Regional

City Commission Group 2 candidate Genece Minshew said she believes the Fernandina Beach City Commission should keep funds in the 2020-21 fiscal year budget to overhaul the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code. “We all talk about managing growth and development, and this is the only way that you can affect meaningful change,” she said. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

City sets millage, approves budget despite warnings

News Staff
Friday, September 25, 2020
At its final public budget hearing on the 2020-21 fiscal year millage rate and budget, the Fernandina Beach City Commission approved an “adjusted” rollback millage rate by a 3-2 vote, with two commissioners urging caution due to the downturn in the economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ...
Nassau County Emergency Services Director Greg Foster. “Nobody’s going to guarantee that you are going to be totally safe and you’re not going to get the virus, but at least (a mask) gives a block, a certain amount of safety to keep people from getting the virus, which is our goal in emergency management. My goal is to make sure people don’t have to suffer. I’ll do anything I can so people don’t have to suffer,” Foster said. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

Foster continues to support masks

News Staff
Friday, September 25, 2020
At its Wednesday, Sept. 23, meeting, the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council’s Board of Directors heard from Nassau County Emergency Services Director Greg Foster, who urged following CDC guidelines and wearing masks to help slow the spread of coronavirus. This recommendation came directly...
MICHAEL MILLER/NEWS-LEADER AND CDC

County reverses mandate on mask wearing

News Staff
Friday, September 25, 2020
The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners has reversed its mandate on wearing masks inside county businesses when social distancing is not possible, and is instead “encouraging” the practice via a new executive order dated Thursday. Wearing a mask will continue to be required to enter and...
A clown gives an enthusiastic greeting to customers as they step into the scary experience that is Spirit of Halloween. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

Pop-up Halloween store provides some ‘horrible’ fun

News Staff
Friday, September 25, 2020
While big parties and trick-or-treating might not be in the cards this year due to precautions taken due to the coronavirus pandemic, Halloween is coming anyway, and the Spirit of Halloween store in the Island Walk Shopping Center is ready to provide everything needed for a scary good time. Store...
Fernandina Beach Middle School’s Devin Murray and Alex Pulwicz wrap up a Callahan Middle School football player Tuesday night in Callahan. AMANDA REAM/COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS INC.

FBMS Pirates fall to Callahan 22-0

News Staff
Friday, September 25, 2020
The Fernandina Beach Middle School football team traveled to Callahan to take on the Ramblers Tuesday night. The hosts were 22-0 victors. “We had a hard time getting their offense off the field,” FBMS Coach Raleigh Green said. “Callahan played well and were physical, and we weren’t able...
The wreckage of the small airplane that crashed in Hilliard Monday. Photo courtesy Nassau County Sheriff's Office

Pilot dies in plane crash

News Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
The 74-year-old pilot of a single-engine airplane died in a crash in Hilliard Monday, according to a news release sent Monday night from the Florida Highway Patrol. The man, who was not named by the FHP, was from Palm Coast and was the only occupant of the aircraft. The release said his next of kin...
Devin Mizell wants an unpaid job – to sit on the board of the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District – in order to educate local farmers how best to care for the environment while growing crops. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

Callahan pilot seeking Soil and Water seat

News Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
When Devin Mizell started a farm, he knew a bit about farming; his family has generations of farmers. “I don’t ever remember a time my grandpa or somebody didn’t have cows,” Mizell said. “I grew up on a family farm in Callahan. It didn’t come out of nowhere. But learning how best...
Josh Sheppard has worked for Coastal Pizza for just under four years, coming with the company from Yulee to their new Amelia Island location. Twirling pizza dough into the air, he said he has fun at work, adding, “I love what I do.” JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

Coastal Pizza arrives on Amelia Island

News Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Fans of Italian food made “for locals, by locals” have a new option for dining on Amelia Island – Coastal Pizza, which made the move last month from Yulee to 1916 S. 14th St. in the Villages of Amelia shopping center. Owner Tom DeMario said the business moved from where it had been for five...
Fernandina Beach High School golfer Eric Brumme. BOSTON PHOTOGRAPHY

FBHS golf teams kick off season with wins

News Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
The Fernandina Beach High School golf teams are perfect on the season so far. The girls were 4-0 heading into Saturday’s invitational at Jacksonville Beach, and the boys’ record stands at 6-0. The FBHS Lady Pirates beat Bishop Kenny 162-182 in the opener on Sept. 8 at Deercreek Country Club....
Henry Green sits surrounded by some of the people he has helped through the Grace and Gratitude Sober Living program. He and Dr. Jeff Blyth are both recovering addicts and fighting the city of Fernandina Beach to keep the four houses that comprise Grace and Gratitude’s facilities open. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

City reviews the health and safety of recovery houses

News Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
No one disputes that Henry Green provides a valuable – some say lifesaving – service in Fernandina Beach. Places for people who have nowhere else to go, due to the life they lived as addicts. But, can Green legally operate a residential recovery facility in the city? That is the question at the...