"Bringing Her Home" Arbus Magazine

Many Downtown Jacksonville advocates agree that they are on the precipice of something great regarding the immediate future of the Urban Core. New local businesses, shops, restaurants, and innovative ideas are emerging. Organizations like One Spark, The Elbow and, JCCI, as well as various movements like Downtown Is on Fire, Keep Jax Weird, and Jax2025 encourage involvement in the city. There is an obvious inclusiveness moving into Downtown and now more than ever before there seems to be a change in the air. And the change is good.

With the added attraction of the USS Adams, a retired ship to be transformed into a museum by The Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association, moored at The Shipyards, a family can plan an entire day safely enjoying all the amenities Jacksonville has to offer — including an exciting new allure.

     The USS Charles F. Adams was built in June 1956 in Bath, Maine, as the first of the 23 Guided Missile Destroyer ships. She toured the world during an extensive deployment in Europe in the early 1960s, including an active duty stop at the Bay of Pigs as part of the Cuban Blockade and as gun support in Vietnam. She traveled considerably from port to port during several deployments around the world, including in Europe, Africa, South America, and Canada.

     After an overhaul in Philadelphia with various repairs and upgrades to the vessel, she sailed to her new homeport of Mayport. The USS Adams was tasked on many more deployments, proving to be a faithful and sturdy ship of the United States Navy.

     The USS Adams was decommissioned in August 1991 and sent to the U.S. Naval Shipyard back in Philadelphia, where she languished; many were hoping the ship wouldn't be scrapped as so many have been. In 2008, The Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association and Adams Class Museum (JHNSA) began a campaign to bring her home, with the dream of utilizing the vessel as a museum and downtown attraction. The Jacksonville City Council and Mayor Alvin Brown approved an ordinance in September to move the ship to the Northbank area on the St. Johns River at the Jacksonville Historic Shipyards, a move which will speed up the process of opening the museum, since a berthing pier won't have to be financed and then built.

     It is the hope of the JHNSA that the USS Adams Class Museum will boost economic resurgence in the Urban Core by offering 28 direct jobs working for or on the museum, and 75 indirect jobs, as well as a projected $4 million economic impact to Downtown Jacksonville. The group imagines drawing 150,000 tourists year round to the ship for tours, and more locals to attend special events aboard the massive structure.

     A plan to educate young people in the community about the rich history, technology and engineering that made the remarkable ship a reality is closer than ever to be a reality. Nearly half the funding has been collected by the JHNSA to bring the USS Adams home to Jacksonville and if all goes as meticulously planned, she will be here and ready to receive the public by November 2014. The funds will be allocated to encourage education and exploration in a fun, safe environment and to offer the citizens of Northeast Florida a new, exciting venue to hold their special events. Imagine hosting a birthday party, trick-or-treating or even having a wedding ceremony aboard the massive ship. JHNSA is proud of Jacksonville’s impressive Naval dedication and strongly believes that the ship would honor or veterans and families that have served. For more information including how to donate to the USS Adams  Navy Warship Museum fund visit http://www.adamsclassmuseum.org/

Abigail Wright

http://www.arbus.com/

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Wayne Wood Bio for Riverside Avondale Preservation Annual

Laying the groundwork for whether or not the neighborhood continues to thrive.

When Wayne Wood was asked, "Are you surprised by the way RAP has turned out?" his answer was, "No." After all, why would he be? When he began Riverside Area Preservation in 1974, he had a specific vision, and Dr. Wood is nothing if not a visionary. It all started when he and his neighbors were saddened by the demolition of the old homes, being torn down to make way for businesses and new roads. At that time, he was influenced by the history of Riverside and but had yet to become the valued historian of the area that he is today. He set out to learn about the historical architecture of Riverside and Avondale. It was then that he published his first book, "Bicycling and Walking Tour of Riverside and Avondale." He realized all the young yuppies and older hippies were enjoying the idea of living in the familiar and familial homes built a century earlier. In his words, “We tapped into preservation at the right time.” It lit a fire within him then and he shows no signs of stopping now. We are not only fortunate enough to have him as one of Jacksonville’s most influential visionaries but as our champion of the important structures and the lands on which they're built, as well. He doesn’t just dream it — he sees the idea and makes it come to fruition.

The first event RAP held to rally the community in support of these places was never meant to be a huge gathering. But Dr. Wood and his cohorts saw more than 150 people show up, proving to themselves (and the City of Jacksonville) that these enthusiastic residents were serious about preservation. (The membership fee was only 25 cents at the time!) It was clear to Dr. Wood then that he had struck a nerve among the denizens of the Urban Core and that they really cared, too. “We tapped into a nerve that day — a reservoir of people showed up. The city was beginning to think we were at least organized!” In 1976, the organization's new name, Riverside Avondale Preservation, had replaced the old, encompassing a larger swath of streets and parks, and RAP as we now know it began.

