Regional

Plane crash claims two lives

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Three days after her husband, flight instructor David Cuttino, died in a plane crash with his student pilot, Alexis “Lexi” George, his widow took solace in a friend’s message. “A friend of ours made a nice comment,” Marion Cuttino said Monday evening. “He said, ‘Lexi could not have...

Nassau County commissioners to consider improvement plan

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Nassau County Assistant County Manager Marshall Eyerman presented a Capital Improvement Plan at the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners meeting June 14. The improvement plan is a five-year model allocating funds to ongoing and future projects in the county. Another meeting will take...

Competitive housing market increases home values

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Incoming residents or those seeking to relocate to other areas of Nassau County are seeing a rapid uptick in housing costs. As more families move to the area, the supply of homes on the market is not meeting the demand, according to a news release from the Nassau County Property Appraiser’s...

Locals buy Standard Marine building

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A downtown Fernandina Beach landmark will soon get a new lease on life following its purchase by Jenny and James Schaffer, local real-estate brokers and owners of the Summer House and Guest Cottage. The Schaffers recently bought the Huot building, also known as the Standard Marine building, on...

DANCE FEVER

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Maxine Morales — a 19-year-old Fernandina Beach native — recently signed a one-year contract with the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich, Germany. Maxine Morales said she has received overwhelming support from her family. “So many people support me,” she said, “And my mom has done so much...

Fernandina Beach commissioners examine nonprofit contributions

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The Fernandina Beach Commission is rethinking the way it funds nonprofits. At City Commission’s Wednesday meeting, funding requests from 19 agencies were on the agenda, ranging from $50,000 from the Nassau County Council on Aging to $1,000 from the $1,000 Start Up Consortium, a total of...

Fernandina Beach hires new deputy police chief

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The city of Fernandina Beach has hired a new deputy police chief, according to a news release from the city. Jeff Tambasco will start in mid-July as the new deputy police chief, replacing Mark Foxworth, who was recently named the department’s leader. Foxworth replaced James Hurley, who retired...

Amelia Island tourism making rapid rebound

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After a tumultuous 2020, the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeing much-needed improvement for Nassau County’s beleaguered tourism industry. Estimated lodging taxable sales in April were a near record $18.4 million, resulting in bed tax collections 70% over budget for the...

City hires new golf course general manager

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Michael Cooney started work as the city-owned Fernandina Beach Golf Club general manager June 1. Cooney boasts an extensive background in golf management, both in municipal and private sectors. His experience includes managing golf operations at Laurel Island Links, Sawgrass Country Club, Golden...