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Fernandina Observer An on-line news source focusing on news and information that impacts the City of Fernandina Beach, Florida and Nassau County. A Journal of News and Opinion

Little More Parking Space Available Downtown
14/05/2024

Little More Parking Space Available Downtown

By Mike Lednovich There was good news and bad news about parking in historic downtown Fernandina Beach at the city commission workshop and regular meeting Tuesday. The good news is that city commissioners agreed to make North Seventh Street a one-way road that will be able to provide 26 more parking...

New Approach Will Allow Partial Work on Alachua
09/05/2024

New Approach Will Allow Partial Work on Alachua

By Mike Lednovich The long-anticipated opening of Alachua Street to Front Street has met yet another bump in the road, this time escalating construction costs. A crucial stormwater capture and release system into the Amelia River was originally priced at $1.9 million in 2018. But Fernandina Beach In...

Pat’s Wildways: Getting Older, Still Adventuring
09/05/2024

Pat’s Wildways: Getting Older, Still Adventuring

By Pat Foster-Turley It’s hard to admit, even to myself, that I am getting old. Somehow, this was never going to happen to me. I have always had an adventurous, active traveling life, and am known for taking risks in the name of excitement. My mindset is still the same, but, alas, my body isn’t....

RYAM Neighbor Files for Hearing on Air Quality Permit
09/05/2024

RYAM Neighbor Files for Hearing on Air Quality Permit

Tom Budd, who is a member of a coalition of local conservation groups and concerned citizens, has filed for a formal administrative hearing with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) regarding the request for air quality permit that was submitted by RYAM (Rayonier Advanced Materi...

At Twisted Table, Brunch Is a Must-Try
30/04/2024

At Twisted Table, Brunch Is a Must-Try

  By Dylan Bailey Twisted Table is a name that isn’t unfamiliar in Fernandina Beach. Joining the island as a brunch place almost two years ago, the restaurant has stood strong and continued to grow. And how are they doing now? Well, I had a hankering for a meal, so I drove down and visited. [...]

In Your Face: Port Operator Ignores Agreed Warehouse Location
30/04/2024

In Your Face: Port Operator Ignores Agreed Warehouse Location

By Mike Lednovich Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) commissioners found themselves in the proverbial “between a rock and a hard space” after the company that runs the port erected a massive storage tent in a different location than had previously been approved. Homeowners on North Third St...

Keep Nassau Beautiful’s Eco-Expo Coming in May
30/04/2024

Keep Nassau Beautiful’s Eco-Expo Coming in May

By Wilma Allen The Wild Amelia Nature Festival’s signature event, Eco-Expo, will take place May 18 at Main Beach Park this year, alongside Nassau County’s special “Opening of the Beaches” celebration. Together, these free events offer a full day of fun, educational and entertaining events fo...

Three Candidates Join City Commissioner Race
30/04/2024

Three Candidates Join City Commissioner Race

By Mike Lednovich Genece Minshew and Joyce Tuten have filed as candidates for the Fernandina Beach city commission election. Minshew, who is running for a third time, is seeking Seat 2 held by Vice Mayor David Sturges. He is seeking re-election. Tuten filed for Seat 1 held by Mayor Bradley Bean, who...

Local Plant Society Hosting State ‘Floribunda’ Art Show
30/04/2024

Local Plant Society Hosting State ‘Floribunda’ Art Show

By Lauri deGaris The mission of the Florida Native Plant Society is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida. The Florida Native Plant Society has 6000 members in 33 chapters around the state. The Ixia Chapter serves the....

Top Dance Company Here Again in May
30/04/2024

Top Dance Company Here Again in May

By Wilma Allen One of the most dazzling ensembles in last fall’s Amelia Island Dance Festival, the Atlanta Dance Connection, is returning for special performances May 10 and 11 at Amelia Community Theatre. And they should be sensational. “When they performed last year, the audience went crazy,.....

