St. Johns County goes back to school
On Friday, Aug. 10, traffic once again came to a standstill throughout the county as students and teachers returned to the classroom to kick off the 2018 – 2019 school year. More »
Children’s International Summer Villages: Inspiring a more peaceful world
Over the years, CISV (Children’s International Summer Villages) has become a worldwide movement working toward peace and intercultural cooperation and understanding. More »
Mandarin Community Club celebrates 95th anniversary in style
The historic community club building was the site of the club’s special anniversary celebration, which was themed a silent film night to reflect the time of the original founding. More »
Back in Time with Brett: Flynn House Part 1
A structure tucked away at the intersection of Flynn and Loretto roads gives us a peek back in time and from 1909 to 1958 it was known as Flynn’s General Store. More »
Mandarin NewsLine
Pantry Raiders | Warm Black Bean Salsa
Impress guests with homemade salsa at your next soirée
By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com
Gatherings of family and friends are better with food, and few foods are more universally beloved than salsa. Whether they’re hosting a gathering for the big game or a celebration of Hispanic culture and cuisine, hosts who want to go the extra mile can forgo store-bought salsa for the following homemade recipe for “Warm Black Bean Salsa” courtesy of Judith Finlayson’s “The Health Slow Cooker: 135 Gluten-Free Recipes for Health and Wellness” (Robert Rose).
Travel | Touring Louisiana plantations
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Before the Civil War, cotton was king and sugar reigned as “white gold.” The South’s economy depended on their production. Wealthy barons established large plantations where slaves worked the fields.
Captain David’s Fishing Report
By Captain David Lifka
mail@floridanewsline.com
Every spring, summer, and fall, the majority of our area fishing depends greatly on the weather. Neighborhood lakes and ponds require a certain amount of rainfall to help maintain healthy water levels. Area creeks and tributaries also need a certain amount of yearly rainfall to help ward off saltwater intrusion that helps them remain as the freshwater fishery that they are. And then there is the St. Johns River. For us, it’s our favorite area fishing grounds, but in reality, it serves as a 310-mile long drain for much of the central and upper eastern half of the state of Florida.
Brush up your Shakespeare at Alhambra’s “Kiss Me Kate”
By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
“Kiss Me Kate” is basically Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams and featuring music and lyrics by Cole Porter … and audiences at Alhambra Theatre and Dining are in for a double treat with this rollicking battle of the sexes. The music and lyrics are integrated into the script (Porter’s response to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s shows) and the play became Porter’s biggest hit with more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It won the first-ever Tony Award presented for Best Musical in 1949.
Back in Time with Brett: The Bowden house
By Brett Nolan
mail@floridanewsline.com
On Loretto Road sits a house that exemplifies the rural charm of Mandarin. It is a simple home with “strong vertical character” that dates back to the turn of the century – built in 1907 (Wayne Wood, “Jacksonville’s Architectural Heritage,” 1989). Originally, it featured “a two-tier veranda, which wrapped around to the right side of the house” (Wood, 1989). While most historic homes in the area have been constructed during the 19th Century, this building denotes “an important link to Mandarin’s architecture” (Wood, 1989).
