Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, May 27, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 140 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Big boost coming for DUI enforcement Grant will allow up to 65 checkpoints over next 2 years
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Flashing lights, slowed traffic and detour signs are common sights along Jacksonville roadways. Over the next two years, though, they might not indicate the typical roadwork or construction project. It could very likely be a DUI checkpoint. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office typically conducts one to two of the enforcement check-
points annually, but those efforts will be massively ramped up to as many as 65 over the next two years. The boost comes from an almost $497,000 grant from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, an independent nonprofit that uses scientific knowledge and practices to improve safety and well-being in communities. It wasn’t a rash of alcohol or drug-related car crashes that landed Jacksonville the grant, though.
It was motorcycle crashes involving the substances, particularly an increase in single motorcycle accidents. Last year, there were a total of eight fatal accidents of that variety — and seven of them were influenced by drugs or alcohol. The 88 percent clip was well above other DUI categories. For instance, single motor vehicle crashes in 2015 resulted in 35 deaths, but 57 percent were from alcohol or drugs. Vehicleon-vehicle crashes resulted in 39 deaths, but only 31 percent were
DUI-related. So far this year, there are four fatal single motorcycle accidents with alcohol and drug test results pending. Ray Walden, the sheriff’s office department of patrol and enforcement director, said statistics over the past several years have shown a decrease in total DUI cases but an increase in those involving motorcycles. He said there’s been a similar trend in other cities across the U.S., too, despite DUI rates falling.
The Pacific Institute grant will provide an opportunity for education, awareness and enforcement strategies to curb not just motorcycle-related DUIs, but all kinds of DUIs. Jacksonville is the first and only city in the U.S. to receive the grant, something Walden attributes to the size of the agency and Florida being a year-round riding state. Public critics of the grant when it was being reviewed by City Council said the idea of targeting motorcyclists is unconstitutional. DUI continued on Page A-3
JEA gives trees top focus
A winning performance
Utility recognized by Arbor Day Foundation By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Photo from Dennis Ho/City of Jacksonville
Takeshi Ohbayashi won the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition at the Florida Theatre on Thursday night, kicking off the 2016 Jacksonville Jazz Festival. As the winner, he will perform at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the Swingin’ Stage along Main Street. Festival performances start late this afternoon at the three stages Downtown for the free weekend event, which concludes Sunday night. See photos of the festival setup, Page A-4.
“I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree.” That’s the start of Joyce Kilmer’s classic verse – and it’s how JEA feels about trees. Seven arborists and foresters work in the Transmission and Distribution Preventive Maintenance Department. They supervise the work of about 100 subcontractors who trim tree limbs and remove vines along more than 4,000 miles of electric lines that connect generating facilities to more than 420,000 homes and businesses in Northeast Florida. This month the utility received for the fifth time the Tree Line USA award sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. The award is based on several core criteria, said Kim Wheeler, department manager. In addition to using industry standards when it comes to trimming and pruning, to qualify for the award, a utility must provide annual training for its personnel and for its subcontractors. Public education about the value of trees must be provided, the utility must have a program to show people how to use trees to conserve energy and it must participate in the annual national Arbor Day observance. “There are only 145 utilities in the U.S.
Gate adding St. Johns County location
Public
Gate, a privately held company, does not disclose the number of stores it operates. Its website says it operates more than 70 stores in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The site says Florida has at least 50 stores, of which more than 40 are in Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. Gate and Jacksonville-based First Coast
legal notices begin on page
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Energy, which owns the Daily’s brands, are expanding in the area as other chains add stores around Northeast Florida. Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc. said it has five sites under contract and at least six more awaiting contracts for its first wave of gas stations and convenience stores in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties. The first confirmed sites in Jacksonville are at Beach Boulevard and Central Parkway and in The Crossing retail center at Town Center and Gate parkways.
Tamaya apartments apply for permits
Atlanta-based Waypoint Residential Mathis continued on Page A-2
Published
for
JEA
Special to the Daily Record
Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum Co. continues its expansion as the market revs up among gas station/convenience store companies in Northeast Florida. Gate submitted plans to the St. Johns River Water Management District for a store, car wash and 24 fueling positions along Nocatee Parkway in St. Johns County. The project, on 4.24 acres, would comprise a 6,536-square-foot store and 2,314-square-foot car wash at Nocatee Parkway and Davis Park Road. Prosser Inc. is the agent and engineering consultant. Gate expects to start clearing the land in July and expects to open the store in early 2017.
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JEA works to ensure that trees and power lines can co-exist.
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