Residents Aghast at Amelia Baptists’ PUD Proposal
30/04/2024

Residents Aghast at Amelia Baptists’ PUD Proposal

By Mike Lednovich   Amelia Baptist Church held a neighborhood meeting Monday and revealed its plans to construct two condominium buildings with 24 total units along the Amelia River on an oak-lined street of residential homes off Buccaneer Trail. The 3.64 acres the church owns are zoned residential...

Judge Sends City, Port Back to Mediation
30/04/2024

Judge Sends City, Port Back to Mediation

By Mike Lednovich The seemingly never-ending legal wrangling over whether the Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) is required to continue to make payments to the City of Fernandina Beach for services it provides is going to mediation for a second time in five years. Last week, Nassau County Circ...

O’Brien’s: A Bit of Grease, Good Fare, but You’d Better Like Beer
30/04/2024

O’Brien’s: A Bit of Grease, Good Fare, but You’d Better Like Beer

By Dylan Bailey An authentic Irish pub experience is a rarity in these parts. So, I couldn’t resist the lure of O’Brien’s Irish Pub. With my Irish roots tingling in anticipation, I made my way to the small pub. The first encounter with O’Brien’s is likely to be quite unassuming. On the out...

A Fruitful Whale Season Marred by Too Many Deaths
30/04/2024

A Fruitful Whale Season Marred by Too Many Deaths

    By Lauri deGaris On April 11, 2024 the Amelia Island Whale Ambassadors threw a whale of baby shower at the Florida House Inn. Dozens of right whale supporters came to offer support and celebrate the mom and calves born this season. The 2023-2024 right whale caving season can be summed up as ro...

Your Best Recipe Could Be in a New Amelia Cookbook
30/04/2024

Your Best Recipe Could Be in a New Amelia Cookbook

By Wilma Allen Area cooking enthusiasts are invited to submit their favorite recipes for “The Amelia Island Table: Celebrating Community with Stories & Recipes.” This new cookbook will be published by Story & Song Bookstore Bistro in partnership with the not-for-profit Barnabas Center. Since its...

Airport Touch-n-Pay Idea Meets Cheers — and Doubts
18/04/2024

Airport Touch-n-Pay Idea Meets Cheers — and Doubts

By Mike Lednovich Members of the city’s Airport Advisory Commission (AAC) faced a three-quarters-full meeting room Thursday as they heard a proposal that would charge pilots a landing fee at Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport. Normally during routine AAC meetings only a handful of people are on ha...

Antun Files for Mayor Position
12/04/2024

Antun Files for Mayor Position

City Commissioner James Antun has filed to run for Fernandina Beach Mayor. Antun was elected to the city commission in 2022. He will face City Commissioner Darron Ayscue for the mayor’s seat in the August city elections. “I look forward to this opportunity to serve the community that I have call...

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ Opening Soon at ACT
12/04/2024

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ Opening Soon at ACT

Christopher Durang’s award-winning comedy “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” opens April 18 at Amelia Community Theatre at 207 Cedar St. Vanya and Sonia are siblings, living on the family farm in Pennsylvania. Their sister Masha, a famous actress, drops in unexpectedly with her much younger...

First Lower Density Step Taken in Race to Beat ‘Live Local’ Law
12/04/2024

First Lower Density Step Taken in Race to Beat ‘Live Local’ Law

By Mike Lednovich In an effort to blunt revisions to Florida’s “Live Local Act,” which supersedes all local government regulations regarding development, the city’s Planning Advisory Board (PAB) voted Wednesday to lower the density in the Central Business District from 34 units to 18 units p...

Review: ‘Songs of the Sea’ — and More Delights Coming
12/04/2024

Review: ‘Songs of the Sea’ — and More Delights Coming

By Wilma Allen Make no mistake: creativity, talent, and cooperation are alive and well on Amelia Island. Last weekend’s “Songs of the Sea” was a perfect example. This was a rollicking Celtic songfest produced by Amelia Island Opera and performed in the Museum of History’s former Nassau Count...

Airport to Consider Automated Landing Fees That Would Discourage Touch and Gos
12/04/2024

Airport to Consider Automated Landing Fees That Would Discourage Touch and Gos

By Mike Lednovich Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport Director Sam Carver supports airplane landings fees as an additional revenue stream for facility maintenance like next year’s $4 million runway refurbishing project. Carver intends to educate the city’s Airport Advisory Commission about an aut...

