20228.17 WATERHOGS burying historical norms at prairie creek conservation cemetery understanding the currenthousingaffordablecrisis proceduralpolice, Popular Riverside coffee shop and cafe being uprooted sucked a big one this year
VOL. 36, ISSUE 16 Behind the cover: Water hog illustration by Drew ArnettTERESA SPENCER general manager ROB NICHOLSON sales director RAIN HENDERSON creative director VINCENT DALESSIO staff writer/photographer CASEY ALIXANDRA account executive/contributor MOLLY BRITT account executive/contributor SHELTON HULL contributor JOHN M. PHILLIPS, ESQ. publisher KERRY SPECKMAN copy editor HARRY MOORE contributor KALE BOUCHER contributor JOSEPH GUIFFRE contributor DREW ARNETT illustrator DAVID JAFFEE contributor 4COLUMNS Horoscopes Kale Boucher 6 Weird, Wild Stuff Shelton Hull 16 In This Climate?! Burying Historical Norms with Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery Rain Henderson & Joseph Guiffre 27 Folio Weed: Interesting Whites Shelton Hull 28 Film Reviews Harry Moore FOLIOCONTENTSFAMILY8FEATURES New Name, Same Mechanic Avondale cycle shop keeps on spinning Vincent Dalessio 10 Understanding the Current Affordable Housing Crisis: An Alternative Perspective David Jaffee 13 Police, Procedural Shelton Hull 22 Water Hogs Rain Henderson 31 The Urban Divide Popular Riverside coffee shop and cafe being uprooted Kale Bouchers 34 Understanding Homelessness Molly Britt 36 The Eye Gallery 38 THUNDER FLOWER / emotional labor A discussion with artist Morgan Goldsmith about her exhibition at Florida Mining Gallery Kale Boucher
PISCES
GEMINI Mars enters your sign on August 20. Take advantage of its assertive power. Be ambitious. Others may perceive you as intimidating during this time. It’s up to you if you care or want to let them think what they think.
SCORPIO You’re taking your time setting up groundwork for a life shift. You feel ready for a new chapter, ready to establish some home and work life balance. In speaking with your partner, you may learn something new and establish a deeper connection. Devote the end of August to introspection and avoid communicating until you’ve really thought something through.
LIBRA Once you set boundaries and manage some tough conversations, you’ll be free to focus on fun. The month will bring you great ideas, blossoming friendships, and the potential for a getaway. Be sure to emphasize healthy communication though. Getting caught up in the excitement, you might say something you don’t mean.
AQUARIUS Generosity should be at the center of your focus this month. Whether financially or with your time, you’ll be in a sharing mood. This outward manifestation of positivity will bring you new luck.
CAPRICORN Some seriousness is headed your way. Whether it’s making a major financial move or learning a secret. Try to achieve a balance between freeform creativity and caution in your daily life. Use the new moon at the end of the month to pursue new beginnings.
VIRGO This month has brought about change and introspection for you, Virgo. You’re feeling free, capable of taking on responsibilities, and content seeing how your hard work has paid off. Don’t let your idealism run away from you; keep grounded through practicality. Your season is coming up on the 22nd.
4 FOLIO WEEKLY
SAGITTARIUS You prefer straightforward, open communication. August may see you being spoken with exactly how you want. Ride that out and create more/ closer connections. Toward the end of the month you’ll be thinking about money. You may make some new career moves.
ARIES Leo season has everyone feeling extra creative. Make sure to conserve your energy though. You’ll be busy this month between work, friends, and likely a new love interest. Be mindful when making plans so you don’t get burnt out.
HOROSCOPES BY KALEBOUCHER
Guard your energy and you’ll see increased confidence. You’re prone to being flexible to others’ wishes, so make sure to prioritize yourself. Be on the lookout for some subtle bit of information that could reshape your perspective.
TAURUS Embracing recent change, your life should achieve balance again. With a new sense of routine, you’ll feel released from stress, able to daydream again. Write down any fleeting thoughts; they may guide you in the future.
CANCER You’ll be feeling private and extra attuned to the spiritual. Reflect upon your beliefs. Does your life and its supporting characters align with your morals? If not, make those changes. You’ll have a much easier time moving about the world with integrity.
LEO Happy return! You love being in the spotlight, so your birthday is going to satisfy your need for attention. Creativity, playfulness and mental clarity are headed your way. The last week of August will bring strength in connectivity; have deeper conversations with friends and grow your network.
BRICKBATS + BOUQUETS
Anyone who is eligible to vote and can get to the polls—or a mailbox to deposit their mail-in ballot into—but does not take advantage of their right to do so gets a brickbat. (See above for inspiration.)
BRICKBAT to Non-voters
5 T H E MAIL
Four Jacksonville-based small businesses were recognized among the Best Small Companies to Work for in Florida by Florida Trend : Jimerson Birr, legal (No. 18); Wingard, advertising/PR/marketing (23); Gunn Chamberlin, accounting (26); and Atlantic Logistics, transportation (34). Eligible companies were surveyed by a partner research firm in the areas of company policies and practices, and employees who chose to participate were asked about topics including corporate culture and communication, role satisfaction, work environment, pay and benefits, leadership and overall engagement.
BOUQUET to Jax Small Businesses
Drunken rideshare drivers? Typical. Pro athletes using excessive force against the police? Boring. Planes landing on the highway, cars on roofs, idiots trying to rob people, only to end up being robbed by their intended victim? None of that is particularly noteworthy, but this is…
July 2: A 50-year-old man took police on a super-slow-speed chase through Branford, just 85 miles southwest of Jax, a chase that continued into the river, where his shorts fell off. He tried to swim away, but was eventually taken into custody, very carefully.
Words by Shelton Hull One of the best things about the media these days is that there is no shortage of material, and the news cycle in 2022 has manifested some of the most daffy detritus ever documented by humans living or dead, or both. Here, in this column, we offer you only the choicest AF nubbins of news, and the hardest part of the job is simply deciding what makes the cut. As you can imagine, the workflow of a particular task depends on the nature of the task itself. In this case, as interesting items pop up, I send them to myself on Facebook and then, as the deadline approaches, I go back through them to see what stands out, what patterns may form, or even what patterns I can create out of thin air, just to advance the narrative. Sometimes, some things happen that are truly, exceptionally weird in some fresh new way, but more often it’s variations on themes, ironic juxtapositions, etc.
Weird, Wild Stuff
Despite our best efforts, it’s hard to describe this stuff succinctly while still doing justice to the spirit of the story. We want it to be funny, not mean. Many of these stories involve crimes, but hopefully nothing done with ill intent, no harm, no foul, etc. You will usually see four or five stories mentioned in each column, but that’s just a small percentage of what gets got each month, and man, it sucks having to skip over some of this stuff. (It was even worse when I was hosting trivia nights earlier this year because that only encouraged me.)
July 2: Climate activists representing Just Stop Oil literally glued their hands to the frame of Van Gogh’s 1889 painting “Peach Trees In Blossom” at the Courtauld Gallery in London. It was the summer’s second major glue-based political action, after actor James Cromwell, whose face you will instantly recognize, glued himself to the counter of a Starbucks in midtown Manhattan, in protest of price increases for nut-milks.
Last month’s column was written on June 30, a week earlier than usual, owing to the July 4 holiday, and wasn’t that weird, too? The column you’re reading now was written on Aug. 5. Here follows just some of the many morsels of LOL fodder to accumulate in just the past month.
July 8: Speaking of food, Orlando Sentinel featured one of my favorite new businesses: Sean Ferrarro of Madison Avenue Pizza in Dunedin had the genius idea to start servicing water-sport aficionada using his own boat, selling to other boats, islands, sandbars and sometimes just random people swimming by. By making the pizzas at the restaurant in advance, he’s able to sell upwards of 50 pizzas Photo by Just Stop Oil
6 FOLIO WEEKLY
July 7: A glitch in the Doordash app allowed customers to briefly order food for free, and the internet abused it for all it was worth. One customer even exploited the glitch by adding a $21 million tip on their order. This didn’t work, but hundreds if not thousands of people did eat free that night, and there is no sign of retaliation by the DoorDash, which ate the losses on behalf of the restaurants. Of course, they will probably be flagged and dealt with later.
a day—brilliant. He takes cash and/or debit cards, but accepts no shells of any kind.
August 3: Alberto Nonino saw his promising track career curtailed, briefly, after finishing last in a 400-meter event in Cali, Colombia (where they take sports even more seriously than we do in #Florida), because his penis kept falling out of his shorts, on national television.
July 11: A tourist (of course he was American) cheated death after falling while taking a vacation selfie. That is always dangerous, especially if you’re standing on the edge of goddam Mount Vesuvius, which he was, illegally. He dropped his phone into the crater, then went in for it, and fell even deeper. I don’t know if he found the phone, but I hope it was taken away.
Please, bear in mind that this month’s selection is, in terms of both sheer volume and utter lunacy, not at all unusual. But as summer 2022 winds down, you can be absolutely certain that something will happen that’s so crazy, it eclipses everything else we’ve seen this year. Let’s all cross our fingers and pray none of us are there to see it in person, whatever it is.
July 25: A young boy in Moscow was playing chess against a robot but failed to move his hand fast enough, so the robot broke his finger. Also, a preacher in New York was robbed of $1 million in jewelry by armed robbers, while in the middle of a sermon, and the whole thing went down on the church’s livestream.
July 29: Everyone loves a good excuse to skip work, but an 18-year-old girl in Chicago had one of the worst ideas ever when she faked a mass-shooting threat (with anonymous texts, a fake Facebook account, etc.) in order to bypass her job working security at Lollapalooza.
July 9: I’ve never heard of the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, but apparently it’s lit, fam. The janitor was arrested after police found a pistol, three handguns, an AK-47, a cache of ammo, knives and a taser in a storage room, along with weed tokes and a reefer bong. But even more alarming, they also found his wife, who was a manager there, along with their two toddlers; they had all been living there after falling on hard times. The couple was fired, and that sucks, because they’ve given the place more publicity than it’s ever had.
July 26: About $700,000 worth of jewelry, stolen from a safe, was pilfered from a parked car downtown at the Doubletree lot, by a Major League Baseball star on a rehab gig with our Jumbo Shrimp. It was of many vehicles violated by the same prolific pilferer, whose exploits were detailed just now, while writing the two sentences directly above. (Also, some dame was arrested for menacing people with a pitchfork at a Publix in Clearwater, but that is positively quotidian, by the lofty standards of #FloridaWoman, America’s true sweetheart.)
