Regional

A smiling Kimberly Kessler talked to Judge James Daniel via Zoom videoconferencing at a hearing Thursday, asking him for a new lawyer. Daniel denied the request and also declared Kessler mentally competent to stand trial. Kessler is accused of murdering Joleen Cummings. Jury selection for the trial could start next May. Photo courtesy Nassau County Sheriff's Office

Kessler found competent to stand trial

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
Judge James Daniel has decided Kimberly Kessler is still mentally competent to stand trial for the murder of Joleen Cummings. At a hearing held Thursday morning, Daniel refused to appoint a new attorney for her and set a date for jury selection. Kessler was charged in September 2018 with the...
There are a total of 15 judges on the Florida First District Court of Appeals, six of whom are on the Nov. 3 ballot because their current term ends Jan, 5, 2021. Voters will decide whether these six judges should be retained past that date. Photos from Florida First District Court of Appeals

Who are the appeals court judges on the ballot?

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
There are a total of 15 judges on the Florida First District Court of Appeals, six of whom are on the Nov. 3 ballot because their current term ends Jan, 5, 2021. Voters will decide whether these six judges should be retained past that date.
The city of Fernandina Beach has asked the Ocean Highway and Port Authority to preserve the customs house on the property. Peg Davis/News-Leader

OHPA blasts city of Fernandina Beach

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
Ocean Highway and Port Authority commissioners were nothing less than enraged at a letter sent by the city of Fernandina Beach requesting a house on port property holding the offices of U.S. Customs be preserved, and saying that state Sen. Aaron Bean and state Rep. Cord Byrd have been asked to...
From left, Armand Riehl, senior project manager with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company; Ocean Highway and Port Authority Vice Chairman Mike Cole; Port of Fernandina Director Christopher Ragucci, who is also CEO of Worldwide Terminal Fernandina; Rutherford; Ocean Highway and Port Authority Chairman Danny Fullwood, Port of Fernandina Terminal Manager Roy E. Nelson; Beau Corbett, a project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville Office. John Schaffner/For the News-Leader

Congressman John Rutherford visits Port of Fernandina

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
Fourth Congressional District Rep. John Rutherford visited the Port of Fernandina Thursday to be briefed on the work done so far this year to dredge the turning basin there. The $4,317,000 dredging project was approved and funded in Fiscal Year 2020, on Sept.16, and will be completed in the first...
ACT Executive Director Tener Wade in front of the ACT main stage. “ACT is not only theater created for the community, but theater that’s created by the community, Wade said. DILLON BASSE/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-LEADER

Amelia Community Theatre stays strong

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
The Amelia Community Theatre is a staple for art and entertainment here in Fernandina Beach. Chartered in 1981 as a nonprofit organization to be operated as a community benefit, for 39 years that’s exactly what it has done. Since neither the high school...
Atlantic Seafood Bait and Tackle, located at the west end of Ash Street at the Fernandina Harbor Marina, adds to the “grittiness” that is part of a working waterfront, Tammi Kocsack said. Operator Charlie Taylor said he believes the building dates from the 1950s, and the business has been under the purview of his family since 1975. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

Feedback on latest waterfront plan begins

News Staff
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
At a Zoom meeting held to receive public feedback about the latest plans to develop the city’s Amelia River waterfront, residents said they want to maintain the blue-collar nature and history of the waterfront, keep the current businesses at the Fernandina Harbor Marina, and ensure the area’s...
The seal of the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.

Hilliard woman killed by NCSO deputy

News Staff
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
A 48 year-old woman in Hilliard who said she was suicidal, and in possession of a rifle, was killed by a Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tuesday night after allegedly pointing the weapon at him. The woman’s name was not released by the NCSO. Sheriff Bill Leeper issued the following...
Students at West Nassau High School, Hilliard Middle-Senior High School and Yulee Middle School will not attend school on campus Nov. 3, while other schools will attend in-person. Students at HMSHS, WNHS and YMS will participate in distance learning due to their schools serving as polling locations for the General Election.

Three schools implement 'distance learning' Nov. 3

News Staff
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Students at West Nassau High School, Hilliard Middle-Senior High School and Yulee Middle School will not attend school on campus Nov. 3, while other schools will attend in-person. Students at HMSHS, WNHS and YMS will participate in distance learning due to their schools serving as polling locations...
Two separate but adjoining hotels could be built on these two beachfront lots just north of Sliders Seaside Grill on South Fletcher Avenue. JULIA ROBERTS/NEWS-LEADER

City Commission: New hotels on beachfront won’t be easy

News Staff
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Fernandina Beach residents shared their concerns at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting about two proposed projects in the city: the waterfront park and two hotels on South Fletcher Avenue. Neither project got any support from those who spoke at the meeting. The hotels proposed for the beach side...
Dr. Eugenia Ngo-Seidel holds up a chart parents and coaches can use to screen athletes before they attend practices and games. The Florida Department of Health – Nassau has also created one for students. GARY D. MORGAN/FOR THE NEWS-LEADER

County extends state of emergency another week

News Staff
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners heard Wednesday about the latest official numbers of coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and COVID-19-related deaths in the county as of Monday. Under new business was the unanimous approval of a resolution extending the current state of...