Dr. Wood looks back fondly and openly shares with us the memories of RAP’s foundation and rich history. “I will never forget standing in front of a wrecking ball at The Martha Washington (back when it was an old folks’ home) and handing them a check for a down payment on the house. The ball broke on the first stroke and then it was ours.” Known for his over-sized and sometimes over-the-top parties, Dr. Wood goes on to explain his biggest soirée yet, The Station Celebration. Set in what is now the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Dr. Wood held a fundraiser in 1977 in the Jacksonville Terminal Building and managed to secure more than $55,000 to promote RAP. More than 8,000 generous party-goers showed up that night!

          In another maverick move, Dr. Wood proposed creating the Riverside Arts Market in 2009 and recalls walking under the Fuller Warren Bridge and really ‘seeing’ what RAM could become. Today we enjoy RAM every Saturday, rain or shine, and rarely does a resident ever utter the words “What’s that?” in Riverside. RAM has done more than just boost profit for RAP. It has served as a meeting ground, a creative collection of artists and farmers and food artisans, a new tradition in the Urban Core that has come to mean so much to so many. The attendance seems to increase every Saturday; RAM is scheduled to start up again on March 1, after a short winter hiatus.

Dr. Wood believes in the idea of ‘mini cells’ operating independently and interdependently within RAP, which will keep its operations and ideas flowing. Events like the Trolley Nights, Home Tours, Luminaria and various themed parties are aimed at keeping younger people involved. “The key is to get the younger generation to care about preservation,” he says. RAP began as an opposition to negative change that would have damaged the futures of people, places and homes in the area. Keeping that radical notion alive is in the hands of those who began it for their children, and their children’s children. “We have strength here, in that we are diverse, we are young and old, we come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and races, but we all care about this place and its legacy. And THAT is what ties us together as a community.”

If you think Mr. Jacksonville outdid himself with any of these projects, you’d be wrong. And he shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down. It seems that, every day, there is a new project, another book or a radical idea swimming in his head, ready to wow us all over again.

http://www.riversideavondale.org/

One Spark Home Host Blog

Hi, I’m Abigail, a volunteer co-chair for the Home Hosts Committee, and I’m excited to tell you about a new way that you can support One Spark Creators this year!

One Spark now has the perfect way for Jacksonvillians to get involved in One Spark in a very simple way; interested residents near or in the urban core acting as hosts to out of town Creators! The Home Host program is designed to help out-of-town Creators find clean, safe and free lodging while in Jacksonville participating in One Spark 2014. This program is especially beneficial for college-aged student Creators.

Home Hosts should be Jacksonville residents, preferably living in the urban core, who have more than just a general knowledge of Northeast Florida happenings and an extra couch or guest bedroom. Home Hosts need only provide a place for their assigned Creator to sleep and store personal belongings – anything above and beyond that is up to you.

The process is easy. Once you sign up to be a Home Host and are assigned your out-of-town Creator, you simply let them in your home. You don’t have to cook or do anything out of the ordinary while they are in your home — no laundry, no extra tasks (unless you want to of course).

For One Spark 2013, Diane Hale served as the first unofficial Home Host by opening her Avondale home to David Flores and Tony Dieppa, One Spark Creators of Eatable. The experience was positive for all parties and Hale has suggested that more Creators could benefit from The Home Host program.

 “We were so glad we didn’t have to drive all the way back to Gainesville every night during the festival,” said Tony, a University of Florida student.

Most Creators are exhausted after posting up in their booths all day and they really appreciate being able to go to a safe, clean place to crash. Being a Creator is hard work, and they will be at the festival most of the time.

“It was extremely effortless to be a host! It was wonderful! It gave me an inspired look at the next generation coming up,” said Diane.

Check out the informational video about the Home Host program here and the requirements below. [http://vimeo.com/81740885]

  Supporting One Spark and showing your love for Jax has never been easier! Sign up [https://docs.google.com/a/beonespark.com/forms/d/1Q2Am9Dlot9jthPdcey8gKaHRnUGGbNCvxZB23TOZsMQ/viewform] today to be a One Spark Home Host!

Home Hosts Job

This year, we’re also offering a Home Host program for out-of-town Creators. The Home Host program is designed to help out-of-town creators find a place to stay while participating in One Spark. Different from the JAX Ambassadors, Home Hosts sign up to open their homes to Creators to stay while in Jacksonville. You do not have to be an Ambassador in order to be a Home Host. Home Hosts and Creators are matched based on an information sheet that both parties fill out. Home Hosts must have proper sleeping areas for Creators including a bed and or air mattress/ couch. Preferably, Home Hosts live in or close to downtown. Creators must pass background checks to be approved for the Home Host program. If you’re interested in hosting a Creator at your home for the five days of the festival, please fill out this online application.

