WEDNESDAY October 30, 2019
Public legal notices begin on page 4
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
DOCUMENTARY TO EXPLORE Daily Record ‘THE SOUL OF SOUTHERN ROCK’ JACKSONVILLE
Workshops to examine potential JEA sale The first of the City Council’s fact-finding hearings about privatization is Nov. 6.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Jacksonville-based PineRidge Film and Television is producing the $2 million three-part series they plan to air on PBS stations next year.
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
BY DAN MACDONALD
JACKSONVILLE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PineRidge Film and Television is preparing to produce a threepart documentary, “The Soul of Southern Rock,” that would take Jacksonville’s history with the genre onto an international stage. Jacksonville-based PineRidge Film and Television is led by CEO Jerry Smith and his wife, Cynthia Smith, as president. Suzanne Teate is associate producer with First Coast Films, which is producing the documentaries. The series will answer why and how Jacksonville came to be considered the birthplace of Southern rock while exploring the widespread roots of the music. The estimated $2 million production has a target debut date in 2020 on PBS member stations nationwide, Jerry Smith said. Smith said PBS has committed to airing the program but will not announce a date until the money is raised. The Southern rock genre was made famous by groups with Jacksonville ties: The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special, Blackfoot and numerous other bands of the late 1960s through the early 1980s. It continues today with versions of those bands still touring because of continued worldwide popularity, especially in Asia, SEE SOUTHERN ROCK, PAGE 2
From left, Cynthia Smith, Jerry Smith and Suzanne Teate will be using these marketing tools to find local sponsorship for their documentary, “The Soul of Southern Rock,” that they intend to debut on PBS next year.
City Council member Michael Boylan said Monday that the first of 14 fact-finding workshops in the Council’s independent inquiry into the possible sale of JEA will be Nov. 6 During a noticed meeting with City Council President Scott Wilson on Oct. 8, Boylan said he would form a special committee to hold a series of fact-finding hearings on the ramifications of selling the city-owned utility. The schedule shows meet- Boylan ings twice per month through June 8. Boylan said the workshops will examine JEA’s yearlong strategic planning process and outcomes leading to the release of its invitation to negotiate Aug. 2. Sixteen companies responded to the utility’s solicitation, and JEA negotiators are considering bids from nine to buy some or all of the utility’s assets. JEA’s senior management team says selling to a private company could be the best option to solve a projected decline in energy sales and revenue. The workshops will examine each scenario presented by JEA leadership to its board of directors, including making no changes to its operations, transitioning into a customer-owned co-op or conducting an initial public offering to become a publicly
Photo by Dan Macdonald
SEE JEA, PAGE 3
MedMen to open in Jacksonville Beach MedMen Enterprises Inc. announced it will open its Jacksonville Beach location today. The medical marijuana retailer is at 308 S. Third St., the former 33 Star retail location. The grand opening is at 9 a.m. Regular store hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. As part of the grand opening, customers will receive 25% off their purchases and a portion of proceeds for the first month of sales will benefit Epilepsy Florida. Los Angeles-based MedMen said in a news release the Jacksonville Beach location is its seventh in Florida. The chain also is working on sites in Five Points and Mandarin.
VOLUME 106, NO. 244 • ONE SECTION