Bill Delaney

JAXLORE | 'Legend tripping' on the First Coast | Jacksonville Today From Fernandina’s Wiccademous grave to Brooklyn’s famous Devil’s School, here’s a dive into four of the most famous local places to go legend tripping.

The Halloween season means teenagers and young adults from all over the First Coast go legend tripping — the rite of passage of visiting spots associated with danger and creepy legends. Here’s a look at four of the most popular local legend tripping spots.

Sights and Scenes: RiversEdge Parks Sights and scenes from the November 24, 2025 ribbon cutting at RiversEdge Parks. Considered to be an extension of the Southbank Riverwalk, this chain of new parks is located on the site of the former ...

Another major Downtown project is here. An extension of the Southbank Riverwalk that runs back into the marsh, RiversEdge Parks is a chain of new parks and amenities on the former site of the JEA Southside Generating Station.

The first Thanksgivings on the First Coast Five decades before the Pilgrims celebrated their feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts, French and Spanish colonists held celebrations of Thanksgiving on Florida’s First Coast. Here are the stories of som...

Five decades before the Pilgrims, the French colonists of Fort Caroline in present-day Jacksonville and the Spanish settlers of St. Augustine held their own celebrations of Thanksgiving. These First Coast Thanksgivings were some of the first in the New World. Here are the stories:

The first Thanksgivings on the First Coast Five decades before the Pilgrims celebrated their feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts, French and Spanish colonists held celebrations of Thanksgiving on Florida’s First Coast. Here are the stories of som...

My story on the first Thanksgivings on the First Coast, at Fort Caroline and St. Augustine, is up today on @thejaxsonmag.bsky.social.

Hi, question for Mrs. Shelley. In Walton’s letters at the beginning of Frankenstein, dated to 17--, he alludes to the “Ancient Mariner”. But Coleridge’s 1798 edition spelled it “Ancyent Marinere”, not revised until 1800. Are we to believe that there is some kind of Arctic time travel going on?

The Five Best Randy Newman Songs To Fuck To Everyone appreciates Randy Newman’s signature voice as it conveys sardonic song lyrics set to classically arranged pop and folk music, but did you know his music is also great to fuck to? That’s right...

Good list but here’s…

Doug’s Top 10 Randy Newman Songs for Getting It On

10. Pants
(gotta get things started one leg at a time)

9. I Could Love a Million Girls
(just put on the whole Ragtime soundtrack, really)

8. Bumpty Bumpty from “Cop Rock” (exactly what it sounds like — atop a cop car)
1/3

The urban legends of Public School Number Four, a local historical landmark nicknamed ‘The Devil’s School’ Public School number 4, which is formally known as Annie Lytle Elementary, is often referred to as 'The Devil’s School' thanks to made-up horror stories that have been passed down from generation to g...

The Jaxson’s Bill Delaney spoke to Erik Avanier of News4Jax about the folklore and reality of Jacksonville’s most famous haunted place: Annie Lytle Elementary, also known as “The Devil’s School.” Check it out here:

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Jaxsons! This my favorite of the 16th century Fort Caroline engravings depicting the Timucua, the Indigenous people of Northeast FL. It shows a Timucua family in down time, swimming over to a “most delightful island” for a picnic.

THE JAXSON | Viva Jax: Jacksonville’s Hispanic heritage | Jacksonville Today Though less well known than those in South Florida or Tampa Bay, Jacksonville’s Hispanic community has roots that are hundreds of years deep.

Ennis’s and my piece on Jacksonville’s Hispanic heritage, from the Floridanos of the colonial era to Cuban cigar factories to the booming diversity of the present day, is up on Jacksonville Today: jaxtoday.org/2025/09/16/t...

Publix is coming to Pearl Square in Downtown Jax | Jacksonville Today Publix will become part of Gateway Jax's redevelopment of 28 city blocks in the city's north core.

These kinds of wins show that Downtown Jax’s past struggles weren’t due to a lack of a market, popular support or some intrinsic failing of the city — it just takes vision and leadership. Now that we have that in Mayor Donna Deegan, big things are popping off all the time. DUUUVAL!!!

