The Tributary

Florida nuclear plant workers were too afraid to report safety concerns, records show These records cap years of issues surrounding the nuclear operations of the state’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light, most of which have been disclosed in highly technical reports that have esca...

New from @jaxtrib.org *and* @tampabaytimes.bsky.social | Last year, anonymous complaints surged at one of Florida Power & Light’s nuclear power plants, prompting federal inspectors to come knocking. Here's what they found:

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/31/f...

Two more people wrongfully charged under Florida’s blocked immigration law, AG says The two previously unreported arrests indicate some local police remain unclear on what they can enforce.

NEW: The Bartow Police Department arrested a driver and passenger in July and charged them with violating a state immigration law that has been blocked by a federal judge, according to a bimonthly report from the Florida Attorney General’s Office.

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/30/t...

Black drivers ticketed more for traffic violation that prompted viral Jacksonville stop Driving in the rain without headlights, the reason William McNeil Jr. was pulled over before he was hit and then dragged from his car by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies, is an exceedingly rare infract...

New from @jaxtrib.org | After video of William McNeil's Jr.'s traffic stop went viral, we pulled more than three years of traffic-stop data. Getting ticketed for no headlights in the rain is exceedingly rare in Jacksonville - but less so if you're Black like McNeil.

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/28/b...

Black drivers ticketed more for traffic violation that prompted viral Jacksonville stop Driving in the rain without headlights, the reason William McNeil Jr. was pulled over before he was hit and then dragged from his car by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies, is an exceedingly rare infract...

From 2021 through July of this year, Jacksonville deputies wrote tickets for “no headlamps” in rain, fog or smoke at least 78 times, according to records from the Duval Clerk of Courts, with the vast majority – about 63% – going to Black drivers.

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/28/b...

As immigration arrests surge and oversight ebbs, 911 calls at Florida detention center double Emergency call data at the Broward immigration detention center align with allegations by attorneys and advocates that the system is overwhelmed.

New from the @jaxtrib.org | As immigration arrests surge and oversight ebbs, 911 calls at Florida detention center double

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/25/a...

In Florida's eviction capital, major landlord under the spotlight The allegations test the reputation of a company that, according to one study, is the top eviction filer in Duval County, but which has also had a run of positive press for its work in housing and dow...

JWB, one of the largest and most politically connected property management companies in Jacksonville, has settled 2 allegations that it violated the rights of its tenants

@jaxtrib.org Mary Beech broke down what that means, going beyond the settlements

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/23/i...

Ranking officer during Duval jail death has spotty past A Jacksonville jail sergeant suspended in the aftermath of the violent death of a chef in April was hired despite having been kicked out of the Marines and having a history of arrests for domestic vio...

A Duval County jail sgt suspended in the aftermath of the violent death of a 31-year-old in April was hired despite having been kicked out of the Marines & a history of arrests for domestic violence & DUI, according to records obtained by @nicholemanna.bsky.social

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/21/r...

Jacksonville firm with $78 million ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ contract has obscure origins Information about Critical Response Strategies LLC - including who runs it - has been scrubbed from its website in recent months.

NEW: A consulting firm with ties to a prominent Jacksonville business leader landed a $78 million contract to provide services at #alligatoralcatraz

via @jaxtrib.org's new immigration reporter @annacat.bsky.social & editor @natemonroe.bsky.social

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/16/j...

U.S. Supreme Court denies appeal for Duval man scheduled for execution The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to block the execution of a Florida man who was convicted of gunning down a Jacksonville couple more than 30 years ago.

U.S. Supreme Court rejected a plea to block the execution of Michael Bell who was convicted of killing a Jax couple more than 30 yrs ago

Justice Sotomayor and Kagan would've granted the stay of execution so the court could have heard Bell’s appeal.

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/15/u...

Florida Supreme Court denies Duval Death Row inmate's appeal ahead of execution The Florida Supreme Court upheld a decision by a Duval circuit judge that rejected relief for a Death Row inmate – despite signed affidavits by two prosecution witnesses who said they were coerced by ...

