The Florida Times-Union

Week of Valor calendar of events read more Full Story »

Early-morning birding at Hofwyl-Broadfield site Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site will host a birding outing at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 at the park, off U.S. 17 near the Glynn-McIntosh county line. Ranger Andy Beckman will lead the outing at the antebellum rice plantation and the adjacent Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area impoundments. read more Full Story »

ATLANTA– Governor Sonny Perdue announced Monday that he has certified $65.8 million in transportation projects under the “1511 Certification” that will be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as stimulus money. “These projects will bring safety improvements and needed maintenance and support to roads, intersections and bridges around Georgia,” said Perdue. “The ... Full Story »

WOODBINE — Camden County employees will pay more for health insurance benefits as a way to save the county more than $350,000 a year. “It was a very difficult decision,” commission Chairman David Rainer  said. “It was done to help bring the budget in line. These are just hard times.” Rainer said he and other commissioners struggled with the decision because county workers have not been given a ... Full Story »

A Putnam County deputy who followed two sets of footprints along a dirt road arrested two men on charges of armed burglary and theft Saturday, the Sheriff's Office said Monday. John Michael Sturdivant, 20, and Michael Monroe Green, 27, of Florahome, were charged Saturday after deputy Terry Kruger met with a homeowner who reported several firearms, jewelry and other items had been stolen from his ... Full Story »

A nonprofit veterans group that raises money running Internet-based gaming centers in several Florida counties gave away more than a million dollars in donations Monday. Benefactors attended a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Jacksonville, where Allied Veterans of the World Inc. and Affiliates gave checks to hospitals, food banks and other agencies that help veterans and the needy ... Full Story »

BRUNSWICK — Camden County businessman Fairley Cisco  wants to stand trial alone and somewhere other than Southeast Georgia on federal charges accusing him and four others of a multimillion-dollar fuel fraud and conspiring to bribe state officials. Cisco, 67, is also asking a federal judge to ban the government from using evidence discovered when Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents and other ... Full Story »

The newly elected chairwoman of the Duval County Legislative Delegation warned dozens of government and nonprofit leaders Monday that this is not the year to ask for new funding for their agencies. “I just want to remind everybody that we have no money,” Rep. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, said to kick off the delegation’s annual organizational meeting and public hearing. “As you come, please ... Full Story »

The brunt of Tropical Storm Ida won’t touch Northeast Florida, but pesky rain bands that have already caused some Veterans Day event cancellations will buffet the First Coast today. Wednesday’s St. Johns County Veterans Day ceremony at St. Francis Special Events Field and a performance today by the Florida National Guard’s 13th Army Band have been cancelled due to weather and safety concerns ... Full Story »

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cancelled a Missing Child Alert issued early this morning. The case of Nakhya Butler, 9, who was last seen in Wildwood in Sumter County on Sunday has been resolved, the agency reported. The alert was dismissed shortly before 7:30 a.m. No other information was immediately available from the agency. The case is being handled by Wildwood police. Full Story »

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued the following Missing Child Alert: Nakhya Butler, 9, was last seen in Wildwood in Sumter County on Sunday and may be in the company of Nathan Butler, 39. Nakhya is a black female, 4 feet tall, 95 pounds, with black hair with blonde streaks and brown eyes. She has a birthmark on her right cheek. Nathan Butler is a black male, 39 years old, 6 ... Full Story »

More than a quarter of the workers at the new Duval County Courthouse construction site provided false identification documents to the city, authorities said. Federal officials discovered about 100 fake documents after looking at the paperwork the city started collecting three weeks ago to crack down on arrests of undocumented workers. The city was informed of the federal checks Monday, the same ... Full Story »

A Putnam County deputy who followed two sets of footprints along a dirt road arrested two men on charges of armed burglary and theft Saturday, authorities said. read more Full Story »

A drienne A. LaPorte, an Army nurse in Vietnam, escaped the heartbreak of her job - helping young soldiers cope with the loss of their buddies, or loss of their limbs - by helping people in a nearby village. "It helped me separate from the gore," said LaPorte, now 71 and living in Jacksonville Beach. She was among 302 Vietnam-era veterans, including about a dozen women, honored Monday at a ... Full Story »

Monday was declared "Tom Petway Day" by local Republicans to honor the Jacksonville businessman at a dinner for all he's done for the GOP. But the guest of honor was potential 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. And the main course apparently was President Barack Obama. read more Full Story »

KINGSLAND, Ga. - Two Camden County truck stops and a gas station closed since January will be auctioned Dec. 1 on the courthouse steps. The three beleaguered businesses, at the center of a federal indictment, a federal class action lawsuit and a state racketeering complaint, were originally owned by Fairley Cisco of St. Mary. read more Full Story »

ATLANTA - State tax collections fell again in October compared with the same month in the previous fiscal year, according to figures released Monday by Gov. Sonny Perdue's office. Collections were off 18 percent, or 15 percent for the first four months of the fiscal year. One think tank called for tax increases to prevent further cuts, but Perdue's staff said emergency action isn't needed. read ... Full Story »

Veterans Day observances will begin today and continue through Wednesday in Southeast Georgia. Kevin Cannon of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center will speak at 8:30 a.m. today at Goodyear Elementary School in a program that will include patriotic music and everyone singing "It's a Grand Old Flag." St. Simons Elementary first-graders will honor veterans with a musical program at the ... Full Story »

At the Blue Angels show I was at the Wall, head uncovered, and a fellow vet offered me his hand, inquired if I were a vet and thanked me for my service. I, in turn, thanked him. Thank you for your service! Such a simple sentence with such a profound message. To all military men and women, active duty, retired, veteran, thank you for your service! May God bless and keep you safe! Juveniles are ... Full Story »

Early-morning birding at Hofwyl-Broadfield site read more Full Story »

A look at some of the items the Jacksonville City Council will consider, and public hearings it will hold, at its meeting at 5 p.m. today at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St. Issue: City Council salaries read more Full Story »

ORANGE PARK — Diena  Thompson woke Monday morning with no one to turn to for the first time since her daughter, Somer, vanished three weeks ago. No family. No friends. No strangers. There was just an eerie silence and the bitter memories of a nightmare that continues to consume a once-cheerful mother with grief and anger. “It’s hard being alone with your thoughts,” Thompson, 35, cried during a ... Full Story »

WASHINGTON — Florida’s tough stance against juvenile criminals was debated on a national stage Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments by lawyers for two North Florida inmates challenging their life-without-parole prison sentences in non-homicides. read more Full Story »

After giving talk about leaving downtown a lukewarm reception for years, Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair officials have signed off on having the city study a possible move to the Westside. The carrot that likely swung the fair board to consider the move is the opportunity to run the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, now run by the same company that manages Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and ... Full Story »

The Duval County Health Department today issued a rabies alert for parts of Jacksonville's Mandarin neighborhood. The alert, Duval's fifth this year, was prompted by the discovery of a rabid raccoon. The area under focus is bounded on the north by the St. Johns River at the Buckman Bridge, on the south by Flynn Road at Emperor Drive, on the east by Waverly Dock Road at Lake Manadarin Circle West ... Full Story »