“Evil: the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It’s the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all. Familiar, transient.”—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.1

An orange plastic dinosaur on a blue stand with a yellow construction hat on a shelf

#RexMarksTheSpot Scavenger Hunt Clue #1:

Check out this saurus, he’s top shelf. Use this to grab him for yourself: Y 567.9129 FRENCH

If you find him, post a pic with the hashtag #IDigJax and #RexMarksTheSpot - Happy hunting!

Somewhere in the city, the first of 5 Rexy statues is hidden — the clue to find it drops TOMORROW

Happy birthday, America, dropping stunners on monarchy since 1776!

Me: Conan, where’d you learn to be such a great barbarian?

Conan: There’s this little place in the Apna Bazaar on Beach

Happy Pride, y’all! In a great day to cap off a great week, Mayor Deegan and community leaders commemorated LGBTQ Pride Month in Jacksonville. Especially in troubled times, it’s important to honor those who’ve brought us this far along our pat and celebrate with those paving the next steps forward.

6 stories from Jacksonville’s LGBTQ history From Timucua two-spirits to bisexual blues musicians to the continued celebration of River City Pride, Jacksonville has a long and storied LGBTQ history. In honor of Pride Month, The Jaxson takes a lo...

My piece on six stories from Jacksonville’s storied LGBTQ history is up today on @thejaxsonmag.bsky.social.

Bad bill (2025-138): vetoed. ✅
UF Jacksonville campus bills (2025-396): done. ✅
Direct contract transparency (2025-285): passed. ✅

That’s 3 huge Ws for Jaxsons tonight thanks to @MayorDeegan and our City Council colleagues. Donna gets it done!

YouTube video by City of Jacksonville, Florida Mayor Deegan on Affordable Housing

25% of our neighbors now say housing costs are our biggest challenge. That's why it will continue to be one of our top priorities.

youtu.be/2N58Oqv0Wzo

UNF poll shows support for sheriff and mayor, but less for City Council | Jacksonville Today The poll also found that people consider housing the most pressing problem in Jacksonville.

Jaxsons are responding to leadership that gets things done and fights to improve life for the whole city. And @mayordeegan.bsky.social is just getting started. jaxtoday.org/2025/06/03/u...

After years of inertia, Downtown Jax is seeing an explosion of new private development, infrastructure & parks projects under @mayordeegan.bsky.social. As someone who’s written extensively about Downtown’s struggles and potential, it’s truly remarkable. I’ll say it again: Donna gets it done!

“If it’s not right, don’t do it. If it’s not true, don’t say it.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 12.17

Sights and Scenes: Honey Dripper Weekend Sights and scenes from the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp's Honey Dripper Weekend.

Last weekend, the Jumbo Shrimp became the Jacksonville Honey Drippers in honor of the iconic icy sweet treat. Take a look at the sights and scenes.

Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer, 2014

As we commemorate the anniversary of the attack on the USS Stark, we honored the 37 sailors who lost their lives and we recommitted our support for their families and the survivors. Let's pause and remember the incredible sacrifice our Navy personnel have made, as those brave 37 Stark Sailors did.

Welcome to the Swisher Suites

Advice from Marcus Aurelius, as relevant today as it was in the 2nd century.

How A Skate Park Was Built Under A Bridge In a dimly-lit room above Riverside’s Cool Moose Café, an innocuous meeting was taking place on an otherwise mundane Tuesday evening in September of 2013. Those driving down Park Street would never ha...

A couple months back my colleague and friend Mike Field wrote up the story of how local advocates came together to push for the Artist Walk Skate Park under the Fuller Warren Bridge. 12 years later, it’s now a well loved showpiece park for the Urban Core. www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/how-...

Shout out to our Housing & Community Development Division who celebrated National Community Development Week by volunteering at many events throughout the week. Thank you all for volunteering. It’s selfless acts like these that help make our city great. We appreciate you!

Building Neighborhoods to Live in My parents moved recently to a new home in a suburb on the outskirts of a major city. As empty nesters, they wanted a slightly smaller place, nice and airy, […]

Not sure how I missed this from @4freedoms.es

How to build neighborhoods to live in?

It isn't complicated 👉Parking Reform and allowing people to build homes on small lots

ctexaminer.com/2025/04/08/b...