Jax Book Fest returns to the Main Library Feb. 23 with its biggest headlining author yet. Guinness World record-breaking, internationally best-selling author of the Goosebumps series, R.L. Stine, will speak and sign books. Mike Thaler, author of the Black Lagoon series, will also be speaking and signing books. Nearly 100 local and national best-selling authors and literary vendors representing every genre from fiction to mystery to romance, for every age group from toddlers to teens to adults, will be in attendance selling and signing books.
 

City Council President Aaron Bowman and Mayor Lenny Curry are pleased to announce the newly formed Storm Resiliency & Infrastructure Development Review Committee.
 

Mayor Lenny Curry and Brian E. Wolfburg, President/CEO of VyStar Credit Union, announced that a naming rights agreement has been reached between VyStar and the City of Jacksonville for the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena – a first for the arena. Legislation to enact the agreement has been filed and sent to the Jacksonville City Council. Pending City Council approval, the arena will be known as VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
 

Animal Care and Protective Services has “Plenty of Pets” to help residents find their perfect match, like Sweetness.
 

In observance of Black History Month, the City of Jacksonville is spotlighting a location of historical significance each week throughout February.
 

The City’s Military Affairs and Veterans Department is offering free tax preparation services to veterans.
 

Following months of work to repair damage to local beaches and dunes caused by hurricanes Irma and Matthew, Mayor Lenny Curry joined the mayors of Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach to provide an update on restoration and nourishment efforts.
 

In 2018, a time capsule left by City leaders in 1960 was discovered by pre-demolition crews in the cornerstone of the old City Hall annex on Bay Street.
 

The Jacksonville Main Public Library will celebrate its Lewis Ansbacher Map Collection and renovated Jordan and Shirley Ansbacher Gallery during the annual Mapping Our Past event.
 

January 23, 2019 is the anniversary of the day Hemming Park was conveyed to the City of Jacksonville.
 

While Washington remains deadlocked, federal employees, retirees and their families are caught in the middle. With jobs and paychecks in limbo for weeks, Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council President Aaron Bowman have been reviewing relief options that are available for Jacksonville’s federal workforce.
 

The Mayor’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council (VAAC) invites local students to apply for the Survivor Scholarship, a program created to assist Jacksonville residents who have been impacted by violent crime, either as a primary or secondary survivor. The deadline for submission is Friday, Feb. 1.
 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist whose leadership and teachings of disruption through nonviolence launched the Civil Rights Movement.
 

Many New Year’s resolutions include at least one health goal. In continuation of the City of Jacksonville’s wellness initiative, Journey to One, citizens are encouraged to learn their numbers by stopping by their neighborhood fire station for a free blood pressure screening.
 

In celebration of the beginning of 2019, Animal Care and Protective Services is offering $19 adoptions all month.