Buses outnumber drivers as the school year begins
Some drivers will run routes two and three times over, plus a lawsuit against the city and a $12 million waterfront sale.
St. Johns County's school district is opening the new year without enough drivers to cover its routes one for one, and families will feel it on the first morning. The district operates 325 buses but currently has about 275 drivers, Superintendent Dr. Brennan Asplen said during an interview on The Morning Show, which forces some drivers to run double — or even triple — pickups each morning and afternoon. About 40 double runs are currently part of the schedule, meaning one driver finishes a route, turns around, and covers another before the bell. Drivers will likely be doing multiple runs on the first day of school, so pickup and drop-off windows on affected routes can sit well outside a normal single-run schedule. (News4JAX)
Gun-rights group sues city over firearms signs
Florida Carry, a statewide gun-rights organization, has sued the City of St. Augustine over signs prohibiting firearms at public facilities, alleging the signage conflicts with state law. The complaint centers on a sign at the Visitor Information Center on South Castillo Drive that prohibits firearms on the property. The suit also names city officials personally rather than suing the city alone, an unusual step that puts individual officials on the other side of the case in their personal capacity. (St. Johns Citizen)
Local candidates have raised more than $300,000
With 12 days to go before the Aug. 18 primary, St. Johns County Commission and School Board candidates have collectively raised more than $300,000 between contributions and loans. Campaign finance reports show money reaching local races from political committees and business interests as well as individual contributors. The $300,000 figure counts contributions and loans together across both the commission and school board fields. Those filings are part of the county's public campaign finance record ahead of the vote. (St. Augustine Social)
4,462-acre rezoning near Nocatee gets Aug. 18 hearing
St. Johns County commissioners will hold a public hearing Aug. 18 on a proposed rezoning that could permit thousands of new homes on a wooded swath of land north of Nocatee Parkway and west of the Intracoastal. The 4,462-acre property is owned by the Jacksonville-based Sonoc Company, which is requesting the change. Commissioners take it up at that hearing, where the question is whether to allow that scale of residential development on a tract that is currently wooded. The Aug. 18 date is also the county primary, putting a major land use decision and the vote on the same day. (St. Augustine Social)
$12 million waterfront land sale
Ashley Homes has purchased 50 waterfront acres in St. Augustine for $12 million. The price works out to roughly $240,000 an acre for waterfront land inside the city. (Jacksonville Daily Record)
Casting call for a December Christmas production
Local actors of all ages are invited to audition for The Greatest Gift, an immersive Christmas production coming to The Village Church at World Golf Village this December. The original stage experience takes audiences from a modern-day living room to the first Holy Night, telling the story through a family-centered lens. Because the call is open across age ranges rather than limited to an adult cast, children and teenagers can try out alongside adults. Rehearsal and performance work would run through the back half of the year to reach a December opening. (St. Augustine Social)
Weenapalooza weenie races and dog festival Aug. 8
The Weenapalooza Weenie Races & Dog Festival is set for Aug. 8 at 25 W. Castillo Drive in St. Augustine. Races and festival activities run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a five-hour window covering the middle of the day just off the north end of downtown. Expect dog traffic and parking pressure in the blocks around Castillo Drive during that stretch. (City of St. Augustine calendar)
Concerts in the Plaza: Dewey Via Band Aug. 13
Concerts in the Plaza brings the Dewey Via Band to 170 St. George St. on Aug. 13. The set is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., a two-hour evening show in the plaza at the heart of the downtown pedestrian district. It is one in the city's running summer concert series at the same St. George Street location. (City of St. Augustine calendar)