DrewDixon's blog

See background on this issue with a report from Times-Union Shorelines writer Drew Dixon with video:

http://www.shorelines.com/node/1290

What happened to the First Coast chapter of Surfrider Foundation?

The local chapter of the group was officially chartered in 2002 and the only reason anyone took notice was the beach access advocacy Surfrider Foundation showed in Ponte Vedra Beach. It’s a far cry from today’s Surfrider Foundation that is slow to respond to First Coast beach access issues.

Two key events in the past year showed the shadow of what Surfrider used to be: First, was the proposed management plan for Huguenot Memorial Park on Fort George Island. The second was the recent request by Jacksonville Beach city government to clear several beach access dune crossovers that had been covered by sand.

See video about this story from Drew Dixon by going to our video file and clicking on "dune crossings" :

http://www.shorelines.com/video

By DREW DIXON
drew.dixon@shorelines.com
JACKSONVILLE BEACH — After a plea for help to clear some of the 35 public dune crossovers at beach accesses, the city is getting some assistance.

This fall, Jacksonville Beach Assistant City Manager Roy Paxson raised concerns that several of the beach access crossovers were threatened by encroaching and building sand dunes. The sand was literally starting to cover many of the crossovers at public beach accesses due to shifting winds from tropical storms and nor’easters. Paxson said the city couldn’t afford to remove all the sand because it has to be done by hand since state law prohibits heavy machinery near the sand dunes.

The Mayport Waterfront Partnership says it wants no part of a proposed settlement with the Jacksonville Port Authority that would legally clear the way for a proposed cruise ship terminal in the historic village. Shorelines reporter Drew Dixon has the story with video:

http://www.jacksonville.com/community/shorelines/2008-12-20/partnership_objects_to_mayport_settlement_plan

Surfboard manufacturers — or “shapers” — on the First Coast face more threats from foreign surfboards than ever before and it will be difficult for them to continue to provide custom boards.

As the current Douglas Anderson School for the Arts film documentary project is showing, local surfboard shapers have more competition than ever from foreign-made boards known as “pop-outs.” Jacksonville Beach shaper Jim Dunlop said the students face a formidable challenge in capturing the complicated angles of the subject.

But much more formidable is the challenge facing local shapers and there’s only about a half-dozen custom shapers left in Duval County.

 A Douglas Anderson School for the Arts film documentary now in production focuses on the threat of foreign import surfboards poses to local surfboard manufactures or "shapers." Shorelines reporter Drew Dixon has the story and has video detailing some of the challenges facing surboard builders:

http://www.jacksonville.com/community/shorelines/2008-12-20/student_film_highlighting_plight_of_surfboard_shapers_wins_praise

Ridership on the Mayport ferry has dropped by about one-third in the past year since the Jacksonville Port Authority assumed control of the service crossing the St. Johns River about a Jacksonville.

While that seems somewhat depressing to some supporters of the Mayport ferry, remember the JPA also reports they have managed to reduce the deficit it takes to run the ferry from about $1 million per year in subsidies when the city ran the operation to about $500,000 in JPA subsidies. Still, that's a ways off from what the JPA said was its goal of running the ferry like a business and reduce necessary subsidies entirely.

Ridership on the Mayport ferry has decreased in the past year since the Jacksonville Port Authority assumed owners. Shorelines reporter Drew Dixon has the story with video...

http://www.jacksonville.com/community/shorelines/2008-12-17/number_of_people_riding_the_ferry_is_dwindling

Check out analysis on the story from Drew Dixon:

http://shorelines.com/node/1269

Not really.

Yes some business owners feel they're being picked on by Atlantic Beach city leaders because they want them to  get rid of their chain-link fences that face Mayport Road. For many roadways and streets, this might seem pretty petty.

But on Mayport Road, this one small step among many others in the past year by Atlantic Beach is anything but petty. If anyone has driven down Mayport Raod in the past few weeks, they've seen the results of a major renovation to Mayport Road as part of   $5 milliion overhaul to the thoroughfare that once was described as the most dangerous road in Duval County by a public official.

It seems simple enough that a brand spankin' new sidewalk and possible accompanying bike path would be welcomed by just about any neighborhood that doesn't currently have one.

But in Atlantic Beach, it's not so simple and residents on Main Street mounted such an obstinant opposition, even the City Comission backed down Dec. 8 from spending between $80,000 to $130,000 for the pathway. City Public Works Director Rick Carper had a good plan for the pathway and despite some residents who conjectured it would raise their taxes, the project was already a budgeted item and would have required no additional tax revenue.