Avondale cycle shop keeps on spinning Words & Photos by Vincent Dalessio Walking into Tucker Cycles in The Shoppes of Avondale, the first bike that caught my attention was a Reeb hardtail mountain bike painted a bright Jaguars teal. The frame design was a modern take on the setups mountain bike pioneers rode called “klunkers,” which were essentially souped-up beach cruisers with fat tires. The bike sported fat, knobby gumwall tires, a beautiful front suspension system and tall BMX-style handlebars; as OG as it gets, while keeping function and aesthetics at the forefront.
New SameName,Mechanic
“I like making an impact for the community. Making sure someone is taken care of and able to continue their daily life because they have their bike back. You come into a bike shop and a lot of the time it acts as a therapy session. Sometimes they don't know what they're looking for, but then they start opening up a little bit more to tell you more about what's going on and [why they're looking for a bike],” Tucker said. “You start building this relationship with a lot of these people, and it becomes a safe place for them. People feel like they can come and hang out here.”
When I pointed it out to Holt Tucker, owner of the shop, he quickly replied, “Oh, that's my personal bike. You can take it out for a trail ride anytime just let me know.” That brief, genuine, off-the-cuff response exemplifies his intentions for opening Tucker Cycles in the first place: get more people riding proper bikes, make Jacksonville more bike friendly and create an inclusive and welcome space for people to come hang out regardless of whether they need work done on their bike.
Tucker’s shop was previously operated as an Open Road Bicycles franchise, which still has four locations around Jacksonville. But he felt independent ownership would allow him to better outfit the shop with what he feels best serves the Jax bike community.
Currently, Tucker Cycles carries Jamis mountain bikes and an assortment of e-bikes, but Tucker is looking to expand inventory to include more American-made bikes and bike parts, like that Reeb I was talking about earlier. His goal is to make these high-quality American-made bikes more accessible to our community because he feels as though non-mainstream bike builders back independent bike shops, whereas bigger brands tend to gloss over smaller “Youaccounts.cango straight to any of these big box store’s websites, have it shipped to your house, and it shows up 95% complete. I get it and I understand it's the way everything is these days, but you miss interaction with people. You can read everything you want online and still get the wrong thing,” explained Holt.
If you’re looking to break into the world of mountain biking, or biking in general, head over to Tucker Cycles and have a chat with Holt. He’ll be sure to set you off in the right direction.
Holt started racing mountain bikes around 13 years old, about the same time he started informally working at Open Road, the shop he now owns and that bears his name. He would push brooms and do tedious tasks around the shop just to pay for bike parts. He split time between Jacksonville and North Carolina, which has a booming mountain biking community. Officially, he worked for Open Road Bicycles for 16 years, 10 of which he was the franchise owner. Under Open Road Bicycles, he helped curate countless bike events, like mountain bike rides, fixed-gear races and long road rides.
“Now that I'm on my own, not much has changed. I pretty much was able to do really whatever I wanted with the franchise but still had to answer to the boss,” he said. “[All the locally owned bike shops] are trying to accomplish the same thing, and that is to get everybody on a bicycle…What separates this shop from others around the area is the knowledge, attitude and service.”
9
"I community."anmakinglikeimpactforthe
To bolster mountain bike culture and community here in Jax, Holt has made donations to the Tillie K. Fowler Bike Trails like a public access bike repair kit at the trailhead. If you haven’t seen any of these around, Park Tool makes a free standing tower that features nearly every tool you would need to repair a bike—tethered to the tower so they can't be stolen or lost. Bike repair stations are great not only for the convenience of making quick adjustments to your bike before you hit the trails, but they also give people the opportunity to learn how to fix their own bikes, which, in turn, produces a more educated community.
Words by David Jaffee Jacksonville, like many other communities across the country, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. Over the past year, according to Redfin real estate brokerage firm, the average rent in Duval County has increased by 31%. Close to 50% of all Jacksonville renters are cost burdened (spending greater than 30% of income on rent). Jacksonville ranks consistently in the top 10 among major metropolitan areas on almost every measure of rising housing costs. When 60 Minutes devoted a segment to this issue earlier this year, they chose Jacksonville as the city to profile. The conventional wisdom about the affordable housing crisis is it’s nothing more than the inevitable result of excess demand and insufficient supply. A seemingly natural market response generating rising housing Incosts.the case of Jacksonville, more specifically, the claim is that many people are moving to Florida into communities like Jacksonville for various quality of life considerations, and the increasing demand for housing is putting a strain on the existing housing stock. It all comes down to a simple matter of supply and demand and the mechanical laws of the market. A recent piece in the The Florida Times-Union summed up the housing crisis this way: “Low inventory, a flourishing housing market and exponential population growth have caused rental prices in the Sunshine State to explode.”
Once this factor is included in the analysis, the simple free market, supply and demand explanation offered in the mainstream media requires major Forrevision.starters, one needs only consider the fact that over the past two years the percent of SFHs purchased by institutional investors in Jacksonville went from 12.04 in 2020 to 29.56 in 2022. In some communities (such as ZIP codes 32206, 32208, 32209) the percent is above 40%.
This is all part of a larger trend over the past 30-plus years known as “financialization” which converts various forms of property into asset class investment vehicles for wealthy investors. It is now the dominant ownership trend in the rental housing market. The acquired properties are converted into income generating assets organized to maximize profit and provide healthy returns for investors.
Understanding the Current AlternativeHousingAffordableCrisis:AnPerspective
While this narrative may be consistent with the free market fantasy one learns in Economics 101, it conveniently omits one of the most significant factors responsible for both rising demand and prices—the role of institutional investors and private equity firms. There is nothing mysterious about large private corporate entities buying swaths of singlefamily homes (SFH) and multifamily apartments and bundling them into their investment portfolios. The SFHs are converted into rental properties and the multifamily apartments are managed as cash cows.
The consequences of this land grab should be clear. Realtors say firsttime home buyers are unable to compete with corporate firms offering above the asking price, financed with cash. As these potential home buyers see their repeated offers refused alongside an increasingly dwindling supply, many must settle for renting the SFH they had originally hoped to buy, now paying rent to the very institutional investors that have indirectly thwarted their dreams of home ownership.
So, yes, supply and demand factors are at work but not in the way typically described. Corporate investment firms are demanding and securing SFH properties at record rates, converting them to rental properties, thus constricting the available supply of SFHs for individual buyers.
10 FOLIO WEEKLY
The Independent 89.9 HD4 is sponsored in part by Featured local artist: @bad_madonna
Market conditions, in this context, means what they can get away with in service to, and in meeting the expectations of, their corporate clients. This is, again, where the rental housing market bears no resemblance to the abstract fictional market portrayed in economics textbooks. Housing is not a discretionary commodity that buyers can take or leave depending on price. Physical shelter is a human need, some would say a human right that people depend on for their physical, material and emotional security. This distinctive feature of the housing “market” has not gone unnoticed by the institutional investors in their pitch to wealthy clients. Human dependence on physical shelter is a business opportunity to be exploited, as described here by a leading multifamily investment firm:
STREAMING ON JAXMUSIC.ORG & THE WJCT APP Discover new music to
This is particularly clear in the multifamily apartment sector where tenants have seen, over the past two years, monthly rent increases of $300-$400. These increases often follow the acquisition of apartment complexes by private equity investment firms who then install apartment management companies to enforce the new lease conditions. As one management company promoted to institutional investors, “[we provide] acquisition assistance and due diligence services including unit by unit inspections, market surveys and cost analysis. Our team will focus on areas of income such as maximizing rents, ancillary income collections and utility charges.” In response to a complaint on the website about the sharp rise in rent on lease renewal, the same management company explained, “We have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that pricing for our homes is in line with market conditions.”
The larger argument that the affordability crisis is due to a shortage of housing supply generally is also difficult to sustain. Builders, developers and contractors represent powerful economic interests in Jacksonville and Florida as a whole. Apart from exclusionary zoning for SFHs, there are few restrictions on this sector of the local economy. Jacksonville is builder/development friendly. In a recent report and analysis by Up For Growth on “housing underproduction” (including data as recent as 2019), Jacksonville ranked 174th out of the 800 communities included in the study, with a surplus rather than deficit. And yet, Jacksonville is consistently ranked among the top 10 major metropolitan areas in rising rent and housing prices. Obviously, housing stock is an inadequate explanation. The question is not the total supply of housing but rather who owns and controls the housing stock, for what purpose and its Theaffordability.escalating rents Jacksonville tenants are experiencing are not the product of some automatic market mechanism, as many assume. Rental rates are set, often arbitrarily, by corporate landlords who exploit the opportunity to maximize cash flow and provide the return on investment expected by their shareholder clients.
SCAN HERE or forJAXMUSIC.ORGvisitmoreinfo
“The premise behind the growth and popularity of the multifamily rental industry is simple—people need a place to live… the durable cash flow and appreciation that apartment properties provide have made this asset class the most attractive real estate investment… The expected inflation will only drive rents higher over the next couple of years…A typical scenario consists of renovating and upgrading dated apartment interiors and common areas, creating an opportunity to push rents.” love from emerging & established artists working in rock, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, electronic, modern global & more.
11
Once again, this assumption of a magical market solution is fallacious – that by simply increasing supply in relation to demand, housing costs will automatically decline. But the housing market is not a competitive market. The concentrated property ownership and pricing power fueled by the corporate landlord invasion will nullify any impact of increased supply. Further, there is no guarantee, and there should be no expectation, that housing builders and developers have any less interest in capturing profit opportunities than any other market players. The net result is public subsidies that further enrich property owners without expanding affordable housing options. This brings me to the main and final point. There is no market solution to the affordable housing crisis. The market, as it operates in the real world, has created the crisis. Therefore, policy solutions must be aimed at insulating and protecting housing from market forces. David Jaffee is a professor of sociology at the University of North Florida. He is currently directing the JAX Rental Housing Project in the Northeast Florida Center for Community Initiatives at UNF. For more information, visit jaxrentalhousingproject.domains.unf. edu. Jaffee welcomes email communication from renters/tenants on their housing experiences in Duval County at djaffee@unf.edu. Chart provided by David Jaffee
12 FOLIO WEEKLY
The picture should be clear. Corporate landlords are beholden to their investor clients; the management firms are beholden to their corporate landlord clients; and at the bottom of the priority pyramid are the renters and tenants struggling to retain some semblance of housing stability. The flawed market explanations for the affordable housing crisis will also generate equally flawed policy proposals. If one assumes the affordable housing problem is simply due to an insufficient supply of housing in relation to demand, the solution is to increase supply. If one also assumes that only the private sector can increase that housing supply, policies will be aimed at incentivizing private actors with subsidies and tax breaks to make it profitable to build more capacity. This is one reason why so many establishment and corporate figures embrace this simple market explanation; the policy implications favor their interests.
