The Fernandina News Leader is beginning to resemble a traditional newspaper.
Reporters are producing unbiased factual articles, the opinion pages are providing entertaining, informative, and educational columns, and the sports section has vastly expanded its coverage.
The paper’s new Publisher Todd Frantz and its new Editor Jim Luksic wasted little time ridding the paper of its radical leftist editor, foaming at the mouth liberal columnists, and inept biased reporters.
The addition of Frantz and Luksic, long-time journalism veterans with more than a combined sixty years of editing and writing under their belts, so far appear to be a boon to the paper, its readers, and the community. Based on what I’ve seen these two know what they are doing, and readership and ad revenue should increase if they continue on this path.
The addition of columnist George Vaill surprised me. I didn’t expect much from the quiet man who sits at a table in a pocket park on Centre Street offering what his sign says is ”free advice.” I was wrong. His column titled “Free Advice” is refreshingly interesting, humorous, nonpolitical, and filled with common sense and fascinating stories
The only columnist qualm I have is with the Look at me! Look at Me! “Curious Columnist” ,Jennifer Silverman, whose curiosity extends only as far as the tip of her nose. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s difficult to plod through her jumble of personal pronouns and find anything of even the most remote interest.
The upstart weekly Yulee News is still far ahead of the News Leader in its coverage of the suspicious goings on at Fernandina City Hall and the questionable antics of its commissioners.
The city’s ineptitude has cost local taxpayers millions of dollars in lost lawsuits and misguided decisions. But the paper stays silent. Surely these two veteran news guys can find a passionate investigative reporter anxious to dig up facts and make a name for him or herself.
Pat Keogh, local real estate developer, attorney, and author of several national financial books, and frequent Yulee News contributor has reviled the city over the years about what he says are its “illegal taxes” in the form of impact/capacity fees. He has even successfully sued the city over the issue resulting in successful refunds of millions to local businesses. Under the paper’s former leadership nothing was ever investigated. Maybe the paper’s new regime will change that.
The closest I’ve seen the paper take a critical swipe at the City Commission recently is columnist Howard Pines, who rarely if ever ventures out of his business advice lane
In his July 16 “Coach’s Corner” column in his first in a series of items he accurately wrote: “Under Florida law, an individual commits fraud when they conceal information that should not have been hidden, when they purposely lie, or when they undertake any sort of dishonest act to benefit themselves and dupe others. Under this definition, if newly elected Fernandina Beach Commissioner Genece Minshew, as has been reported, switched parties from Democrat to Republican before she ran and switched back shortly after being elected, she is guilty of fraud.”
Pines is correct. Minshew did exactly that and publicly admitted it after she was confronted. I reported on it in this column several times and nothing happened. So what’s the new city attorney going to do about it? Is the News Leader going to investigate?
The Minshew fraud, the revealing Nassau County DOGE investigations, the allegedly illegal impact/capacity fees, and a continuing series about city’s expensive legal missteps, current and upcoming, are enough to keep an investigative reporter busy fulltime.
I’m betting that by tackling these stories the paper would generate many more subscribers and positive Florida Press Association recognition.. Otherwise they’ll sit back and watch the Yulee News cash in.
It’ll be interesting to see how things continue to unfold under the paper’s new management.
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Fiery Florida: While reading an article on wildfires recently I discovered that Florida ranks fourth in the U.S. in the number of annual wildfires.
California ranks the most vulnerable, Texas second, and North Carolina third, followed by Florida.
Most folks hereabouts have hurricane emergency kits. But evacuation routes could be different. How many of us know what precautions to take if confronted with an unexpected wildfire? In a hurricane folks head inland from the water. I assume that during a wildfire you do the opposite.
Most of the necessary items are probably already in the hurricane “bug out bag” but provisions to help protect your home may differ.
Creek Stewart, founder of Willow Haven Outdoor Survival Training School has authored a book – Disaster Survival 101 – that provides advice. WillowHavenOutdoor.com.
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Wait! What? The milquetoast heads of state of France, Canada and the United Kingdom said that they might recognize something called a “Palestine” state in Hamas-run Gaza sanctioned by an equally ineffective, insufferable, perverse, and corrupt United Nations.
They want to provide their once prestigious recognition to Hamas, whose leader Ghazi Hami, said after his group’s massacre of 1,200 Israeli Jews October 7: “We will do this again and again. Nobody should blame us for what do….everything we do is justified.
