ve been my financial advisor since I got to Congress. I actually worked there before I got to Congress. I do not initiate trades. That is done by my broker, (and) he has third-party authorization to trade on my behalf. We have no contact about this stuff,” Donalds said.

“The only thing with what I told Anna was, I think you do have to make an allowance for members who give third-party authorization to a financial professional because then the financial professional is the one that’s doing the trading, not the member of Congress. I have always been opposed to members trading. I’ve never supported it because you do have access to information that could be manipulated.”

Donalds has regularly reported stock trades, most recently a series of trades done between Oct. 9 and Nov. 1, with all trades handled in a Moran Wealth IRA.

The website Quiver Quantitative, which flags reported congressional trading, pegs Donalds’ net worth at $4.38 million, with about $456,000 of that tied to stocks and $84,000 as cash in his IRA, with another $33,000 in pensions.

The majority of his worth comes from stake in OptimaEd, the online learning company run by his wife, Erika Donalds, not in stocks.

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Politics

Add new Coast Guard training center in Florida

Published

43 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

Moody points out there are already some two dozen military installations in Florida and a Coast Guard training facility would be natural addition.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody wants to build upon Florida’s quiver of military installations by adding a new U.S. Coast Guard facility.

The Sunshine State is certainly not short of any Coast Guard activity. But Moody is arguing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to add a new Coast Guard training facility in Florida.

Moody said in a press release that the new Coast Guard training base would add to the already formidable military presence in Florida and strengthen national security, as DHS has issued requests for information to states about a possible new Coast Guard training facility. DHS announced a call for requests last month.

Moody drafted a letter to the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem outlining, she said, the many benefits that adding such a Coast Guard training facility would bring to Florida. She pointed out that adding a Coast Guard training facility would be a natural progression.

“Florida already plays a substantial role in securing our country — we’re the proud home of 21 military installations and three combatant commands,” Moody said. “It just makes sense that our nation’s next U.S. Coast Guard training facility join these bases here in the Sunshine State, where we have a proven military infrastructure, available capacity, and strong interagency partnerships.”

There are already about a combined 50 Coast Guard offices, units and installations in Florida. Moody said in her letter to Noem that the state is a good fit for a training base, though she did not indicate where such a facility would be located.

“At a time when the Coast Guard is attempting to meet increasing military demands, Florida is proud to offer not only land and infrastructure, but communities that deeply value the Coast Guard’s mission,” Moody said in her letter. “The Sunshine State offers Coasties and their families the best chance for a boost in morale in their personal lives, given our lack of state income tax, military pension exemptions, numerous VA facilities, and a high appreciation rate in home values and affordability.”

The Coast Guard’s main training center has traditionally been based in Cape May, New Jersey. The Coast Guard’s website said it considers Cape May to be the service’s “hometown.”

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Politics

Meet the Florida Congressional candidate masquerading as a Democrat

Published

1 hour ago

December 9, 2025

May Greene

Let me offer a lesson in unforced errors.

Some campaign blunders are harmless. Others are educational. And then, every so often, a candidate comes along who blends audacity with incompetence so seamlessly you almost have to admire the craftsmanship.

Enter congressional hopeful Mark Davis, currently running to unseat U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in Florida’s 16th Congressional District.

He has zero chance. But honestly, that’s not the interesting part, because now it looks like he has less than zero chance, if that’s even a thing.

Davis has somehow managed to build his entire campaign on a lie — and he’s been so committed to the performance he even managed to fool ActBlue, the nation’s Democratic fundraising platform. That alone deserves some kind of participation trophy for creativity.

Here’s the setup: Davis is telling Southwest Florida voters that he is a registered Democrat, as he runs in a Democratic Primary that includes repeat candidate Jan Schneider, among others. His website even spells it out for the handful of people who click: “Paid for by Mark Davis, Democrat, for US House of Representatives Florida Congressional District 16.”

Now, if we were being charitable (we’re not), we could chalk this up to a “misprint” by the website guy. But Davis removes all doubt.

Less than two months ago, Davis posted a lengthy screed on X explaining why he’s running “as a Democrat,” comparing himself to “the other Democrats in the race,” and lecturing voters that failing to choose him would mean ignoring “what the Democratic Party needs right now.”

Cute speech. Inspiring, even.

Except for one important detail. Mark Davis is not a Democrat.

Filings with both the Federal Elections Commission and Florida Supervisor of Elections show, in black and white, that Davis is registered as No Party Affiliation (NPA). In other words, he’s lying.

But Davis doesn’t stop at simple misrepresentation — he goes for the deluxe package. He’s actively raising money on ActBlue, a platform that explicitly restricts access to Democrats. ActBlue’s rules aren’t complicated: If you’re independent or undeclared, and there’s a Democrat in the race, you’re not allowed. Davis is an independent. Democrats are in the race.

Let’s be honest: Davis’s campaign was over before it began. Every cycle we see the same parade of gadflies who file paperwork, launch a website, and pretend they’re running for Congress. Normally we just smile, nod, and move on.

But Davis isn’t just blurring lines, he’s redrawing them in crayon. And when a candidate has to invent his party affiliation just to stay relevant, the campaign stops being a campaign and starts being community theater.

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