The race to succeed Mike Williams as leader of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was already looking to be one of the most interesting contests in an election season with no shortage of drama. Williams’ abrupt retirement, which he announced on June 2 and officially began just a week later, makes things vastly more complicated, which, in turn, makes things a lot more entertaining for you, the voter.
The first round in this incredibly weird election takes place Aug. 23. The technical term is “Special First Election,” and gosh, isn’t that the case? It’s already too late to register to vote for that one, but you have until Oct. 11 to sign up for the final round, which takes place on Nov. 6, along with all the other statewide and national contests being contested this year. They’re calling that the “General Election,” but do not be confused. We’re not electing a general, we are electing a sheriff—although, in fairness, any difference between the two is negligible, in practice.
Let’s give quick credit to all these candidates on one point, quite clearly: They have proven themselves much more amenable to debating than their counterparts in other races around the city and the state. Perhaps this is a function of the generally increased scrutiny under which law enforcement finds itself across the board, in which case the debates can be framed as a nod toward transparency. It also speaks to possible disparities in political power among blocs, and blocks, for that matter. They are all Black candidates, and many of these debates are taking place in traditionally Black spaces like churches and community centers, and that makes sense, because no one has more to gain—or lose—on the outcome of this particular
We have five candidates to choose from: Lakesha Burton, Wayne Clark, Tony Cummings, Ken Jefferson and T.K. Waters. Interim Sheriff (and former undersheriff) Pat Ivey is not running, and he’s made no public endorsement of any potential successor, although it’s presumed that Ivey and his predecessors all share in Governor Ron DeSantis’ endorsement of Waters, but outside endorsements seem to matter far less in this race than usual.
Police, Procedural Words by Shelton Hull
Although the sheriff’s office is technically non-political, the reality is that JSO is perceived as an adjunct of City Hall, not an independent entity. Reality also holds that law enforcement tends to sway to the right, politically-speaking, and the voters’ choices to lead our nation’s police departments usually reflect the sentiments of their officers, while reinforcing their values. With unsolved murders in Jacksonville stacking up faster than JEA affidavits, we’ve seen some parts of this city on a virtual war footing for years. The murder of George Floyd galvanized global frustration with police misconduct, and the deeply flawed responses to those protests only intensified the racial polarization in this country. That, coupled with seismic shifts in the larger political culture in America, has set the stage for probably the most interesting sheriff’s race since the pre-Jaguars era.
14
15
election than the city’s Black community. Also, the fact that this is a competitive election, with no clear-cut frontrunner, means that most of them are eager to embrace any opportunity to set themselves apart from the pack. Either way, good for them!
When Burton first declared, she seemed about as close to a lock as any female candidate can in Florida, which is to say, that lasted a few weeks. Her husband Greg’s work with Duval County Schools is considered an advantage, given the way those two systems have been forced together by our political leaders. Qualifications aside, just in terms of branding for the department, and the city, electing Burton would be a visionary move. If Jacksonville elected women as mayor and sheriff, within a year of each other, in addition to all the women mayors in the Beaches, that’s a huge story. But, as we have seen, over and over in recent years, when faced with the possibility of a dynamic young female leader, the system responds by flooding the field with men to dilute their appeal and scuttle their candidacy. This usually happens with Democrats, leaving Republicans to pick the bones, but it does work both ways, most notably with Audrey Moran’s run for mayor back in 2011. In Burton’s case, this is not a function of some deep, ingrained misogynistic bent within the system or a fear of change, as it more clearly is in the case of Nikki Fried, who’s been subject to overtly gender-based attack in her campaign for governor.
There are a lot of questions worth asking about this race, but many of them can’t be answered without a federal warrant. (That’s more of a story for next year, maybe.) The issues our city faces, in terms of crime and the prevention thereof, are not uniquely ours. Every city is dealing with it in its own way, but you can be sure that any useful solutions developed by cops here will be studied by their counterparts around the country. We have five people standing who say they have those solutions. You will decide who gets the chance to implement them.
All five candidates are putting forward a reasoned, deliberative, but still thoroughly orthodox vision of the job. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Better to stick with what kinda works than try a U-turn at cruising speed or whatever metaphor for rash revisionism suits your fancy. All five candidates were well along the way when Williams’ retirement basically forced all their timetables ahead six months. Assuming the contest is not settled immediately, whoever wins in November will assume the position of sheriff for about four months before they must presumably defend their position all over again in the election that was already scheduled for 2023. T.K. Waters, as the only Republican competing against four Democrats for a traditionally red electorate, has the best statistical chance of winning, but if the runoff comes down to T.K. and a Democrat, a unified front can prevail. There is precedent, with Nat Glover in 1995 and ’99. One expects higher turnouts than usual for what is technically a municipal election haphazardly affixed to the midterms. These candidates have remained far more congenial and collaborative than their colleagues in other contests across the area, and that in itself is a good sign. With the Blue Wave sweeping women to political prominence across the country, that dynamic has extended into law enforcement, with women now running departments in several key cities around America. Accounts will differ, but approximately 4,000 women are currently in charge of various law enforcement organizations in the country—roughly 9%. That’s a bit less than the 12.6% of rank-andfile cops that are women, according to the FBI. Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook, herself a former JSO officer, is a notable example in our community, and her remarkable political trajectory does bode quite well for Burton. By contrast, minority representation has come much closer to parity, especially in the higher ranks. With the statues (mostly) gone, and most of the names changed, Black activists can rhetorically claim this sheriff’s election as a symbolic victory for themselves, no matter who actually ends up winning. Jacksonville, to its credit, didn’t even bother putting up any white people to run in this election. After the last few years, you look around at guys like Williams and Lenny Curry, and they look ready to spend the next two years laying on the beach and betting on football. The machine punted, and who does punt returns better than Black folks? This election comes down to five candidates, all of whom have known and worked with each other for years. They bring a wide range of diverse skills to the table; they’re all qualified for the job, but they all have vastly different visions of what the job actually is now and what it should be in the future. Cities all over the country are having their own, very specific debates about the future of policing in their communities, and the same is happening here. Advancing that dialogue will be job No. 1 for the next sheriff. There are a lot of bullets in Jacksonville, but none of them are magic bullets.
Executive Director of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, Carlos Gonzalez
Over the past two or three years people have been confronting their own mortality more than usual. “About three years ago, before the pandemic, we were doing, on average about 80 burials per year, now we're doing about 120 a year and it's just continually increasing,” explained Carlos Gonzalez, executive director of Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery (PCCC).
Because PCCC is not a licensed funeral director, families can choose between two routes, either contracting a mortuary institution or having a home funeral. With many funeral homes looking to capitalize on the deaths of loved ones, they don’t care about natural burials, but others have been receptive to the idea, and PCCC is actually helping a funeral home in Palm Coast with their first natural burial. When asked about the increase in interest in natural burials, Gonzalez explained the interest has generally been shared through word of mouth and rising concern for the environment. Once someone attends a burial service, for example, they often share the experience with their friends, family or on social media. A lot of people are just googling “green burial” which has resulted in people from around the world interested in PCCC’s services.
Gonzales sees potential for the nearby University of Florida to use PCCC as a site to study the environmental benefits of natural burial.
17
As Gonzalez walked us through the natural landscape of the cemetery, we passed through specially protected cypress wetlands, large fields of native flowers and grassland, areas yet to be tended to and about 100 burial sites that blended in with the natural landscape.
Words by Rain Henderson & Joseph Guiffre Photos by Rain Henderson & Praire Creek Conservation Cemetery
NormsHistoricalBurying
The operators of PCCC not only pay special attention to the services they provide but also the natural setting in which they perform them. Each different habitat type is treated with its own considerations. Moving through the meadow habitat of the cemetery, we were surrounded by black-eyed Susans, a native species that has flourished in the protected area now spreading and procreating on its own. The elements of wind and dropping of birds have taken over the effort once handled by planting and seeding, allowing the team to focus on different species that will help wildlife and insects.
Every morning the cemetery becomes a wildlife oasis, herds of deer, turkeys and even a bobcat have been spotted making their way through the property. We took a peek into a gopher tortoise hole to see if he was home as we tiptoed around flags designating the plantings of new species such as native milkweed, small grasses and other wildflowers. Because the cemetery's primary focus is on the families, they don’t have too much time to collect data on just how much they are improving the preserve but they hope to one day.
The only forms of written memorialization allowed on the land are very small, engraved, brass markers placed atop natural elements like pine straw to avoid movement of the soil. No weeding or raking is done, leaving the land in the closest to its natural state as possible. Prior to opening new burial spaces, the PCCC team removes invasive trees that tend to fall apart due to heart rot and quick-growing nuisance trees, including laurels and sweetgums, to make room for the protected flora like live oaks, sparkleberry and hickories to grow, Gonzalez states as he casually plucks a blue flower and pops it in his mouth. “This is spiderwort, and it's actually edible,” he mentioned while crouching at the side of a wooded trail.
The three main principles for a natural burial are no embalming of bodies, no usage of grave liners and the use of biodegradable containers. Standards also call for digging about three and half feet during preparations for a burial site, as this is the optimal depth for allowing oxygen to reach the body and heat to radiate down into the body creating the environment needed for natural decomposition. They do all the work on the land by hand, as opposed to using machinery (unless instructed otherwise by the Alachua Conservation Trust partners) to lessen the impact on the land and to preserve the peaceful ambience. Families are able to provide material themselves such as a special quilt or bedsheet, or they can create their own caskets to provide something meaningful and also economical.
Winding through the live oak lined backroads a dozen miles southeast of Gainesville, the bright Florida summer sun beats down. The light illuminates the old houses and chicken coops we pass, miles from the hustle and bustle. Finally we take a turn down a dirt road across from an idyllic cow pasture framed by tall symmetrical palms. The shade of the woodlands is welcoming and so is the tall, smiling, plainly dressed man waiting at the gate.
PCCC is a non-profit, community cemetery nestled within Prairie Creek Reserve, a protected conservation area near Gainesville. The 93-acre “living memorial” is licensed with the Green Burial Council and collaborates with Alachua Conservation Trust to manage, protect and restore the land for all living things. The cemetery opened in 2010 after welcoming conversations with the Alachua Conservation Trust and the community. Dr. Kathy Cantwell, a local physician and environmentalist, was the first to be buried here after she expressed her desires of being buried in a natural way as she faced the end of her life.
