The Florida Times-Union

A Venice, Fla., woman critically injured Sunday in a two-vehicle accident in Middleburg has died, the Florida Highway Patrol said Thursday. Annette L. Castello, 67, was hospitalized in critical condition after the accident on  Blanding Boulevard at County Road 215. Investigators said Castello drove her Toyota Prius through a stop sign and flashing red light about 5:15 p.m. and into the path of a ... Full Story »

After saying its original goal was to raise fan interest enough to sell out next Thursday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, the civic group Touchdown Jacksonville backed off that on Thursday. “Selling out the Thursday game is not the goal,” said Lenny Curry, gameday event chairman for Touchdown Jacksonville, during a news conference to discuss the events that would ... Full Story »

A Venice, Fl., woman critically injured Sunday in a two-vehicle accident in Middleburg has died, the Florida Highway Patrol said Thursday. Annette Castello, 67, was hospitalized in critical condition after the accident on  Blanding Boulevard at County Road 215. Investigators said Castello drove her Toyota Prius through a stop sign and flashing red light about 5:15 p.m. and into the path of a ... Full Story »

After saying its original goal was to raise fan interest enough to sell out next Thursday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, the civic group Touchdown Jacksonville backed off that goal on Thursday. “Selling out the Thursday game is not the goal,” said Lenny Curry, gameday event chairman for Touchdown Jacksonville, during a news conference to discuss the events that ... Full Story »

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A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office motorcycle officer suffered minor injuries this afternoon when his bike slipped on a patch of diesel fuel on the Westside. The unidentified officer was driving west on Commonwealth Avenue about 12:30 p.m. when he turned south onto Edgewood Avenue and began to skid, police said. The officer's bike went down near the intersection. The officer was taken to a local ... Full Story »

Police are interviewing possible witnesses to a late morning shooting of a man found dead Wednesday at a Jacksonville apartment complex. The victim, believed to be about 20 years old, was found after police were called about 11:30 a.m. to the Roosevelt Gardens apartments in the 700 block of Lincoln Court just east of Interstate 95 north of Eighth Street. read more Full Story »

As a responsible tax-paying citizen my entire life, I very much resent the pro-Obama ranter calling conservatives boneheaded. I'm a proud conservative who very much does not want to see the United States continue to move toward a Marxist/socialist country. The evidence is certainly there. We can make the points we choose to make without calling those who might disagree by crude, stupid names ... Full Story »

BRUNSWICK - A federal judge has postponed a trial to determine the fate of a controversial construction project on Cumberland Island. Jury selection for case was to have begun Monday in U.S. District Court in Brunswick. Island resident Ben Jenkins has challenged a National Park Service order halting construction of a home on leased property inside the boundaries of the national seashore. read more Full Story »

It was the 1970s and Leila Mousa was a Ribault High School teacher with an overwhelmed student. read more Full Story »

Group to host holiday festival for pets, owners Jacksonville's Animal Care and Protective Services is inviting all pet owners and prospective pet owners to a holiday festival Saturday. The event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2020 Forest St. and is free. Pets and people will have the opportunity to take photos with Santa, and all adoptions will be half price. It will include arts and crafts, live ... Full Story »

DARIEN - Despite dire budget constraints, the McIntosh County Commission voted this week to find funds for the construction of the initial phase of a pedestrian-bicycle path. read more Full Story »

When 10-year-old Christopher Cioffi walks into a room and spots an unfamiliar face, he leaps into action, first tickling the visitor and then showing off every toy in his toy box. read more Full Story »

Andrew Jackson High student Tyronika Webber sat in a desk next to Principal Iranetta Wright. They looked over some test scores. Webber was just below grade level on her math Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test from last spring, but a couple of levels off on reading. The reading scores landed her in an intensive reading class. Wright showed the 10th grader the results of tests she's taken this ... Full Story »

It was the 1970s and Leila Mousa was a Ribault High School teacher with an overwhelmed student. Reading “The Grapes of Wrath” seemed a daunting task for the teenager. “He looked at that thick book, and I figured, 'Don’t let that scare you,’ ” Mousa said. She tore out the first two chapters in the paperback and handed them to him. Two chapters at a time, the student made his way through John ... Full Story »

Andrew Jackson High student Tyronika Webber sat in a desk next to Principal Iranetta Wright. read more Full Story »

University of North Florida When 10-year-old Christopher Cioffi walks into a room and spots an unfamiliar face, he leaps into action, first tickling the visitor and then showing off every toy in his toy box. Seconds later, he discovers the visitor's cell phone and then, bored with that, grabs a camera and sets off the flash several times. For single father Edward Cioffi, dealing with Christopher ... Full Story »

Jonathan Taylor had wanted to be a warrior since he was a boy — not just to fight but to serve. “Jonathan was one of those idealists,” James Miller, Taylor’s history teacher at Wolfson High School, said Wednesday. ”He understood why we started this country. He got the sacrifices behind this country.” Hundreds gathered Wednesday at Celebration Church on the Southside to salute Taylor’s own ... Full Story »

The state levied a record $30,500 fine Wednesday against the operator of an unlicensed day care where a toddler died after being left in a hot car in June. The fine against Shantel P. Wilcher, 39, is the largest ever in Jacksonville against an unlicensed child-care provider and one of the largest in Florida, said Department of Children and Families spokesman John Harrell. read more Full Story »

Sarah Jarvis is home. After witnessing for Jesus on the streets of East Arlington for 22 years, the neighborhood fixture known as The Bible Lady died Monday after being struck by a truck. The accident occurred as Jarvis walked across Mount Pleasant Road about dawn, Jacksonville police said. Witnesses said the driver had a green light and tried to brake before hitting Jarvis, 73, tossing her and ... Full Story »

A veteran Jacksonville firefighter arrested for accepting cash for allowing inmates he supervised to receive unauthorized visits has pleaded guilty to three bribery counts. Daniel W. Foote, 54, was sentenced to three years of house arrest and ordered to retire from the fire department, where he worked for 21 years. Circuit Judge Linda McCallum also ordered him to pay $1,000 to the Jacksonville ... Full Story »

The Clay County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help finding a suspect in seven burglaries. The agency has released photos of the man while in a store holding a small child. "We would like to encourage the community to call ... with any information that may help us identify him so he can be contacted," according to a news release. Anyone with information should call 264-6512.   Full Story »

The Clay County Health Department will hold two by-appointment-only clinics Friday and Dec. 19 for people in at-risk groups who want to get the H1N1 flu shot . The shots will be offered to people who are pregnant, live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age, are between 6 months and 24 years old, or are between 25 and 64 years old and have a chronic illness like diabetes or asthma ... Full Story »

A third arrest has been made in the robbery of a pizza delivery driver who was called to an abandoned house Thursday, a day before a similar stick-up got a woman killed. Two co-defendants in the case had already been charged in Thursday’s robbery and with murder and armed robbery in Friday’s shooting. read more Full Story »

A Green Cove Springs pilot was unharmed when a support strut crumpled when he landed his small plane in the St. Johns River Tuesday, authorities said. Donald R. Wicklund, 69, was attempting to land the single engine Avid Heavy Hauler on the river near the Knights boat ramp when a strut weld on a pontoon broke, causing the engine and a wing tip to dip into the water then submerge, according to ... Full Story »