It must be embarrassingly miserable for the populations of those three countries, once examples or freedom and justice, to watch their governments be ridiculed as “surrender monkeys” while kowtowing to a sadistic organization of evil cold-blooded murderers, no better than the most vicious Nazis.
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Second Florida Detention Center Planned Nearby: Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration has begun awarding contracts to build a second detention center in Florida at Camp Blanding near Jacksonville.
Florida plans to build the second center at a Florida National Guard training center called Camp Blanding, about 27 miles (43 kilometers) southwest of downtown Jacksonville, though DeSantis has said the state is waiting for federal officials to ramp up deportations from the South Florida facility before building out the Camp Blanding site
To begin preparing the site, the Florida Division of Emergency Management awarded a $39,000 contract for a portable emergency response weather station and two lightning sirens.
The North Detention Facility will join “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades in expanding Florida’s capacity for detaining illegal immigrants.
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Is It Just Me or do other people also get nervous when they see a dog’s head hanging out of the driver’s side window of the car in front of them or beside them? Texting and talking on the phone are dangerous, but having a dog in the driver’s lap has to rank up there as an accident just waiting to happen.
I’ve also seen folks driving with a kid in their lap. A ticket for reckless driving and an arrest for child abuse should await those morons.
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Lower Than A Snake’s Belly: According to a new national poll, approval ratings for the Democrat Party are at their lowest point in more than 35 years, making some unusual things more acceptable to voters.
The Babylon Bee recently developed a list of things that are more popular than Democrats. I’ve subtracted from and added to its list.
- Kidney stones: Painful, yes, but have you ever watched an 8-hour Hakeem Jeffries speech?
- A Joy Behar kissing booth: It beats a Whoopi Goldberg kissing booth.
- British food: Who doesn’t love a good pie with fish heads sticking out of it?
- The NY Times: Its credibility is following a similar trajectory at CNN and MSNBC.
- WNBA season tickets: They supposedly have some monetary value.
- “My Mother The Car” reruns. It was so bad that Jerry Springer had more viewers.
- Bud Light and Jaguar ads: But only for their unintended humor.
- Jehovah’s Witnesses on your front porch: They may be annoying, but they’re far less dangerous than Democrats.
- Tickets to a Chicago White Sox-Oakland A’s baseball game: Slightly more popular than the Tony and Academy Awards presentations.
- Communists: But only by a little bit.
The Democrat Party has its work cut out for it. What are some other things that are more popular than Democrats?
Post your suggestions in the comments.
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Sales Are In Their Jeans: A new national poll, Economist/YouGov poll, found that only 12 percent of respondents found the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign offensive. Meanwhile, 39 percent claimed to find it clever while another 40 percent said they did not feel it was either. A mere eight percent were unsure.
In my opinion the poll reveals that 12 percent of the people responding are certifiably insane and are probably the ones that can only fit into jeans they purchase at ”Plus Size” stores
Dave don’t forget the tag along Aussies, who also feel the Hamas murderers should have their own State. They all are drinking the same woke cool aid.
The News Leader should investigate the NCSchool district re: Millsge and pornagraphic books in its school – both of the above effect Fernandina
Dave……still can’t get into the “Yulee News”. Articles have anonymous authors (“News Staff”) slinging unsubstantiated accusations or a few self-serving types who must like to see their name in a newspaper as they tell us how great they are. The bashing of the City by one author (who, I believe, doesn’t live in the City) is getting old.
And I can’t find the secret decoder ring to be able to leave a comment on an article…..when I click on “comments” nothing happens. Emailing Melissa (editor) is the only viable avenue to provide feedback……but no one will see it! I’m not a fan of one-sided news where responses are not welcome.
This whole Minshew thing does not surprise me. Anyone that voted for her just because she had an R next to her name (Insert cliché) gets the government they deserve. Add this group of ill-informed/uninformed that would do such a thing to the blue-haired Boomers and Gen Z Libs on the Island and there you have it.
Minshew deceived people, as you mentioned low information voters plus low knowledge influencers presented a false narrative.
Elections have consequences.
Yes, NL new management has made improvements. Citizens Journal Florida reported Genece Minshew’s double party switching hijinks long before the News Leader did.
Thanks Dave!