We planted ourselves within the flowers to grab some photos while Gonzalez described his backstory and how he serendipitously fell into his current role. After receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, the Portland native worked as a professional artist and an elementary school art teacher in Miami-Dade County, working at local plant nurseries and botanical gardens on the side. When his wife’s family made plans to retire and move to Gainesville, they followed close behind with plans of buying a house and starting a “Notfamily.too many people were leaving that [art teacher] position, given it's like a coveted position of being an art teacher, something that is definitely very limited, especially in a smaller city, in comparison to Miami,” he said. “There wasn't too much opportunity for me here. And so I was working odd jobs. I eventually worked for the post office, and then started volunteering here.” His stepfather-in-law had volunteered to help dig a grave at PCCC, but when he got sick he asked Gonzalez to substitute for him: “Sure, sounds interesting,” he replied. So there he was digging for a stranger with a group of other strangers, taking solace in the act of helping someone and creating a community unbiased by religion or ethnicity. Gonzalez became the mentee of the previous director who had plans to retire and eventually took over his position. Because of his unassuming background, Gonzalez comes at the process from a different perspective. He uses his experience in performance arts to form people’s experiences to be as impactful and meaningful as possible. PCCC works to create a place for gathering, reintroducing practices of the past when cemeteries were used for meetings of community leaders, plays and even concerts. People can gather around the notion of the circle of life clearly visible in the cemetery; it’s a reminder that nothing is ever permanent.
The cemetery is currently at half capacity, performing 100 burials per acre (200 fewer than the Green Burial Council’s recommendation). They’ve gotten preliminary approval to expand the cemetery within the preserve itself, as well as possible talks of acquiring neighboring land not currently under conservation. The staff of Alachua Conservation Trust, who also allow the cemetery to work out of their nearby offices, are working to find places they can expand into, hoping to protect more land and to help more people achieve their loved ones’ dreams. Gonzalez sees this as a way to protect special ecosystems, stop developments and offer an alternative to conventional cemeteries that negatively impact waterways, wildlife and plant life. Natural burials also work as an economically sound option making them available to the widest segment of the community. Burials at PCCC are about $2,000, part of which goes to their endowment fund, a necessary part of keeping the land protected forever. They recently were able to provide their staff with health insurance, a big win, and have hopes of adding to their three-person team. Fees for burials and help from donors help take care of the land and provide native plantings to restore the landscape. In the sandhill segment of the cemetery, we saw beautyberry trees and pawpaws that were used by Indigenous peoples and one that we may end up relying on as temperatures continue to rise. PCCC’s native plant program works with local nurseries that specialize in native plants to plan the best time and best types of species to plant. The rule of thumb for restoration practices in a particular region is to transplant
18 FOLIO WEEKLY
dig angeled graves in accommodation for people of Islam faith, digging the grave at a pitch with their eyes, their faces pointed toward Mecca.
Cantwell's burial site had evidence of prior prescribed burns and was visited by a fence lizard and some butterflies. Her site has also served as a landmark and safe space for the LGBTQ community, of which Cantwell was a part. All different types of people, regardless of race, religion, heritage, gender and sexual orientation are buried in the cemetery changing some of the bad history associated with historical cemeteries, a lot of which are still segregated to this day. Cantwell’s cat is buried at her feet facing east, the usual orientation of burials. Others have different preferences and prefer to see the sunset than the sunrise. PCCC also
19 WWW.THEAMP.COM DON’T MISS A SHOW! FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/THEAMPSA CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS DON’T MISS A SHOW! FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/PVCONCERTHALL CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
FOLIO WEEKLY species from laterally zoned growers, so PCCC sources from the neighboring towns of Micanopy and Hawthorne.
to differ from the horrific past that cemeteries and funeral services have had for marginalized groups. Many organizations seen as environmental entities have a board composed primarily of white men, so it hasn’t been necessarily inviting to minority groups, a term Gonzalez doesn’t like to use.
Gonzalez has had encounters with racist funeral directors and takes great joy in being able to connect with Latinx families. “Since they're engaging with me, someone that looks like them in this role, they actually ask me different questions than they would ask someone else. They would say to me in Spanish, while the funeral directors over there, ‘can I do this? can I do that?’ And I go, ‘yes, everyone can do that.’”
The cemetery is part of the Prairie Creek Preserve, meaning that recreational trails connect through it, allowing passive recreation through the landscape. Citizens come for picnics, a neighbor nearby rides her horse through the cemetery and others just casually walk through. Gonzales stated that once people realize they’ve entered a cemetery (there is no giant sign or super obvious markings), they are very respectful of it, honoring the space for what it is. The cemetery has had no real issues with the general public, wildlife or natural forces. Occasionally a grave may fill with water, but that’s just a natural part of how something can decompose. Natural burials don’t require any major modifications of the land, watershed or soil composition. In fact, Gonzalez has recognized brightening of colors and greater growth of trees atop the decomposing bodies in the ground. As he previously mentioned, PCCC doesn’t have all the resources they need for exact data collection, but they have some forms of partnership with UF bringing environmental studies interns to come out and volunteer. Gonzalez is mostly curious about the scientific effects on plant growth and the effects of cremation burials on the soil.
On the way into the cemetery, visitors pass a confederate flag hanging from a neighboring home. Gonzalez knows society isn’t all the way there yet, but he’s doing the work, with his own bare hands, to help the shift.
Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery is not only a leader in environmentally friendly practices but also in prompting a societal shift. They’ve had an increase in burials of Latinx and Black decedents and recently held a traditional Chinese burial. PCCC is working hard
“I want those people, those young leaders that are coming in, to be looking out for everyone,” he said, “ rather than their stakeholders that have been there for forever.”
Younger people are also starting to inquire about PCCC’s services as baby boomers retire and this makes Gonzales hopeful of change.
21 floridatheatre.com 904-355-2787 128 E. Forsyth St. Suite 300 Jacksonville, FL 32202 ONTICKETSSALENOW 6 CULBERTSONBRIAN 11 CELEBRATING BILLY JOEL - AMERICA’S PIANO MAN 17 DISNEY JUNIOR LIVE ON COSTUMETOUR:PALOOZA 18 CAT & NAT 19 PAUL REISER PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 29 PETE’S ADVENTUREHOLLYWOODBIG FOR SCHOOLS 30 ALLMAN FAMILY REVIVAL 26 TERRANCE SIMIEN AND THE EXPERIENCEZYDECO 27 AIR SUPPLY 4 DISNEY’S WINNIE THE POOH 8 KENNY SHEPHERDWAYNE 9 STEP AFRIKA! 10 STEP AFRIKA! FOR SCHOOLS 21 THE EXPERIENCELIGHTELECTRICORCHESTRA 24 MANIA- THE ABBA TRIBUTE 25 JUSTIN WILLMAN 27 HARRIET TUBMAN AND RAILROADUNDERGROUNDTHE FOR SCHOOLS FEBRUARY SHOP TICKETS 18 BLUES, BREWS & BBQ 21 DIRTY DANCING SUMMER MOVIE CLASSICS 27 RANDY RAINBOW 28 MONSTERS, INC. SUMMER MOVIE CLASSICS AUGUST 9 LITTLE RIVER BAND 11 GET THE LED OUT 23 THE BROTHERSSMOTHERS MARCH 8 JIM GAFFIGAN 9 JIM GAFFIGAN 10 JIM GAFFIGAN 13 COLLECTIVE SOUL AND SWITCHFOOT 15 BAT - THE OFFICIAL MEAT CELEBRATIONLOAF 16 JUDY COLLINS 29 BLUE’S CLUES & YOU! LIVE ON STAGE SEPTEMBER 1 DAVE KOZ & FRIENDS CHRISTMASANNIVERSARY25THTOUR 2 ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS FOR SCHOOLS 2 SAL VULCANO 3 PAULA POUNDSTONE AT THE WJCT SOUNDSTAGE 3 TAB BENOIT & THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND 4 BLACK VIOLIN 11 ERIC GALES 14 MINDI ABAIR’S “I CAN’T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS” PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 18 CIRQUE WONDERLANDHOLIDAYMUSICA 21 CHRISTMASMAGICNUTCRACKER!OFBALLET DECEMBER 1 TODD BARRY PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 2 WE THE KINGDOM 6 BENISE - SPANISH NIGHTS 7 HOTEL CALIFORNIA -A SALUTE TO THE EAGLES 8 JEN FULWILER PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 8 TAUREN WELLS 9 PEPPA ADVENTURE!PIG’S 11 CLICK, CLACK, MOO FOR SCHOOLS 12 RAY LAMONTAGNE 14 SCOTTY MCCREERY 22 JOSH GATES LIVE! 23 PABLO CRUISE PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 25 AMOS LEE 26 DANIEL HOWELL 27 BONEY JAMES 29 ROCKY PICTUREHORRORSHOW 30 RUMOURS FLEETWOODOFMAC OCTOBER 17 THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: LOST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM FOR SCHOOLS APRIL 2 THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES FOR SCHOOLS 4 STEEP RANGERSCANYON PONTE VEDRA CONCERT HALL 4 FLOYD NATION NOVEMBER 6 ELVIS BIRTHDAY BASH 10 NEIL TYSONDEGRASSE 13 THE NEW YORK BEE GEES 14 FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS 20 AMERICA 21 CHRIS BOTTI 23 THE THIEFLIGHTNING FOR SCHOOLS 26 TERRANCE SIMIEN: CREOLE FOR KIDZ AND THE EXPERIENCEZYDECO FOR SCHOOLS JANUARY 10 ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN MAY 8.18.22 Folio-Half Page-4.875x13 AD.indd 1 8/11/22 9:45 AM ALREADYYOU'RE TERESA@FOLIOWEEKLY.COMARECUSTOMERSPOTENTIALHERE.HERE,TOO.
BY HENDERSON
The blue marble we know as Earth has an abundant amount of water, 71% of its surface is covered in the wet stuff. Unfortunately for our very delicate species, 91% of that water is saline, frozen or inaccessible for practical use meaning it’s generally unusable.
Scientists are working to change that, but in our political climate, those innovations will not be introduced to the general public for a long time. For now we must rely on our planet’s own water cycle: precipitation, collection, evaporation, condensation.
