Preserving the Natural Environment River quality improved, the air quality index remained good, and water conservation and recycling increased. The Floridan Aquifer showed signs of recovering from the steep declines of 1999 and 2000. A Gold Star was awarded to acres of park and conservation land. Despite the cost of gasoline, however, motor fuel consumption increased. And the number of septic-tank permits increased, which remains a concern for potential health and environmental problems in the future. Promoting Social Wellbeing and Harmony Homelessness, racism, and children in foster care top the list of community priorities identified in this section. And while total philanthropic giving and volunteerism both increased, showing a willingness to devote both time and money to community causes, volunteers who gave more than seven hours a week decreased. Enjoying Arts, Culture, and Recreation The operative word in this section was more: more parks, more people at the parks, more performances, more people at musical shows, more money allocated for recreation activities and maintenance, and more people using the library. Of special note was the return of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in 2003, which brought in a total attendance of 60,000. The only sour notes were attendance at sporting events, with attendance at Jaguars football games leading an overall decline, and support for the arts, which dipped slightly on lower private contributions. Sustaining a Healthy Community This section was of particular concern to the 2004 Quality of Life Review Committee, which considered awarding the entire section a Red Flag. The infant mortality rate rose, with the infant death rate for people of color climbing to 16.0 per 1,000 live births. The complementary indicators of newborn birth weights, early prenatal care, and childhood immunizations all remain below community expectations. Fewer people reported having health insurance. Deaths due to cancer (especially lung cancer) and heart disease spiked upwards in 2003. Sexually-transmitted-disease reports remain more than double the state average, and fewer of the needy elderly received home-delivered meals. Maintaining Responsive Government The 2004 Presidential election saw a surge in voter registration and voter turnout. In local government, however, fewer people reported keeping up with local government news; only 36 percent of survey respondents felt they could influence local government; and just one in six survey respondents could name two of the nineteen Jacksonville City Council members. More positively, satisfaction with government services, especially public safety services, remained high. Moving Around Efficiently Community priority areas in this section included the Jacksonville International Airport, where destinations served by direct flights, number of available seats, and total passengers remain below targeted levels. And although public bus miles increased substantially, average weekday bus ridership remained low. Two-thirds of Duval County residents still reported commuting times of 25 minutes or less, however. Keeping the Community Safe The crime rate continued to fall in Duval County, and more people reported feeling safe walking around at night in their neighborhoods. Student conduct violations in the public schools declined, as did motorvehicle accidents and violent deaths among youth. While this is good news, more troubling statistics call for community attention. A higher number of survey respondents reported being victims of a crime in 2004. Police and emergency response times remained below targets. Child abuse reports continued to climb, and 2003 saw an increase in both domestic violence crime reports and domestic-violence-related homicides.
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Jacksonville Community Council Inc.