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April 18,
2024 8:05 am | 3 min read
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April 16,
2024 6:30 am | 7 min read
Tallahassee –
Florida's ethically challenged Commission on
Ethics is poised to waive a $1,500 fine for
one of its commissioners. The commission
would give a colleague a free pass.
The
appearance of a conflict is obvious, and
the conflict is real.
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April 12, 2024
3:30 pm | 11 min read
ALACHUA COUNTY, FL – This week, the
CareerSource Florida Crown (Region 7) saga moved
from Columbia County to Alachua County (Region
9). A series of events involving Florida Crown
(financial investigations, a mutiny by the
executive director and his staff, sexual
harassment redefined, and state agencies that
finally said ‘no mas’ and ordered FL Crown to
turn over its finances to District 9 (Alachua)),
put some of the problems of FL Crown in the lap
of CareerSource North Central Florida, aka,
Alachua County.
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April 7, 2024
4:30 pm | 14 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The top management at
CareerSource Florida Crown again demonstrated
its dysfunctionality this past Wednesday when
the organization's IT Director, Ron Jones,
couldn't get its special meeting to kick off on
time.
Attendees from FloridaCommerce, CareerSource
Florida, board members, and members of the
public logged into the meeting. Then, the
Florida Crown IT broke down and couldn’t get the
meeting running.
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March 28, 2024
2:00 pm | 11 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA –
The recent troubles at CareerSource
Florida Crown: bookkeeping issues;
website out of compliance with its
agreement with the state; failure to
properly notice meetings and an illegal
walkout of the executive director along
with the entire administrative staff
would have some Florida Crown defenders
calling them "technical" issues.
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March 27, 2024
3:45 pm | 2 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
The Lake City City Manager race is now down to
two finalists: Lake City Police Chief Gerald
Butler and former Pasco Assistant County
Administrator
Don Rosenthal.
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March 25, 2024
7:00 am | 2 min read
FLORIDA –
As the nation observes National Medal of
Honor Day, facilities in Florida and
Texas are under construction to serve as
perpetual memorials commemorating the
heroic actions of recipients for their
valor and sacrifice.
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March 20, 2024
9:35 am | 7 min read
LAKE CITY, FL – The latest Lake City City
Manager search took another confusing step on
Monday night when, out of the blue, the City
Clerk provided the City Council with a tentative
timetable and interview schedule for the three
City Manager candidates.
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March 18, 2024
7:45 am | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – CareerSource FL
Crown Executive Director Robert Jones led FL
Crown staff walkout, shutting down the
administrative functions of the four-county
workforce special district – Columbia, Dixie,
Gilchrist, Union.
As reported earlier, on Monday,
March 11, 2024, the entire administrative staff
followed Executive Director Robert Jones out the
door.
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March 16, 2024
2:30 pm | 4 min read
LAKE CITY, FL – On September 13, 2023,
Sylvester Warren III filed a complaint with the
Florida Commission on Ethics against City Clerk
Audrey Sikes. The events surrounding this
complaint began in June 2023. On March 13, 2024,
the Ethics Commission dismissed Mr. Warren's
complaint.
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March 12, 2024
2:00 pm | 5 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – The
three-year-long investigation into CareerSource
Florida Crown has culminated in the mass
resignation of Florida Crown's Executive
Director Robert Jones, the Director of Finance
Jeff Geering, the IT/Program Services Director
Ron Jones, and the two other office staff
members.
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March 6, 2024
11:30 am | 4 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA – CareerSource
Florida Crown is under investigation for
financial improprieties going back three
fiscal years: 2020, 2021, and 2022.
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March 5, 2024
3:45 pm | 4 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
The latest Lake City City Manager Search
continued last night in City Hall. No one was
particularly prepared, though it was the third
City Manager search since 2018. However, without
any direction, HR Director BillyJo Bible advised
the Council that she had prepared questions and
a ranking scheme for the City Manager finalists.
The City Clerk also reminded the Mayor and
informed the Council of some of the past
procedures.
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Feb. 28, 2024
1:25 pm | 3 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
Monday night in City Hall, James Carter
took the Oath of Office and became the
City Councilman for District 13 until
the upcoming fall election cycle. It is
unclear how City Council meetings'
deterioration and armed camp setting
affected other potential candidates. Mr.
Carter had some ideas.
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Feb. 25, 2024 6:30 pm |
9 min read
FORT WHITE, FL – Fort White, Florida's Gwynn
Farms Subdivision – is over for now – but is it
really over? The developer pulling out could be
a "blessing in disguise," said Fort White Mayor
Ronnie Frazier. “This could be an opportunity to
reset.”
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Feb. 23, 2024
6:00 am | 2 min read
FLORIDA –
The Florida House is expected to follow the
Senate's lead by signing off on an initiative to
pour millions into the state's health care
industry, including investments in
mental health services.
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Use the information in this story to
rate the candidates
Feb. 17, 2024
8:30 am | 5 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
The latest Lake City City Manager search
continues on Tuesday evening, with HR Director
BilllieJo Bible scheduled to make a presentation
to the Council. Ms. Bible will review the
application review process. The Council will
decide where to go from there.
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Feb. 13, 2024
5:10 pm | 9 min read
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County’s good
ole’ boys are legends in North Florida and
beyond. Handicapped accessibility is not only
the law of the land in today's world; it is
about common sense and human decency. Two public
buildings in Columbia County have the same
issue: the Lake Shore Hospital Authority HQ and
the County’s almost $17,850 month leased
sub-headquarters and home of the Supervisor of
Elections, Tourist Development, and Economic
Development.
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Feb. 6, 2024
8:55 am | 2 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
Last night in City Hall, one might have wondered
if the Mossad had a wrap on the Lake City City
Manager applications. The HR Manager released
nine more applications on Monday afternoon,
making a total of twenty-two applicants. Not one
word was mentioned by the Council members, the
Mayor, or the Interim City Manager regarding the
City Manager search.
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Mayor Witt
did not add a discussion about the City Manager
Search for Monday night's Council meeting.
Feb. 4, 2024
11:30 am | 3 min read
LAKE CITY, FL –
The multiyear Lake City City Manager saga
continues. Leveling out the over two years of
former City Manager Paul Dyal's intrigue,
turmoil, lawsuits, scandals, financial
glad-handing, brain drain, and city management
determined by loyalty rather than experience and
qualifications will be a big job for Lake City’s
next City Manager.
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Feb. 27, 2024 10:35 am | 2 min read
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Feb. 22, 2024 9:30 am | 5 min read
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February 8,
2024 12:30 pm | 3 min read
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January 27, 2024 7:15 am | 2 min read
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January 15, 2024 5:00 am | 5 min read
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January 10, 2024 1:00 pm | 2 min read
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Dec.
28, 2023 09:35 am | 2 min read
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Dec. 14, 2023 9:45 am | 3 min read
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Dec. 12, 2023 3:10 pm | 5 min read
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December
7, 2023 7:00 am | 2 min read
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