Earth never wastes a single drop of water, and every drop on Earth now was here 4.6 billion years ago. In a perfect scenario this would leave us with an endless water supply, but Earth can’t do its job when we treat it like sh*t, like filling the air with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide caused by fossil fuel emissions. The water that’s replenished naturally doesn’t necessarily wind up where it came from and certainly not the same amount. The quality of some of this water is also far from ideal. Acid rain: cool band name, uncool precipitation type.
But it’s not just the Western states having to borrow water. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mississippi's lawsuit against Tennessee claiming they were stealing groundwater (freshwater) from the Middle Claiborne Aquifer, which sits below the MississippiTennessee border. Mississippi believed they owned the water, but the court ruled the states must share. The suit was actually the first time the Supreme Court ruled on an issue of groundwater.
WATER HOGS
California’s <The Desert Sun> published an opinion piece last month on diverting water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River to help deter the effects of the drought. Readers weighed in on the matter with some stating the diversion could help reduce flooding of the Mississippi River basin and others writing comments like, “Think outside the drought, Bill” (Bill is the writer of the original op-ed). The California water crisis has become such a big deal <The Late Show With Stephen Colbert> did a Hollywood version of water hogs, outing Sylvester Stallone for using 12 million gallons of water in one year. AboutYikes!70% of all rainfall returns to the atmosphere through Earth’s nifty water cycle, and in Florida around 13 inches soak into the sandy soils and porous limestone bedrock that supply the aquifer that keeps water flowing into our springs and works as the main source of water withdrawal for the central and northeast part of the
RAIN
In 1922 an agreement called the The Colorado River Compact was enacted, which, in part, allowed for the construction of Hoover Dam with the distribution of Colorado River split among seven states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming with California deriving more than 15% of its surface water supplies from the river. The Colorado River sprinkles the lawns, quenches the thirst and fills the pools of 40 million people all the while irrigating cropland that generates 15% of the country’s food.
The actual percentage of water consumed in the thermoelectric power plants is only 3%; the rest is returned, at least partially, to the basin from which it was pulled. Irrigation, on the other hand, isn’t as resourceful with half of the water used for agriculture lost to consumptive use, making it the largest loss of water. Of all 50 states, more than 50% of water withdrawals come from just 12—California, Texas, Idaho, Arkansas, New York, Illinois, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska and Florida. So far, none of the processes humans have invented to “treat ourselves” have had a favorable effect on Earth. Climate change, climate emergency, climate crisis, whatever you want to call it is happening around the globe. Here, we’re going to focus on the U.S. and more specifically Jacksonville.
22 FOLIO WEEKLY
Across the Western states below average snow cover, record-low precipitation numbers and record-low water levels in the reservoirs are making the multi-year drought even more intense and extensive. While the West is burning down, other states are dealing with recordbreaking flood damage. It makes one consider sophisticated ideas similar to those of Spongebob SquarePants’ best friend, Patrick Star, like, “We should take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else.”
In our case Bikini Bottom would be water, and that’s actually what California has been doing for years. It’s just not enough anymore.
A report by the Center of Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan found total water use in the U.S was 322 billion gallons per day in 2015, 87% of which was freshwater, with the biggest withdrawals coming from two sources: 1) thermoelectric power, which produces most of the electricity in the United States (just look for the giant smokestacks coughing up pollution), a process that requires water to cool down the electricity, then uses more water to cool the water heated from the previous cooling process before releasing it back the environment [insert confused emoji]; and 2) irrigation, which includes water used for agricultural crops as well as landscaping, golf courses, parks, etc.
23 state. As I’m sure you could guess by the very positive tone of what you’ve read here so far, the aquifer hasn't been able to recover as well as it has in the past. <National Geographic> published a piece in 2020 detailing the facts of the loss of Florida’s water, including a 2018 study that revealed a 32% reduction in average spring flows between 1950 and 2010 with projections that only got worse. Not to blame it on social media, but all those “I live where you vacation” posts during blizzards aren’t helping. Those people who took a break from shoveling heaps of snow out of their ass to smash “like” started moving here (or at least bought a second home here), forcing mass amounts of development on unsuitable land. The growing population contributes to the draining of Florida’s wetlands, as well as Florida’s freshwater, depleting our precious aquifer. This may be good news for those without a scuba license since air tanks are no longer needed to swim through the caves of Florida’s springs because they’re dried up. But when the water levels of the aquifer drop, the pressure that keeps the water flowing also drops creating a stagnant breeding ground for mosquitoes and algae and, most problematic, a greater chance of saltwater intrusion, that is, if they don’t completely run dry. Normally, the flow of fresh water of the aquifer keeps the saltwater below at bay, but with lowering levels of the freshwater paired with sea level rise, the results will be undrinkable water and devastating effects on the ecosystem. We already know Mississippi isn’t going to let us borrow any water, and I don't want to point fingers at snowbirds or people who want to sweat 90% of their life either. But someone deserves the finger, mostly, the developers causing the destruction and also the residents themselves, which bring us to Northeast Florida’s Biggest Water BeforeHogs.weget
The Joneses used more than 6 million gallons of water last year at their $3 million beach home in Ponte Vedra. Greg is a very interesting guy; he started a successful business and has opened multiple nonprofit organizations that he donates his own money to. So he’s not only a water hog but also an LLC hog. Tammy is as interesting as any very religious person with nine children would be. Assuming the couple is religious, based on their founding of Cornerstone Evangelical Foundation, perhaps they are providing millions of baptisms a year, using up all that water to wash away millions of sins. Or based on their property’s multiple flood prone designations, maybe they are preparing to build an ark, flood the city and change the DNA of human life as we know it. My initial guess was landscaping, since that's a huge driver in water waste, but Greg and Tammy’s lawn appeared to be fake grass, and the backyard is basically sand given their proximity to the beach. Unfortunately, they did not answer the phone or the door so we may never know the specifics behind the immense amount of water needed to fuel this family.
to the unveiling, a quick note on how we obtained the information in this list: The water usage and associated addresses were obtained via a public record request to JEA. The owners’ names were obtained through an address search on the property appraiser website. A little Internet sleuthing produced some phone numbers (not all of which were necessarily correct, for the record) and other tidbits about the owners. Observations about the properties were based on site visits, where possible. There may or may not have been a giant corkboard, a ball of string and a thousand push pins Soinvolved.without further ado, here are the groundbreaking, or should we say “ground-draining” results:
GREGORY & TAMMY JONES
313 PONTE VEDRA BLVD Market value: $3,200,000 Lot size: 16,117 sqft water usage: 6,078,996 gallons
1.
Miles of short, green grass, tall trees and ornamental flowers make up the retirement community Dell Webb eTown. The HOA headquarters, established at this water hog’s address, has a huge pool and a hot tub shaded by newly planted, fully grown palm trees. Ripping off old people is like taking candy from a baby, but it’s possible the residents willingly pay a hefty wastewater bill just to soak their already raisined skin in the warm, frothing waters of a Jacuzzi. This water hog, as despicable as it is, actually makes sense, since irrigation is an infamous water waster. (Also, the sales history on this building is very interesting. In 2019, it was bought for $100.) Our fifth water hog is another type of HOA situation with the property use described as “vacant governmental.” The Trulia description of this property is very amusing: “9 bathrooms and approximately 252 sqft of floor space with a lot size of 2 acres.” Hidden pretty well in the trees of a neighborhood, the building looks to have JEA boxes lining the outer walls and the use description says “utility.” The assumption here is that the neighborhood has its own small powerhouse. Generally any sort of electrical “plant” has to run water through the systems to keep them cool which could account for the almost three millions gallons being used here I guess. And nine bathrooms?
5. 8614JEA Reedy Branch Dr Market value: $0? Lot size: 87,969 sqft water usage: 2,822,204 gallons
Located in a seemingly low income area, this tiny house littered with playthings, trash and a mini dirt bike is using an unimaginable amount of water. The house shares the lot with a shed, windows covered in cardboard and a trailer. The backyard is a makeshift garden decorated with rolls of blue tarp and PVC pipes. We were met by a group of whispering children and a swift lock of the door. The property is the “primary site” address of Dasan Realty LLC, also assigned to another interesting little house on Freeman Avenue according to the property appraiser site. In fact, a Google search revealed the company has many other “site addresses” but, interestingly, no company website. Daniel Saenz, who filed the Articles of Incorporation for Dasan Realty, LLC, in 2014, was previously a contractor who seemed to be buying and flipping houses. I’m assuming he is the one fronting this huge water bill, judging the book by its cover. Raising more eyebrows here. Three million gallons of water are being used at this property which is listed as the “primary site address” for Pine Castle, Inc., a non-profit organization serving adults with intellectual and developmental differences, though the actual address of Pine Castle is 15 minutes away and the current owner of the River Pine address shows as Keith L. Brown who doesn’t seem to be associated with Pine Castle. When contacting the residence, I was quickly hung up on. The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house is made from energy-efficient face brick that requires little maintenance surrounded by a meticulous planting of ferns and elephant ears and fallen pine cones from the trees towering above. The rest of the yard is a combination of sand and grass that doesn’t seem to require much water maintenance. Long showers, pumping AC and lots of “number twos” might be the culprit here, but at least all the money saved by their charitable tax exemptions pays for their obnoxious use of water.
*Update* The Duval County Property Appraiser office lists both Reedy Creek and JEA at 8614 Reedy Branch Drive due to a shared driveway. However, there are two different real estate numbers for JEA and Reedy Branch Plantation. The Reedy Branch Amenity Center has the only water meter for the property. Meter #68955186 shows daily consumption of over 10,000 CCF since January. JEA has a separate electric meter for the lift/ pump station on the back of the property taking up approximately 0.1 acre and is addressed in our billing system as 8614 Reedy Branch Dr. Apt LS01. It does not have a water meter.
9385 RIVER PINE RD Market value: $431,048 Lot size: 3,076 sqft water usage: 3,621,068 gallons
24 FOLIO WEEKLY 2.
Dasan Realty
3. Pine Castle, Inc.
7645 GALVESTON AVE Market value: $81,746 Lot size: 9,919 sqft (Living area: 804 sqft) water usage: 4,182,068 gallons
Pulte Homes Company LLC 10880 Kentworth Way Market value: $516,737 Lot size: 2,973 sqft water usage: 3,225,376 gallons
I, unfortunately, can’t say if that’s an accurate description, but that would definitely add thousands of gallons of water onto the bill. No matter what’s actually going on here, JEA needs to get their sh*t together. They just handed me this information like it was nothing!
4.