Duties:

·         Alert One Spark staff to any One Spark-related problems your assigned Creators may be experiencing

·         Help your assigned Creators find their way around

·         Make sure your respective Creators have a fantastic time in Jacksonville

Requirements:

·         Able to host Creators in your home from April 8-14, 2014

·         Attend one-hour training in March 2014 (dates TBD)

·         Background Check

·         Care about acting as a great host for Creators at One Spark

·         Clean bathroom and sleeping areas

·         Passionate and knowledgeable about Jacksonville

·         Personal mobile phone

beonespark.com

Fasting for Jesus. Folio Weekly January 2014

Fasting for Jesus

How a diet that’s supposed to bring you closer to God drove our writer crazy

DENNIS HO

By Abigail Wright

Posted 1/22/14

During the Fast of 2013, I went insane.

This was supposed to be a moral experiment — the Daniel Fast, it’s called. It’s a strict diet: fruits, vegetables and whole grain. It lasts 21 days, based on the Bible story of the Old Testament prophet who survived on very little to make himself worthy in the eyes of God. As the Christian Broadcasting Network’s website explains, “We follow his example not so much because his diet is worth emulating as because his heart is worth emulating.”

The Daniel Fast is practiced by millions of Christians worldwide every year, often around Lent. Locally, Celebration Church — the Southside mega-church to which my boyfriend belongs — leads the masses. Last year, I signed up for the first time. It didn’t go well.

If this is supposed to get me closer to God, I wonder, why am I making plans in the grocery store to steal candy from an old lady and contemplating the health risks associated with eating the day-old bagel I found on the street?

At first I worried I wouldn’t be able to give up everything, and I didn’t want to set myself up for failure, so I just gave up dairy products. As someone who’d years before made a vegetarian pact with her body, I never dreamed doing so would affect me in any tangible way. I was so very, very wrong.I wanted to punch the world in the nuts.
For the most part, I ate normal things. Bun-less veggie burgers, homemade salsas, salads and mayo-free sandwiches. Not bad, right? But the cravings grew worse every single day. Everywhere I went, aromas of those forbidden foods entranced and intoxicated me. My Christian friends told me to pray, to “ask God to help fill you up with his word and the Holy Spirit.” They say this with a smile because they, in fact and faith, believe it.

As an Episcopalian, I don’t do the whole swaying-in-the-pews-shouting-hallelujah thing. The only thing I want to be filled with is tasty, soothing Camembert — and lots of it.
I started the fast thinking I’d lose weight. I didn’t think I had any battles to fight with myself.

It’s Day 3. My boyfriend and I are in South Georgia — him on a work trip, me tagging along. I’m angry and paranoid, totally convinced Boyfriend hates me, so much so, I try to sleep in our hotel room’s bathroom because (and this is not at all normal or rational) “I want to make it easier on you to leave me in the morning.” Yeah.

The boyfriend doesn’t leave, bless him. Instead, he drops me off at a cozy coffee shop with Wi-Fi — a place where the baristas’ accents were as thick as their terrible coffee — so I could work.

“May I please have a veggie wrap, no cheese, add mustard?”

In South Georgia, where “vegan” is a four-letter word, this is Greek. What they gave me was a blob of white and yellow in a loose flour tortilla. In my dairy-deprived mind, I envision jumping over the counter and screaming in the teenager’s face, “I SAID NO FUCKING CHEESE!” (Closer to God, indeed.) Instead, I calmly ask her to make a wrap with no dairy. “Is ranch dairy?” she replies. I leave.

I had no idea what was going on with my brain and body. I wanted to give up. I couldn’t bear to tell Boyfriend that I damn near murdered a teenaged barista over ranch dressing.

Two days later, I buy a huge bottle of red wine. My favorite, most precious vice. The hotel just had a wine mingler in the lobby. I take my Friar Tuck vessel down to ask the receptionist to open it for me.

I wait in line while she takes personal calls and then — in the worst Reba accent ever — informs me that they don’t, in fact, have a wine key. “Well, you just had a wine-down in here.”

“Oh, we had boxed wine, hon.”

“Ooooohhhh yewwww had bawwwxed whaaaanne,” I snap, impatiently tapping my fingernails on her desk. Bitch Abigail has come out to play. Once again, time to leave.

We came home, where corkscrews abound and there are vegans and vegetarians alike in my familiar community.

I reached out to a vegan friend: Has anyone else ever felt this way? What the hell’s wrong with me? I was so angry and emotional, driving myself (and the unlucky few around me) mad.

