MAIL

LETTER TO THE GO-FOR-BROKE EDITOR RE.: No Days Off & Garrett’s Ganja Gambit by Shelton Hull, Feb. 12 THANKS TO SHELTON HULL FOR THE TWO complementary pieces on City Councilmember Garrett Dennis. One thing to add is that Dennis and Councilmember Joyce Morgan have been working to direct more resources into development of economically depressed areas of the city. Economic development as well as improved housing, public schools and job creation must accompany the policing and intervention strategies now in place, if we want to deal effectively with the many disparities in Jacksonville that contribute to violence and pathological behavior. Do we have a crisis yet? If we do, it is time for the private sector and government to step up and create jobs, both for the upcoming summer and for the long term. When the Great Depression struck, conscientious members of the business community created jobs. In his 1967 book The Emergence of the New South, 1913-1945, George Tindall recounts the example of banker Alfred I. DuPont of Jacksonville, who “sent out trucks to pick up the jobless for work in public parks at $1.25 a day. With daily payrolls as high as $400, he kept it up until New Deal agencies took over in in 1933.” Municipal, county and state governments in the South created job programs, which suffered from a paucity of financial resources in the face of widespread unemployment and a misplaced, radical individualism. (Religious organizations were there, too.) But, eventually, the federal government had to intervene–as much to sustain capitalism as to provide relief and hope. We have today in the local private sector numerous examples of generosity and compassion, and more of the same would be welcomed. Faith-based groups do a lot. Team Curry, however, continues to abide in a parallel universe similar to the 1920s, compartmentalizing its view of the pathologies of daily life in Duval. Their crisis is how to keep a lid on things at street level so that the imperial project can advance.

Michael Hoffmann via email

LOWEST OF THE LOW RE.: Solite, So Low by Susan Clark Armstrong, Feb. 19 DEAR MR. VALENTINO, I’D LIKE TO THANK YOU and Ms. Clark Armstrong. This decades-long issue with Solite/Stoneridge Farms needs to be kept on the minds of all Clay County residents, not just people (like me) who live next door to the property. I helped my father build a house here on Oak Grove Drive in the early 1980s. It’s been my family’s permanent home since 2004, so I try to stay on top of the issues with Solite/ Stoneridge Farms. It infuriates me that, after all these years, this corporation is still going to get away without cleaning up the whole site, and they’re going to put a residential and commercial mix on the property. And to boot, we have Commissioner Wayne Bolla, who thinks this out-of-state company “deserves” a residential “Density Housing Bonus” for cleaning up the site. It’s a kick in the face to all the taxpaying residents of Clay County who haven’t turned their property into a hazmat site. What bonus does he think each resident should get? Apparently just higher taxes, more houses clustered on top of each other, and more traffic. “Solite, So Low” is right. With roughly 1.2 miles of waterfront on Black Creek, I pray that the North Florida Land Trust can somehow get involved in saving this property from questionable development.

Matt Hansknecht via email

THIS SHOULD BE CLEANED UP PROPERLY, AND water-monitoring wells should be put in to determine if the toxins have migrated to the water table or surrounding properties—all at the owner’s expense. Nothing should be built on top of it until it is completely remediated.

Amy Lee via email

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BRICKBATS + BOUQUETS

BOUQUET TO NORTH FLORIDA LAND TRUST On Feb. 19, the conservation organization celebrated 20 years and 20,000 acres of land protected. The Jacksonville-based nonprofit was founded to preserve natural resources, historic places and working lands through donations and purchases of land as well as conservation easements.

BOUQUET TO CHRISTINA KITTLE On Feb. 14, the Jacksonville teacher successfully fought off a would-be robber at an area Family Dollar. The aggressor claimed to have a gun and threatened Kittle. As he reached for her credit card, however, she surprised him with a punch to the face, after which he fled, flustered.

BOUQUET TO BURLOCK & BARREL DISTILLERY Brooklyn’s new craft whiskey distillery opened its doors in December. First, however, owners Ian Haensly and Colin Edwards auctioned off a private dinner for 28 guests, with all bids benefitting Best Buddies Jacksonville.