7. Carl R Spadaro 4439 Heaven Trees Rd Market value: $3,357,760 Lot size: 9,100 sqft water usage: 2,780,316 gallons
Easy Ways to reduce your total water usage: words by vincent Landscapingdalessio
25
Nationwide, landscaping irrigation accounts for nearly 9 billion gallons of water a day, and is the main reason why most of these people are listed here. But, your lawn doesn’t have to contribute to the total as much as some of these Water Hogs.
Water collection Not only is it legal to collect rainwater in Florida, but it's also incentivised through rebates and tax write offs. Rain barrels require a very small investment upfront and are easy to install. Just stick it under a downspout off your roof gutter system and during a rainstorm, a 500-square-foot roof can fill a 50-gallon rain barrel in about an hour.
6.
Dolores M. Friedline, small-time movie star, big-time water hog. Residing behind a gated courtyard and tall trimmed hedges is Friedline, who starred in 1972’s The Brides Who Wore Blood as a pretty blonde who moves to Florida on the advice of a psychic and is later murdered on her wedding night by a vampire. Dolores shared her waterfront home with late husband, Rev. David P. Friedline. Today, the home is heavily protected by security cameras, easily dismissed by the site of the glorious home visually enlarged by the gazebo structure perfectly situated between foliage and crosses. The house is made up of two screened porches, a sun room, three bedrooms and two and half baths and includes a private dock. Looks like that movie psychic turned out to be at least half right: Ms. Friedline is living the dream in Florida. Unfortunately, her obnoxious water use might lead to the destruction of her beautiful Florida home—and being murdered on her wedding night by a vampire.
Dolores M Friedline
Surprisingly, the CEO of a company with its own “ecosophy” (translation: “a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium”) landed on our water hog list. Spadaro is CEO of Earthcore, a manufacturer of eco-friendly products using volcanic stone from Iceland. Based on Spadaro’s water usage, he clearly does not practice ecosophy at home, which he probably didn’t mention when he presented at the Global Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 2007. Fast forward to 2022, Spadaro lives in a seven-bedroom house on the water with the obligatory swimming pool and a boat. Given the six cars visible from the front of the gate (and who knows how many more in the three-car garage), water hogging seems like a family affair. Side note: Action News Jax did a very riveting story on Carl’s son in 2015: “Stefan Spadaro's friend had just caught a small shark while fishing in the St. Johns River Friday evening when they had a spur-of-the-moment idea...shark selfie.” I bet the shark wouldn’t have been so nice if he knew the amount of water his family was hogging.
Prioritizing native plants in your yard over plush green grass and invasive flowering species will quickly reduce the amount of water needed for keeping your yard healthy as native plants rarely need more water than what nature provides.
Planting native is said to reduce lawn water usage by up to 60%. Adding mulch to your gardens is a great way to lock moisture in the soil reducing transpiration of water therefore needing less water added to the Andsystem.turn your f*cking sprinklers off when it's raining. Keep your eyes on the weather: If it's been raining non-stop all day, I think your plants can do without the added irrigation.
Porcelain Thrones Check your toilets. A leaky toilet can waste up to 100 gallons of water a day! Adding a 1-liter plastic bottle weighed down with pebbles to the tank of your toilet is an easy way to reduce over 5 gallons of water a day without harming the function of the porcelain throne. Every flush uses 5-7 gallons, so maybe think about peeing outside?
5552 S Milamar Dr Market value: $404,079 Lot size: 3,040 sqft water usage: 2,813,976 gallons
26 FOLIO WEEKLY TICKETS START AT JUST WELCOME TO YOUR HOME FOR AFFORDABLE. FAMILY. FUN. SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 6:35 PM WE’RE KICKING SUNDAY FAMILY FUNDAY UP A NOTCH BY CELEBRATING IMAGINARY FRIENDS BIG AND SMALL. PLUS, FACE PAINTING, BASE RUNNING AND MORE PRESENTED BY BAPTIST HEALTH. THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 7:05 PM CRUSTACEAN COURT IS IN SESSION! DISPUTE? BRING IT TO SCAMPI’S COURT. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO’LL WALK AWAY WITH A FAVORABLE RULING. PLUS, THIRSTY THURSDAY DRINK DEALS PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER. vs TUESDAY AUGUST 16 – SUNDAY AUGUST 21vs BAPTISTBUDWEISERHEALTHUNFMILLERLITETUESDAY, AUGUST 23 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 5:05 PM DOUBLE HEADER TONIGHT, WE HONOR THE ROCK N’ ROLL LEGENDS BEING INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME. PLUS, ENJOY THEMED FIREWORKS BY UNF AND DRINK DEALS PRESENTED BY MILLER LITE. JJS-000127_AugustFolioHlfPgAd_10x6.375_rsg.indd 1 7/21/22 11:50 AM
Folio InterestingWeed:Whites
It’s been a summer of anniversaries, large and small, for people and institutions across Northeast Florida, as you may have noticed.
The worst-case scenario, which I give about 50/50 odds to, is that DeSantis is reelected, and his party takes the commissioner of agriculture spot left behind by Fried. Given that medical marijuana has been her most noteworthy achievement and the base from which she’s challenging him now, DeSantis can serve his existential purpose of triggering liberals for sport, while also acting to preempt any challenge to his hand-picked successor (my money’s on Casey). That would cost Florida billions, but based on his treatment of Disney, he probably doesn’t care.
Words by Shelton Hull
Instead, my vote goes to Ryan Morales, an activist and pro DJ who advocates for the full legalization of cannabis, but also proposes even further. He’s almost like a Libertarian, except he’s actually pleasant and not the least bit insufferable. Florida Dems have some of the most interesting candidates this year that I’ve seen anywhere—shout-out to folks like Angie Nixon, Val Demings and Aramis Ayala, all easy picks, in my view.
Probably my favorite Florida candidate of all, this year, is Rebekah Jones, who is not in my district but can still have my vote anyway. Not only is she whip-smart, fiercely charismatic and utterly, almost pathologically fearless, but she has the added advantage of running against, in my opinion, arguably the single-most despicable human being to ever hold political office in the state of Florida—Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01), the utter apogee of ass-clowns. If you know any of the 800,000-plus residents of Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa or Walton counties, please call them now and beg them, on my behalf, to give that trust-fund troglodyte the Ol’ Yeller treatment now, while his people still have some plausible deniability in court.
It’s the 200th anniversary of the city itself (which was founded on a Saturday, very on-brand), the 100th anniversary of the Garden Club, the 50th anniversary of WJCT, the 25th for iconic local DJ Wes Reed and so much else. The same is true for Folio, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. This past July 8 marked the 25th anniversary of my own debut in this illustrious local rag, some seven editors and maybe a million words ago. A big chunk of that consists of the column you’re reading right now. Aug. 18 marks exactly five years since the first installment was written. What better way of celebrating the past than by looking ahead to the future, right? Sure, let’s go with that. This issue was published on Aug. 17, by which time early voting will have already begun in the state of Florida. The primary election transpires (and that seems like a perfect word for it) on Tuesday, Aug. 23; Democrats and Republicans will pick their nominees for a vast array of elected offices on the local and state levels. The general election happens on Nov. 6, and we’ll talk more about that in October, if you insist. Today, let’s hone in and bone up (that sounds bad but it’s not) on the primary because that’s where the juiciest action takes place (that also sounds bad but it’s not). The implications are curious for cannabisseurs in Florida, for a variety of reasons. Nikki Fried has my full support, but to each their own. Personally, I think anyone who votes against her is a stone cold fool and a likely liability going forward, but as always, our system requires women to jump through extra hoops, but that’s a whole other discussion. (Also, vote for the millage rate increase!) Assuming for a moment Fried runs the table, her ability to influence this matter is limited. Republicans are certain to retain control of the state legislature because Democrats essentially conceded that from the start. All 120 seats are up for grabs, but 30 seats feature candidates who are running unopposed, 25 of them being Republican. As governor, Fried would increase funding for the Office Of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), open up avenues to increase minority access to the industry, and maybe even torpedo the “vertical integration” model that has inhibited the growth of a market that, under Fried, would quickly enter the low ten figures, even if Congress and the White House maintain their current stance of abject cowardice on the issue.
Nope / Universal Pictures
Words by Harry Moore Nope Jordan Peele has enjoyed one of the most unexpected second acts in the history of Hollywood; going from being a cult hero in the sketch comedy scene to being arguably the most prominent mainstream auteur to emerge in American cinema in the last 20 years, with Peele presenting himself as a kind of 21st century Rod Serling, telling modern-day parables about our culture through a lens of horror and science fiction. With his latest film, Nope, Peele looks to the skies to create thrills that are on the biggest scale he has done yet as an adaptive alien being terrorizes a Californian ranch run by a pair of disparate siblings, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer). With the help of the Ancient Aliens watching, electronics store employee Angel (Brandon Perea) and the committed cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott), the Haywoods set out to capture irrefutable, fame-making proof that aliens Peele’sexist.other films have generally operated on a smaller scale, with Get Out and Us taking cues from more intimate and character driven horror/thriller movies, and while Nope does feature at least some of the more unsettling images to be seen in any major release in recent years, Peele appears to be more interested in creating a full blown blockbuster with his latest effort. With this film, it seems that Peele has taken a page from the early work of Steven Spielberg—with a hint of Close Encounters and a whole lot of Jaws being in Nope’s DNA. Once again, Peele has shown how adept he is at directing actors—a skill that was undoubtedly honed during his years of experience as a working actor—drawing great, and often very funny, performances from his talented cast. Palmer is given her biggest stage yet to show why she is such a highly regarded young talent from her time working on Nickelodeon and Broadway, and she doesn’t disappoint. She is excellent as the free-spirited Emerald and clashes well with the steelier and work-oriented OJ. For a while now, Kaluuya has been one of the best actors of his generation, having been on a strong run giving compelling performances in several interesting films. After his breakout performance in Peele’s revered debut Get Out, Kaluuya has gone from strength to strength as an actor; appearing in Black Panther, starring in the acclaimed drama Queen and Slim and stealing the show in Steve McQueen’s ensemble crime thriller Widows—which was no mean feat, considering it starred Viola Davis and featured a host of excellent performers such as Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell and Liam Neeson (among many others) in its sprawling cast. But Kaluuya’s success crescendoed with an Oscar win in 2021 for his captivating performance as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, and he returns to the big screen to give another great performance that is unique from what he has already demonstrated. While not as showy or dialogue driven as Palmer’s performance, Kaluuya’s is just as finely calibrated. We always know what OJ is thinking and feeling through Kaluuya’s onscreen presence, he is gifted at bringing the character to life with his physicality. It would be in the best interests of both Kaluuya and Peele to continue their fruitful creative collaboration for years to come. Meanwhile, Brandon Perea is a terrific find in what is only his second credited performance following Netflix’s series The OA: As Angel he brings a lot of the film’s humor out and gives a unique take on a well-worn character type. And Steven Yeun, who may be best known for his part in the long-running zombie show The Walking Dead gives a memorable supporting performance as a traumatized former child actor, who is now the owner of a small amusement park that neighbors the Haywoods’ ranch.
