Last week, the Beach Gazette held its launch party, and I want to say something simple first: thank you.
Thank you to everyone who showed up. Thank you to all who decided the Beach Gazette was worth investing in before they'd read a single issue.
All state offices are closed Thursday, July 2, through Monday, July 6, 2026, for Independence Day.
All City Offices are closed on Friday, July 3, 2026, for the holiday.
The Duval County School Board seat representing the Beaches will change hands this fall, and three candidates have qualified for the ballot to fill it.
“The Fourth of July was what we always considered our anniversary. We closed in February 1997,” said daughter Tammie Faircloth. “It was a good run, especially for an all-ages venue. To last that long is a feat in itself.”
A series of multimodal transportation improvements are causing serious traffic congestion in Atlantic Beach.
The $9.6 million Mayport Greenway project will create a 12-foot shared-use path on
Beach Gazette
Community events
What’s happening at the Beaches – week of June 25, 2026
Featured event
Atlantic Beach Centennial Celebration
Friday, July 11
10 a.m. to 2 p.
The story of a community is written in its history. Local newspapers capture the texture of a place, embroidering the record with intricate details of the people who call it home and color the stories with threads woven across generations.
In its inaugural issue, the Beach Gazette pays homage to the history of local news at the Beaches as a launchpad for the next phase of local news. The letter from the editor on the front page of the first edition of The Beaches Leader in 1963, republished below, still resonates in 2026.
All good things must come to an end.
It's easy to swallow when it's layered over something basic like a vacation or a really tasty meal. Greeting the end of something bigger and more meaningful feels like a boat adrift without an oar.
For generations, community newspapers have
Growing up in Jacksonville Beach, the Beaches Leader was always part of my family’s life and probably yours. If you lived at the Beaches for any stretch of time, there’s a good chance you have a clipping from the Leader folded between the pages of a photo album.
In the waning days of the final special session of the Florida Legislature, lawmakers approved moving a proposed change to Florida’s Homestead Exemption to the November ballot to let voters decide the issue.
Summer break has been anything but quiet at Fletcher High School.
When students return in the fall, they’ll walk onto a new artificial turf football field, look up at a 10-by-18-foot digital scoreboard, and settle into a school day that runs on an entirely new clock.