NEW: Fl. Supreme Court upheld a decision by a Duval judge rejecting relief for a Death Row inmate – despite signed affidavits by two witnesses who said they were coerced by the state to lie.

Michael Bell is scheduled to die on July 15.

by @nicholemanna.bsky.social

jaxtrib.org/2025/07/08/f...

Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant who...

NEW: Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row

Reporting by @nicholemanna.bsky.social as part of @jaxtrib.org's "Cold-Blooded" series.

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/26/c...

Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant who...

NEW: The state used Sidney Jones as their star witness to put Kenneth Hartley on Death Row. I dug up Jones's past and found a sprawling criminal record that begs the questions:

Why was he believed? And why weren't other witnesses with different stories called to testify?
jaxtrib.org/2025/06/26/c...

JSO blocks release of emails in days after fatally injured inmate was taken to hospital In the three days after Charles Faggart, a  31-year-old father and food truck vendor, was rushed to UF Health with fatal injuries from the Duval County jail, Sheriff T.K. Waters sent and received no e...

NEW: In the three days after Charles Faggart was rushed to UF Health with fatal injuries from the Duval Co jail, Sheriff T.K. Waters sent and received no email – or at least none that the sheriff’s office is willing to disclose.

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/26/j...

Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant who...

NEW: Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row

Reporting by @nicholemanna.bsky.social as part of @jaxtrib.org's "Cold-Blooded" series.

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/26/c...

Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie The legal team representing Michael Bell submitted handwritten affidavits from both witnesses, each saying he was coached to give false testimony by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective William Bol...

New from @jaxtrib.org | Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie

"Bell’s appellate lawyers submitted a copy of The Tributary’s investigation as part of their pleading for relief."

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/20/w...

Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie The legal team representing Michael Bell submitted handwritten affidavits from both witnesses, each saying he was coached to give false testimony by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective William Bol...

Michael Bell, who is scheduled to be executed July 15, will have an evidentiary hearing on Monday — some of the arguments made in his motion came from @jaxtrib.org's recent investigation into another Duval death penalty case.

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/20/w...

In an attempt to learn more about the use of those chairs, I filed a records request with JSO asking for docs of the agency’s use of restraint chairs in the jail over a 7-yr period.

A month later, the records dept responded that there were no responsive records to the request

Autopsy into controversial jail death complete, but findings a mystery That report’s findings about what ultimately caused Faggart’s controversial death will prove consequential, so the report’s completion is a significant step.

Charles Faggart’s autopsy report is exempt from public disclosure while prosecutors investigate whether the force used against Faggart during his time at the jail – including a restraint chair, pepper spray and a stun gun – was legally justified.

jaxtrib.org/2025/06/12/a...

Sergeant suspended after Duval jail death broke use of force policy before The sergeant who was among nine guards suspended by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters after a Duval County inmate was allegedly brutalized to death in April was reprimanded in 2021 after he pepper spra...

NEW: Sergeant among nine guards suspended by the Jacksonville sheriff after a Duval County inmate was allegedly brutalized to death in April was reprimanded in 2021 after he pepper sprayed a restrained inmate at close range, according to docs obtained by The Tributary

jaxtrib.org/2025/05/19/s...

Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, slams controversial Northeast Florida land deal Wiles' intervention, given her proximity to national power, is remarkable, but it's in line with many prominent figures in Northeast Florida concerned the land swap could tarnish prized and environmen...

Susie Wiles, President Donald J. Trump’s chief of staff, blasted a controversial and fast-tracked proposal backed by Florida regulators that would trade 600 acres of prized public land in St. Johns County to a private developer, calling the proposed swap “outrageous."

jaxtrib.org/2025/05/18/s...