In theaters now.
29
Thor: Love and Thunder
Film Reviews
Love and Thunder is a relatively middling entry to the MCU with there being both more memorable and more forgettable films to come out of the franchise (not to mention within the Thor series itself). Taika Waititi, who recently won an Oscar for his film Jojo Rabbit, brings his patented 10-jokes-a-minute style of humor to the film, which Chris Hemsworth deftly performs. Since the success of Ragnarok, Hemsworth really found his voice in the part of Thor after struggling to make the character his own as quickly as many of his colleagues managed to do, making Love and Thunder a good vehicle for him to show off his charm in the role. The film is also notable for bringing back Natalie Portman as Jane, Thor’s longlost love interest who hasn’t appeared in an MCU project since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. Portman gives a reliably strong and surprisingly heartfelt performance.
The film isn’t without its merits and is consistently entertaining even if all the jokes don’t land and the visuals are subpar for a movie of this scale; it just feels as though the Marvel machine is beginning to run on fumes and isn’t able to surprise anyone anymore or recapture its former glories. The next stop for Marvel is Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is saddled with the tragic weight of continuing that saga following the passing of Black Panther ’s original star Chadwick Boseman, and it remains to be seen whether the studio’s grip on the industry is beginning to loosen. In theaters now.
Nope stands as another triumph for Jordan Peele and shows that the scope of his filmmaking ability has yet to reach its limit. In a marketplace that is overloaded with reboots, sequels and superheroes, it is nothing short of a Hollywood miracle that a filmmaker as creative and serendipitously minded as Peele is given the resources to tell his original story to audiences in a multiplex.
This newest adventure for Marvel’s God of Thunder has the unfortunate task of following up one of the most widely beloved MCU films to date in Thor: Ragnarok and also coming out at a time where overexposure to Marvel stories may have reached its breaking point with six movies and seven TV series set in the universe being released in 18 months. As a result, Thor: Love and Thunder has been met with a critical lambasting that it may not entirely deserve on the merits of the film itself.
30 FOLIO WEEKLY
Communication between Southern Roots and The Urban Division is unclear depending upon who you speak to. Southern Roots was told last week the investor group will be closing on the property in 20 days. The Salvats were also informed they would have 60 to 120 days after closing to leave.
The Urban Division is acting on behalf of the future owners to find new renters as well. Southern Roots reached out, asking what rent would be under the new owners. They were told $35/sqft which is a 400% increase over what they are paying now. So the Salvats countered with a 200%
Therenter.Urban
Mariah Goetz Salvat and her husband Juan Pablo “JP” Salvat, owners of Southern Roots Filling Station, a local vegan coffee shop serving breakfast and lunch, set up shop at their current King Street location in 2014. In 2016, they expanded into the space next door, doubling in size. At the time of the expansion, they signed a five-year lease. Their landlord, Patricia Butts, passed away in August of last year, a few months before their lease was up. The property was then transferred to her stepchildren. After Southern Roots’ lease ended in December 2021, they continued to pay rent on a monthly basis to stepson Layton Butts. The building was listed for sale with Colliers’ Urban Division group acting as the realtors. Southern Roots asked for a new lease and Colliers advised against writing one while the building was up for sale. Outside investors are under contract for the building currently.
On Aug. 1, 2022, Southern Roots informed their followers of their predicament via Instagram. They expressed their desire to keep the coffee shop open and their uncertainty in what the future holds. There was an outpouring of support. Five hundred plus comments expressed dismay and asked what the community can do to help.
Words by Kale Boucher & Photos by Rain Henderson
If you’re tapped into Riverside happenings, you’ve probably come across Instagram posts regarding Southern Roots and their probable relocation.
HERE’S THE RUNDOWN
It seems The Urban Division has provided the public with a tangible villain, a face to direct their anger. While rental rates skyrocket and inflation is in high gear, the working class is feeling the pressure. This Popular Riverside coffee shop and cafe being uprooted
PUBLIC RESPONSE
Division reports they have three letters of intent on the property that come from food and beverage and consumer services.
increase
There’s been a lot of noise online, so we’re hoping to help clear up the facts and give a voice to all sides of the matter.
31
Although Southern Roots didn’t name the realtors, the Internet is full of sleuths who quickly found The Urban Division page. Amidst a sudden wave of backlash, The Urban Division has limited their comments and made it so other profiles can’t tag them.
instead, aware what they currently pay is below market value. Southern Roots said they did not receive a counter or clear answer back. Instead, The Urban Division has shown the property to another potential
1 3 5 W M o n r o e S t r e e t J a c k s o n v i l l e , F L 3 2 2 0 2 | w w w . J a m e s W e l d o n J o h n s o n P a r k . o r g
LARGER IMPLICATIONS
When I asked what The Urban Division is looking for in a tenant that Southern Roots (a coffee shop offering breakfast and lunch) lacks, they wrote back “King Street is a pedestrian street—situated in a walkable neighborhood. It currently has a heavy bar and nightlife scene. I think a concept that activates the street during the day as well would be a benefit to all businesses. Could be a great restaurant or bodega.” Their hope is for King Street to become more similar to 5 Points or Avondale.
The Urban Division claims: “‘The corner’ was in reference to One Bar and Lounge. This was never in reference to [Southern Roots Filling Station].”
Clark wrote, “My brand as a broker has been to support local and regional concepts in their growth. We sometimes encounter franchises in our market, but for the most part local and regional concepts are what we place.” He wishes the public to know their team has worked with concepts in and around Riverside such as Crane Ramen, Alewife, Hoptinger, Med Men and Folio. From Mariah, JP and their supporters’ perspective, they represent the community. The Salvats are community members. They live nearby; their children go to local schools. The family “only wants what’s good for the neighborhood.” Southern Roots is founded upon community care. The coffee shop started at a farmer’s market. They emphasize use of local purveyors to support other businesses and keep money within the community. Southern Roots works tirelessly to ensure their employees make a living wage; they’re proud to say they didn’t lay anyone off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In asking Mariah what an ideal outcome to this situation would be, she mentioned her team first. Her first wish is to be able to keep everyone employed. This situation speaks to a divide in community opinion. Discourse surrounding the development of Jacksonville neighborhoods will only amplify as our city grows. This growth can play out in difficult and complicated ways. Many locals have asked what they can do to support Southern Roots. Mariah says to just stop by, order some food. She would also like to encourage the community to patronize other small businesses as well. “[It’s] not just supporting us,” she said. “This is on the horizon for others.”
Mariah is concerned The Urban Division is “pioneering a Riverside movement.” As inflation makes it more difficult for small businesses to succeed, outside interests, via realtors such as The Urban Division, can step in and reshape the area to their own liking, potentially unraveling years of community investment.
In a written conversation with Matthew Clark of The Urban Division, he expressed, “I have always supported the public forum for people’s opinion to be expressed. I have never been at the opposite end of so much misinformation.” For example, Clark feels as though his group of realtors has been lumped in with outside investors. When in fact, he himself is a part of the community, having lived in Jacksonville for 20 plus years and Riverside for six.
The Urban Division’s response to criticism has rubbed many the wrong way. In a long winded post, they seek to distance themselves from any wrongdoing. They attempted to assert themselves as bystanders: “We are not the owners of the property, we are not the buyers of the property.” A commenter disputes this perspective, framing The Urban Division as “active players in watching Jax become a city where the working class cannot afford to be in any Thelonger.”Urban Division’s most controversial response took place on a since deleted comment. One local wrote, “no surprise, good riddance to this establishment. Hoping for a decent real restaurant.” To which The Urban Division responded, “Couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately they are in a lease for a bit. We are going to try and work with them to figure out another location. The corner is too special for what is currently there.”
Southern Roots’ language about the situation hasn’t been angry or aggressive, but frustrated and distressed. The uncertainty they face has been emotional. Mariah told me, “We understand business is business.” They don’t blame the previous or future landlords. While getting priced out of their location of eight years is obviously upsetting, she understands the realities of tenant/landlord relationships. What’s hard to swallow is the way The Urban Division has treated Southern Roots and the implications this situation holds for the Riverside community at large. Clark reportedly told JP his goal was to “elevate” the food on King Street, which the Salvats interpreted as a dig on their coffee shop. Online, Jacksonville residents view The Urban Division’s commentary as abrasive and their lack of communication with a reliable tenant, just “bad business.” With Instagram comments calling to boycott whoever takes over the space, it seems The Urban Division’s response has exacerbated their PR nightmare.
33 brokerage has been made into a symbol of corporate greed and apathy toward locals.
34 Cassandra Barlow, serving the homeless
Ms. Betty, an elderly homeless woman, has been on the streets for over two years. Barlow would see her when he passed Jefferson Street sleeping on the sidewalk, rain or shine, in the heat or cold. Thanks to donations to the Housing for the Homeless Campaign, Barlow was able to give her a tent, sleeping bag and gift card to purchase essentials. She found herself on the streets after the property where she lived fell under new ownership, and they immediately raised rent. Ms. Betty could no longer afford her home after years of residing there and had to resort to sleeping on sidewalks. People experiencing homelessness constantly fight uncontrollable scenarios. Being homeless carries a stigma. The general public often compares them to addicts and are unwilling to offer help thinking they’ll use any money on their vices. It’s time we drop the stigma and educate ourselves on how to better our community, and it starts with helping the homeless. Downtown Jacksonville constantly talks about “cleaning up downtown” and making it a place for people to want to visit and enjoy. Yes, that’s all good and well, but shouldn’t we be focusing on those who need help before building more attractions and hotels?
We should be helping people like William. He was put out on the streets a little while back after falling very sick. William was diagnosed with cancer and diabetes, among other issues, but was unable to take his medication any longer. He ended up homeless and pleaded with the community to offer assistance and permanent housing to people experiencing similar struggles. While the city does work toward offering “affordable” housing alternatives, people like Betty and William cannot even afford that. Shelters offer some help, but they aren’t always accommodating and oftentimes are not open during the day. Those staying in shelters usually come in for a cot and a meal at night but have to leave first thing in the morning. Whether these shelters assist them or not, they are still put out on the streets each day. Barlow insists city parks should remain open and gates shouldn’t be closed to the homeless. This would allow them to still engage in social activities and have a somewhat normal day despite the horrors they face.