Then she told me about a little bugger named casein, a protein in dairy that, when you go off cold turkey, can produce withdrawal symptoms not unlike an opiate detox. (Seriously.)Oh my God, I’m not crazy.

I took relief in the newfound reality that this is all temporary, that Bitch Abigail will go away as soon as the Daniel Fast does. Secure in this knowledge, I could deal with my behavior. I could make it work. And I did.

I began the Fast of 2014 on Jan. 12, determined to use the tools I’d forged and give it another go. It ends Feb. 2. I’m free of dairy, booze, soda, bread. I eat only fruits and vegetables. Mostly raw. I have to meticulously plan my day — every hour, really — with activities to keep me busy physically. (Sex fiends, rejoice!) I usually pour a glass of wine when I read at night, so reading is out of the question. I go for walks, try to write. Let’s face it: You’re at your best, literarily speaking, when half-lit. I clean my room and find loose change that I immediately equate to how many cans of soda I can get at the Jiffy. I bought Advil PM, but decided it’s cheating if my plan is to hibernate for 21 days.
So why do I do this? Self-reflection. Self-realization. Self-inspection (introspection?). Call it what you will. I’m hoping to achieve some kind of new awareness level, which is scary, considering how murderous I grew last year.

I’m not doing it alone. A group of friends is doing it with me — some for religious reasons, others to lose weight. Tools notwithstanding, it’s still freaking hard. Prayer is still an option, I guess, but when those cravings arise, the voice in my head answers, “Shut up. You chose this all by yourself.”

Better Libraries Please. Folio Weekly Decemeber 2013

Better Libraries, Please

Last week, Save Jax Libraries, an activist group dedicated to, well, saving Jacksonville's libraries, announced that it had obtained the 25,931 validated signatures it needs to add an initiative to the Aug. 16 ballot to establish an independent library district. 
This marks the first straw ballot to clear this hurdle in 
city history.

And it's a good thing. Let us explain: Right now, the Jacksonville Public Library receives funding from the city's general fund. But every year, the activists say, that pot leaks more and more and the libraries see less and less. That potentially means branch closings, shorter hours and fewer resources

Based on a 2012 proposal by the Jacksonville Community Council, they want to give the library 
a dedicated funding source not privy to the whims 
of politicians – in 2013, the city gave $9 million 
more toward EverBank Field ($43 million) than its entire library system ($34 million), because priorities. 
While the ballot initiative would create a special taxing district, that doesn't necessarily mean 
new taxes. Rather, it just means that an independent board would have control over the library's resources.

"The money the libraries receive is a kind of ‘use it or lose it' situation," says Missy Jackson, a Friends of the Murray Hill Library board member. "With this option, we would see the unused money rolled over into the next fiscal year, making it more beneficial to the library system and the communities that use it."

If the straw ballot initiative passes in August, the second and final referendum could come as early as Nov. 4, provided the Jacksonville City Council and the Florida Legislature both sign off on it.

http://folioweekly.com/St-Augustine-Record-Worst-Newspaper-Ever,8851

VItti : "Trust Me" Folio Weekly December 2013

On Jan. 13, Duval County Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti pulled a maverick move. He switched 11 principals from their current posts to positions at other schools. Some were transferred to schools he felt needed better leadership, some were demoted and others were switched from principal to administrator. Such a drastic mid-year change alarmed many parents and teachers, and for good reason: What was so wrong that Vitti felt the need to presto-chango so dramatically?

We asked Vitti directly. The answer, he says, is that he wanted to send a message: "We made an action plan – a blueprint. Mid-year changes create a sense of urgency and I feel that it shows we are serious about putting the right leader in the right school. It energizes the faculty. Teachers and students will see the results."

These changes were based on data Vitti's staff collected during the fall, which showed that some schools' needs were more dire than they'd realized, he says. Ribault Middle, R.L. Brown Elementary and West Jacksonville Elementary, for example, all came up short in the four core academic areas: math, science, English and history.

While the moves caught people off-guard, Vitti insists that decisions weren't made rashly. And on one particular point he's quite firm: "There will be no more principal changes this year. Period."

The community's feedback has been mostly positive, especially after the dust settled and the initial shock wore off, Vitti says. "Trust me. I encourage patience and understanding that change – if any – to your school moving forward is based on the best interest of our community."

Those changes, he adds, weren't based on a specific formula or metric; rather, they seem more a product of Vitti's gut. He says he looked at the experience and abilities of each leader, as well as his principals' track records.

"Change is not easy," he says, "but I think the community wants a change agent. Some people embrace it and some people adjust. Some are just waiting to see results."

http://folioweekly.com/St-Augustine-Record-Worst-Newspaper-Ever,8851