Jacksonville, FL

Young professionals may rely on a cell phone as a primary phone.

If you don’t have the NOAA Weather radio receiver or scanner, you do what I did once when a late night tornado warning was issued. You stay up. But now that the Duval County Emergency Operations Center has implemented a telephone emergency notification system, I can go to bed. The system is capable of automatically contacting residents in the event of a potential or pending emergency. Local officials now have the ability to deliver a pre-recorded message to residents in targeted areas of the city, or to the entire county, if necessary, at a rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour.

There’s an added advantage to this new system. It’s common for the under-forty crowd to use a cell phone as a primary number. This money-saving option traditionally would keep a cell phone number off an emergency notification list. There’s good news for these residents, and for business owners and those with unpublished numbers. (more…)

Chickie Wickie showed up in our back yard two years ago. I think she likes us. She’s still here. We have no idea where she came from.

I felt sad when I read that Dave Flagler, chief at the Jacksonville Animal Care and Control Center is resigning. An article in The Florida Times Union says Flagler told the paper on Thursday he was “unclear” about the reasons he was asked to resign.

I met Flagler on the phone two years ago when I was doing a story for the Times Union about a chicken that flew over our fence, landed in our oak tree and decided to adopt us. He answered my questions patiently—he is the first person I’ve heard use the reference “feral chicken.”

What really came through as I talked to Flagler was his concern for animals. I don’t know the ins and outs of political appointments, but I think homeless animals in our area lost a great advocate. Hopefully, Flagler will continue his efforts by working in the private sector.

As for our “feral chicken,” she is fearless. Our hound dog does not willingly cross her path. She sleeps in the trees and comes up to the door every morning, demanding food.

Otherwise, she doesn’t want to be touched. Those who try seek first aid soon after.

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Jacksonville distributor Omni United USA Inc. is on the list of companies who sold allegedly faulty tires manufactured in China.

Global trade creates complex relationships. Jacksonville Business Journal says Omni United USA Inc. is a subsidiary of a Singapore-based company, Omni United Pte. Ltd. The company sold tires manufactured by China-based Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. and imported by Foreign Tire Sales.

The tires are light truck radials that could fall apart on the road.

Consumer Affairs reports a lawsuit has been filed against FTS over a fatal traffic accident in Pennsylvania in 2006:

The suit says tread separation caused a cargo van carrying four passengers to crash, killing two passengers and injuring the other two. The light truck tires were sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS.

FTS has filed an $80 million lawsuit against the Hangzhou Rubber Company and notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TSA of the defect. FTS had conducted testing after warranty requests increased. Consumer Affairs says, “Visual analysis revealed that some tires seemed to have an insufficient or missing gum strip — a key safety feature to preserve the integrity of the belts.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Fox News, “We want a full tire recall to take place.” The agency has notified Foreign Tire Sales. The Hangzhou tires were sold to the following distributors: Tireco, in Compton, Calif.; Strategic Import Supply, in Wayzata, Minn.; Omni United USA Inc., in Jacksonville, Fla.; Orteck International Inc., in Gaithersburg, Md.; K&D Tire Wholesalers LLC, in Carlsbad, Calif.; and Robinson Tire, in Laurel, Miss.

NHTSA is a great resource for safety and performance information about tires. For more information, visit the tire information pages at the NHTSA Web site.

(text by Kay B. Day; photo from NHTSA Web site (safercar.gov); photo is not representative of recalled tires.)

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Recently, the Mounted Unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office hosted a “Family Fun Day.” The families were invited to tour the Mounted Units facilities. They also watched equestrian and canine demonstrations and learned about JSO’s Aviation Unit.–photo courtesy of City of Jacksonville press room

Typical zoning and rezoning matters as well as addressing the way citizens can change the city charter will be visited by the Jacksonville City Council at the regular meeting on Tuesday, June 12, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at 117 W. Duval St., City Hall, 1st Floor, Council Chambers.

Jacksonville is for the most part a well-run city. It’s a daunting task to manage a city this big—the Chamber of Commerce likes to remind us we’re the largest city in land mass in the contiguous United States.

Another item on the agenda relates to auditing the tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, clerk of the courts and sheriff a minimum of once every five years. This is an accountability matter; it seems to be a good management tool.

Council will also give a nod to Jacksonville’s 185th birthday—our city was founded by Isaiah Hart on June 15, 1822.

The public can attend council meetings. If you aren’t inclined to go, you can take a look at the preliminary agenda on the city Web site.

Note: We’ve had severe storms rolling through since early this morning. I’m posting late today because it’s been necessary to shut down the computer. Jacksonville has some sensational lightning shows, and this morning’s was a real piece of work.

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