So the next time you see someone sleeping on the street or panhandling on the side of the road, try to understand they have been dealt cards we cannot imagine. We, as a community, need to work toward a better system for the homeless and those who no longer can afford day-to-day life. Let’s take a page from Barlow’s book and educate ourselves on their struggles and what we can do to help truly make Jacksonville a great city for all of its residents.
In January 2020, an estimated 27,487 people in Florida were homeless on any given day, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As Jacksonville residents, we often come across individuals experiencing homelessness, especially Downtown, but what do we actually know about them and how did they get there? Living at the beach and working downtown, I am quite used to running into makeshift beds on sidewalks and seeing people with their entire life shoved into a backpack. We exchange a quick “hi” or maybe I offer a small smile, and I am off to the next thing. I’ll think of how they’re doing a couple of times that day maybe, but how many of us ever take the time to understand what they are dealing with? How did this happen to them and was it avoidable? These questions run through my head quite often, so I took some time to educate myself.
A.W. “Al” Barlow is a local attorney and chairman of the Housing for the Homeless Campaign, aimed at finding permanent housing and assistance for the homeless. Barlow spends his days visiting homeless camps and those on the streets to try and assist them with their immediate needs.
“We give them clothing that people donate, feminine products for the women, things like that; those are their immediate needs. The campaign is to try to help them get some permanent housing that’s long-term,” said Barlow. One of the common themes Barlow notices among the homeless population is the impact of drastically increasing rents often raised with little notice, causing tenants to look toward the streets for shelter. Barlow connected me with a temporary Sulzbacher Center resident, who wished to remain anonymous, to talk about his current situation. He was quick to say moving and rent expenses were large contributing factors to his being homeless. Whether it was shelters struggling to accommodate the newly homeless, especially at the height of the pandemic, or having to eat food that was barely edible, he found it hard to find appropriate shelter and accommodations when so many things were out of his control. It wasn’t until he was accepted at the Sulzbacher Center that he was able to get a hot meal and adequate assistance. Unfortunately, he’s not alone in his struggles.
35
Words by Molly Britt & Photo by A.W. "Al" Barlow
HomelessnessUnderstanding
Handpicked, public submission gallery Zach Sawyer Zach Sawyer Jay Stevens Malique Pye Malique Pye
Jay ErikStevensCasey Zach MaliqueSawyerPye
A majority of Goldsmith’s pieces begin as blank paper scattered on the floor or taped low on the wall—within little arm’s reach—inviting her children to create with her. She then combines and collages with a keen use of shape, space and texture.
A discussion with artist Morgan Goldsmith about her exhibition at Florida Mining Gallery
Goldsmith’s current exhibition at Florida Mining Gallery is an exploration of “the space between humanity and divinity,” as well as her difficulty with birth trauma, a common experience rarely discussed in the mainstream. According to the National Library of Medicine, “up to 45% of new mothers have reported experiencing birth trauma.” The contrast between the persistent messaging of birth being a wholly positive experience with this darker, more complicated reality is apparent in Goldsmith’s work. Bright colors, celebration of creation and the collaboration with her children coexists with exploration of her difficulties and emotional isolation.
39
The title of the exhibition, “THUNDER FLOWER / emotional labor,” also speaks to this dichotomy. The phrase “thunder flower” is inspired by her son Leo, who titled an art show of his own by the name. At his sibling’s first birthday party, Leo hung up his drawings on the wall. He had each attendee pick a piece to take home. The name grew into something bigger within their family. “Emotional labor” tells the story of the work Goldsmith endured to get back to her higher self post trauma. Goldsmith doesn’t seem to compartmentalize these subjects but rather embody everything at once, exploring how things exist at “the intersection of God, love, trauma, vulnerability, domesticity and Withoutmotherhood.”aseparate
Words by Kale Boucher & Photos by Rain Henderson
studio space, her art is a part of her home life. Her supplies are often what she has on hand due to her role as a mother: stickers, crayons, chalk, and Elmer’s glue. With this knowledge, the audience may gain some insight as to what Goldsmith means when she “sees her monumental drawings as skins, absorbing her lived Sheexperiences.”intendsfor her work to feel performative, for the audience to have an active and intimate role in witnessing her stories through this visual media. I was impressed by how alive her artwork, and the space itself felt. It’s a shift from the more traditional regard toward professional art. I’ve often felt like an intruder in galleries where edges must be perfectly level, wall mounts unseen, and the space contrived and stale. Such museums seem to try to erase life, freeze time. Goldsmith’s work, however, recognizes change. She wants viewers to see evidence of her process, not just a finished product.
In the middle of the gallery floor, a TV lies facing the ceiling. Video plays, recordings of Goldsmith’s habitation of the gallery itself where she made much of the artwork just before the show’s opening. She held open hours, inviting the public to take part in creating the Toexhibition.further encourage this kind of interaction with the series, the gallery is hosting more events open to the public. Be sure to check out the schedule on Florida Mining’s social media or floridamininggallery.com. “THUNDER FLOWER / emotional labor” runs through Aug. 31. I am in love with this exhibition and promise you won’t want to miss it.
laboremotionalFLOWERTHUNDER/
Creation is second nature to Naples-based artist Morgan Goldsmith. Having grown up in a family of artists and builders, she feels drawn to repurpose the materials available to her to communicate her experiences through the physical construction and deconstruction of visual artwork. This mentality is sure to pass down to her own children as she allows them to collaborate with her in this process.
40 FOLIO WEEKLY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 HTIMSSBALTAV OESAPPOHIPILC RETNEEDISREVIR SMODLRAETIPOTS ALOKTETS STEREBCINEIGYH LAVIRSOMUSEEE ETINSOSEPSTNI EETMINEDTAOTS KRAPYTICNINNAT LRUCTAEM OOTERARABDALAS KNABHTUOSYRAVO RIMEETOTECNEH ATEDEKESOERO N O G N K A A O M G I M E M H K H G O H K E A N K I N G GOEAINMHK MAIHGKNEO KHNEMOIGA AEMIKHGON HKGONEAIM NIOMAGHKE ENAKHIOMG IGKNOMEAH OMHGEAKNI Solve this puzzle like a regular sudoku, but instead of using numbers, use the letters M-I-K-E-H-O-G-A-N (for Duval County's Supervisor of Elections, Mike Hogan) to fill each row, column and box. ACROSS 1 Intuition Ale Works container 4 JU research spots 8 Jags' all-time leading receiver: Jimmy ___ 13 Film excerpt 15 Waffle House alternative 16 Old Toyota 17 Jax neighborhood that is the R of RAM 19 PC key 20 "Quit that!" 21 Noblemen's domains 23 Folio editor's mark 25 Tropical nut 26 Germ-free 30 Special Forces caps 34 Wide shoe size 35 Hefty wrestlers 37 UGA, to UF 38 Trevor Lawrence mistakes, briefly 40 Mexican moolah 42 "Nick at ___" 43 Mink's kin 45 Jeans material 47 Peg of the LPGA 48 Pucker-inducing element of some wines 50 Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens, e.g. 52 Publix section 54 Biceps exercise 55 Golden Corral offering 59 Playground retort 63 Reproductive organ 64 Jax neighborhood that includes the MOSH 66 Therefore 67 Schlep 68 Mideast leader 69 Lunch box cookies 70 ___ out a living 71 JIA posting DOWN 1 Predecessors to 3-Down 2 Landed 3 Successor to 1-Down 4 "Pay attention!" 5 Fancy Sushi tuna 6 Portend 7 Say 8 Bee contestant 9 Jax neighborhood that was home to Harriet Beecher Stowe 10 Ratio words 11 Abound 12 ___ d'oeuvres 14 Drink with the slogan "That's What I Like" 18 Sacred ceremonies 22 Apt name for a thief 24 Used a stopwatch 26 Bank job? 27 Gossipy gal 28 Board a JTA bus 29 Trig function 31 Senora Peron 32 Spud 33 Streamlined 36 Kind of boom 39 Jax neighborhood that was once the town of South Jacksonville 41 Positioned 44 Hippies' T-shirts 46 Gift of the Magi 49 Catch 51 West Point freshman 53 A sample? What's the sense? 55 London area 56 Declare 57 I-95 division 58 Jacksonville Chess Club piece 60 Antonym of feral 61 "Step ___!" (hurry) 62 Gumbo veggie 65 Western tribe
41 TICKETS START AT JUST $5WELCOME TO YOUR HOME FOR AFFORDABLE. FAMILY. FUN. DESIGN YOUR OWN! Design Your Own Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Jersey & Hat, then scan it, post it to social media with #MyShrimpJersey. Who knows...maybe it’ll inspire a special jersey for next season!
42 SCAN THE QR CODEEVENTSFOR
SHARI: Danny, I’m all for keeping it brief but a <little> more information would go a long way. What is the reason you want to break up? Is she a slob? Does she snore? Are you wanting some strange? Since we don’t have this information, we’ll have to make something up.
I really love your Gang of Two podcast. Thanks for all you do … blah, blah, blah. Here’s my problem. I’ve been living with my girlfriend for three years, and I really want to break up with her. What’s the best way to approach this?
TERRY: And you don’t want us to make it up. We’re very creative. Since we don’t really know what’s going on, here’s a few things you can do: Move out while she’s at work. Set your home on fire. Maybe even tell her you’ve been hired to go after
43 ADULT ADVICE SHARI AND TERRY JAYMES
SHARI:Putin. Good stuff, Terry. Let’s assume she’s a reader of this article. She never misses a Folio, and she reads it cover to cover. You could give us her first name, and we could announce it for you, right here in “Dear Dumbs.” She reads it, she moves out, deed done. That’s if you’re trying to avoid face-to-face interaction.
SHARI: Pull the Band-Aid off quick. She deserves that, even if she is a slob.
JacksonvilleDannyThanks, Beach
TERRY: First off, you couldn’t even commit to a compliment … “blah, blah, blah.”
TERRY: Perfect. OK, I think I have a responsibility here to at least give you a little something. Whatever you do, do it with grace. We all know it’s not going to go well. But you have to be honest and understanding. There’s rent, shared expenses and feelings. But make no mistake about it: You’re going to be the bad guy in this situation. Don’t make it worse.