Lawyers for Kenneth “Kip” Hartley, a Jacksonville Death Row inmate convicted of murder more than 30 years ago on the word of a known liar and three jailhouse snitches, are fighting to pry loose records they hope will undo the case.

jaxtrib.org/2025/05/08/d...

Medical records in controversial jail death contradict JSO account One of the nine Duval County jail officers suspended earlier this month in connection with the death of 31-year-old Charles Faggart was reprimanded last year in an unrelated internal affairs investiga...

NEW: @jaxtrib.org obtained hundreds of pages of medical records from Charles Faggart's time at UF Health.

Doctors concluded he did not have fentanyl in his system or suffer a seizure, contradicting key details released by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

jaxtrib.org/2025/05/05/m...

JSO jailers said she had no visible injuries. Photos say otherwise Allison Fierro’s face was unmarked when she was booked into the Duval County jail on a DUI. When she bonded out three days later, her eyes were a frightful black-and-blue mask, the result of a violent...

When Allison Fierro was released from the Duval Co jail, a friend rushed her to Mayo for treatment of massive bruises around her eyes — gained after she was taken to the ground by a CO who said she wasn’t injured

The bruising was so bad Mayo called 911

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/30/j...

Officer suspended in recent Duval jail death was previously reprimanded One of the nine Duval County jail officers suspended earlier this month in connection with the death of 31-year-old Charles Faggart was reprimanded last year in an unrelated internal affairs investiga...

ICYMI: One of the correctional officers suspended after Charles Faggart's death was reprimanded last year.

Records show he and two other officers failed to check on inmate David Given before he was found dead in his cell.

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/22/o...

Officer suspended in recent Duval jail death was previously reprimanded One of the nine Duval County jail officers suspended earlier this month in connection with the death of 31-year-old Charles Faggart was reprimanded last year in an unrelated internal affairs investiga...

NEW: One of the 9 Duval County jail officers suspended earlier this month in connection with the death of 31-year-old Charles Faggart was reprimanded last year in an unrelated internal affairs investigation centered around the death of a different inmate.
jaxtrib.org/2025/04/22/o...

Journalism Jobs • The Tributary Come work with us at The Tributary, a nonprofit newsroom in Jacksonville. We're looking for journalists committed to investigative reporting.

. @jaxtrib.org is hiring an investigative reporter! Reach out if you are interested and have any questions!

jaxtrib.org/about/jobs/

Duval jail death a grim reminder of lingering problems Charles Faggart’s death, which prompted Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters to suspend eight corrections officers and one sergeant while a criminal investigation is underway, overlaps with years of scrut...

The heavily redacted report notes that a nurse flushed Charles Faggart’s eyes with saline solution, which suggests Faggart was pepper-sprayed while he was in a restraint chair.

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/15/d...

Duval jail death a grim reminder of lingering problems Charles Faggart’s death, which prompted Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters to suspend eight corrections officers and one sergeant while a criminal investigation is underway, overlaps with years of scrut...

NEW: The death of a 31-year-old man at the Duval County jail was a searing reminder of the perils that lurk within the decades-old building: Jacksonville’s jail is a dangerous place.

More than 145 people have died there (or due to being there) since 2010.

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/15/d...

Man injured in 'incident' involving 9 Jacksonville jailers dies The 31-year-old father who was hospitalized after an “incident” in the Duval County jail this week, which Sheriff T.K. Waters has refused to detail, has died, according to his family's attorney.

In response to a records request from The Tributary seeking more information about why Charles Faggart was hospitalized, JSO said it would not turn the records over because they are part of an “active criminal investigation.”

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/10/m...

Man injured in 'incident' involving 9 Jacksonville jailers dies The 31-year-old father who was hospitalized after an “incident” in the Duval County jail this week, which Sheriff T.K. Waters has refused to detail, has died, according to his family's attorney.

The 31-year-old father who was hospitalized after an “incident” in the Duval County jail this week, which Sheriff T.K. Waters has refused to detail, has died, according to his family’s attorney.

jaxtrib.org/2025/04/10/m...