Commentary: Want to Cut Taxes? Look at Marina Subsidy
12/04/2024

Commentary: Want to Cut Taxes? Look at Marina Subsidy

By Chip Ross City Commissioner Citizens want to cut taxes, but the subsidy of the Marina continues to consume approximately 2.2% of the general budget. Currently the city taxpayers subsidize the city-owned Marina approximately $700,000 per year – approximately 2.2 % of the general budget. That sub...

A Good-Deed Effort Saves Two Special Camellias
12/04/2024

A Good-Deed Effort Saves Two Special Camellias

By Mike Lednovich Local developer Todd Bates, who is planning to build four houses on Kenneth Court, answered the call last week when local environmental groups contacted him about saving two 80-year-old Gerbing Camellia bushes that were on the property. Bates stepped up at his own expense and contr...

Another View of the Cross — And of a Christian Message
12/04/2024

Another View of the Cross — And of a Christian Message

By Linda Hart Green Why don’t I wear a cross? You’d have to have known my mother. She wasn’t a cross-wearer either, and she didn’t really talk about it. That was not her style. She was a beautiful person inside and out who believed that actions speak louder than words. Her motto was kindness...

Commentary: It’s Now or Never to Keep Our City Liveable
05/04/2024

Commentary: It’s Now or Never to Keep Our City Liveable

By Mike Lednovich The deadline is just six weeks away for candidacy in the Fernandina Beach city commission and a concerning silence persists. Despite widespread dissatisfaction with the current leadership of Mayor Bradley Bean and Vice Mayor David Sturges, no contenders have emerged to challenge th...

FAA Proposes Expansion of Controlled Airspace over Amelia Island
04/04/2024

FAA Proposes Expansion of Controlled Airspace over Amelia Island

By Mike Lednovich It won’t happen next week, next month, or even this year. But in the not-too-distant future, the skies over Amelia Island are about to change, and not for the better for those who cherish serenity. That’s because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants to expand its con...

Commentary: Book-Banners Who Preach a War Between Good and Evil
04/04/2024

Commentary: Book-Banners Who Preach a War Between Good and Evil

By Linda Hart Green A number of books have been removed from Nassau County school classrooms and libraries. The local group, Citizens Defending Freedom, was responsible for the challenges that led to the removal, citing materials found in violation of Florida Statute 847.012. Several books were remo...

The Surf Restaurant is a Wipeout
04/04/2024

The Surf Restaurant is a Wipeout

By Dylan Bailey The Surf Restaurant, a bar and beach motel standing since 1957, offers a unique dining experience that leaves a lasting impression. Whether for good or otherwise, will depend entirely on how you plan to dine. With a beautiful outdoor deck and a tiki bar, the ambiance screams ‘beach...

City-Port Fuss Takes Another Step Toward Resolution
04/04/2024

City-Port Fuss Takes Another Step Toward Resolution

By Mike Lednovich The City of Fernandina Beach is done haggling with the Ocean Highway and Port Authority (OHPA) regarding $250,000 it claims is owed in payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) collections. City Attorney Tammi Bach said the city’s outside legal firm of Bryant Miller Olive has filed a moti...

Yet Again, City Candidate Switches Seats
04/04/2024

Yet Again, City Candidate Switches Seats

By Mike Lednovich City Commission candidate Charles A. (Tony) Morris has changed again to a new seat and opponent for the August city election. According to City Clerk Caroline Best, Morris filed to change to city commission seat 3. That seat is held by Commissioner Chip Ross, who is termed out and....

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Editor’s Note: At the June 19, 2013, Nassau County Commission meeting, Judge Robert Foster discussed a dispute between Nassau County Clerk of Courts John Crawford and Judges Moran and Foster. According to Judge Foster, “In any other county in this state, this matter would have been worked out between Chief Judge Moran and the Clerk.” We encourage you to watch this 8 minute video.

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