MONDAY August 19, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE MATHIS REPORT
Jobless rate steady in Jacksonville
FPLDaily CEO saysRecord utility looking at buying JEA JACKSONVILLE
The unemployment rate was 3.5% in July. BY MARK BASCH
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
The JEA board voted in July to explore privatization of the city-owned utility.
Florida Power & Light Co. President and CEO Eric Silagy said Friday the company is looking at bidding to buy JEA. “We’re of course interested and continue to work with JEA, looking at what the opportunity is. JEA is a great organization,” Silagy told reporters after a more than 50-minute FPL informational presentation to the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council. JEA, one of the largest municipally owned electric, water and stormwater utilities in the country and the largest in Florida, is inviting responses from companies and organizations interested in buying some or all of it. JEA officials released a notice of solicitation Aug. 2, asking interested and qualified parties to submit their proposals by noon Sept. 30. The JEA board voted July 23 to explore privatization, one day after Mayor Lenny Curry said he would propose using proceeds of the utility’s sale to pay off the SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
FPL photo
FPL AT A GLANCE Publicly held: The Florida Power & Light Co. is a subsidiary of Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy, Inc. In January, NextEra acquired Gulf Power Co. in Northwest Florida in a $6.4 billion deal. Stock: NEE, closed at $217.15 on Thursday NextEra revenue: $17.2 billion in 2017
“We know a lot about JEA and they’re a terrific company and this is an opportunity.”
Size: FPL says it is the largest energy company in the U.S. as measured by retail electricity produced and sold.
ERIC SILAGY FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO. PRESIDENT AND CEO
Awards: NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune’s 2019 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.”
FPL customers: More than 5 million FPL employees: Approximately 8,700
Jacksonville’s unemployment rate held steady in July as many new entrants into the workforce were able to find jobs. The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area (Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties) was 3.5% in July, unchanged from June, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday. The size of the labor force in the metro area grew by about 6,000 people in July, a normal summer seasonal trend as college and high school graduates look for work. Many of those job seekers were able to find work, but University of North Florida economist Albert Loh said in a normal summer, he would expect more hiring. Loh said the labor force typically begins to grow in June, sending the jobless rate higher. But then the rate comes down in July as new graduates find jobs. This year’s data suggests after businesses hired more workers in the spring, “we have fewer positions to fill relative to the growth in the workforce,” he said. The state agency does not adjust the Jacksonville data for seasonal factors, but UNF’s Local Economic Indicators Project said when it is adjusted, the area’s unemployment rate rose from 3.21% in June to 3.47% in July. Duval County’s unemployment rate without adjustment also was unchanged at 3.7% last month. When seasonally adjusted, Duval County’s unemployment rose from 3.32% in June to 3.63% in July, Loh said. Construction hiring picked up after a winter slowdown. The number of construction jobs in Northeast Florida rose by 4,000 in the last 12 months, a 9% growth rate.
MBASCH@JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
Plan to ‘daylight’ McCoys Creek boosted by grant It appears that redevelopment of 1 Riverside Ave., former home of The Florida Times-Union, might see some daylight. Groundwork Jacksonville was awarded a $357,280 federal grant to complete the design of the McCoys Creek restoration plan, which includes “daylighting” — uncovering the creek under the Morris Publishing Group property. The Morris family, who sold the Times-Union in 2017 but kept the property, wants to demolish the vacant office building and production plant and redevelop the 18.8-acre site, with daylighting the creek as part of the plan. More at JaxDailyRecord.com
VOLUME 106, NO. 193 • ONE SECTION