Swim on over to Alhambra for “The Little Mermaid”
This summer, Alhambra Theatre and Dining is delighting all ages with an energetic, colorful reenactment of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” More »
Project Renewed Hope brings the light of hope through projects of love
Lindsey Sima said she started her mission of providing hope by making gift baskets for families with children in the hospital around Christmas 2017. More »
Local seniors soar in WWII biplanes
Four seniors, all military veterans, recently went for rides in a World War II biplane, courtesy of the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation. More »
Vicar’s Landing scholarship program observes special anniversary
On May 18, the Vicar’s Landing Member Trust celebrated its 25th year of granting scholarships to Vicar’s Landing employees, continuing a tradition first established in 1994. More »
The CreekLine
Q&A with St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes
Q: What can you tell us about your office’s new website?
A: Our new website is now online. We just refreshed it with a new look and I invite people to take a look. It has a more modern format that will allow us to focus on voter registration online and allow voters to keep their information up to date with us at all times. There is an announcement page highlighting timely items on the landing page.
Q&A with St. Johns County Commissioner Jimmy Johns (District 1)
Q: Since we are in the middle of the annual budget cycle, do you have any updates?
A: The proposed budget is available on the county’s website, www.sjcfl.us. I encourage people to look at the budget and weigh in now. This is the time for staff to make any adjustments. Citizens can call my office and we can put them in touch with the department that can answer their questions. The key is to understand how to get funding for whatever it is that people are interested in.
Q&A with Florida State Representative Cyndi Stevenson, District 17
Q: Can you give us some highlights of the recently concluded legislative session?
A: Education is so important in St. Johns County and I’m pleased that we had an increase in funding of $257.30 per student over last year. This increase includes an additional $13.9 million in flexible funding, an additional $197,000 for safe schools funding and an additional $118,000 for school mental health assistance funding.
Q&A with State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit, R.J. Larizza
Q: Can you give us an update on some of the highlights of the recently concluded 2019 legislative session as pertains to criminal justice?
A: There were a number of changes enacted this session. First, there were changes to the grand theft/felony theft statute, which hasn’t been modified in decades. Previously, the threshold was $300 in stolen goods to be classified as grand theft. The legislature increased this to $750, to try to make it equivalent today to the old amount. The law does allow us to aggregate, so if we can prove that there is an ongoing theft ring of smaller thefts under the felony threshold, we can add them up to charge with grand theft.
Q & A with St. Johns County School Board Member, District 1, Beverly Slough
Q: School’s out, but the work for the school district continues. What can you share with us about what’s happening at this time?
A: Right now, we are trying to figure out the impact of the recently concluded legislative session. Two huge education “train bills” were passed, one that deals mostly with security and one that deals with practically everything else.
