Jacksonville, FL — Top stories for the Tuesday, May 20, 2025 edition of Jacksonville’s Morning News:
The St. Johns County School Board is expected to hire its next superintendent during a meeting today. The Board in April selected four finalists to replace the retiring Tim Forson:
- Scott Schneider
- Dr. Brennan Asplen
- Dr. Marianne Simon
- Dr. Kyle Dresback
FIRST ALERT WEATHER: Hot weather continues before a cool front arrives. Highs today will return to the mid to upper 90s. Wednesday will be hot too. A cool front will arrive Wednesday afternoon/evening bringing a few showers/storms. Afternoon highs get knocked down just a bit to near 90 degrees on Thursday.
Three Big Things to Know:
- The swap is stopped. Developers have withdrawn a proposal to swap 600 acres of land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area into private hands following widespread backlash. A letter we’ve obtained from Upland’s representative was sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection deputy secretary announcing the withdrawal. In the letter, a representative for The Upland LLC said there was “never any intention to develop the acquired land for commercial or community development purposes.”
- Some Jacksonville residents are calling for change after a deadly crash. Duval County Public Schools teacher Mitchell Patch and his one-year-old son died after getting hit by a car Friday night while crossing Baymeadows Road. Now, some are calling for a crosswalk near the brewery close to where Patch and his son were hit. City Councilman Joe Carlucci has forwarded a request to FDOT since it’s a state road. FDOT says if improvements can be made to enhance safety, it’ll work to implement them.
- President Trump will push today for more Republican support for his budget bill, but he already has Rick Scott’s vote. Senator Scott was on Fox News yesterday to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill. Scott says he wants to help Trump get his agenda done. He says that means peace through strength, a balanced budget and bringing transparency and accountability back to government.
KILMEADE VISIT: Brian Kilmeade joined Jacksonville’s Morning News to share thoughts on the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, President Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East, and the latest on US immigration policies and protests. Hear more on the Brian Kilmeade Show from 10am to noon on WOKV.
BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL: Fox’s Ryan Schmelz reports on the latest developments in getting President Trump’s government funding bill passed. While it has advanced past committee approval, it still faces a floor vote and there are still some Republican holdouts leveraging “SALT” (state and local tax) deduction adjustments. The increase in costs from those adjustments risks alienating less moderate Republicans.
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