Jacksonville is an innovative city, but innovation means nothing if it doesn’t reach every neighborhood. There is no excuse for circumstances like those occurring in Murray Hill to continue.
Residents of Murray Hill reported earlier this year that the stench from the International Flavors and Fragrances chemical plant was crude, turpentine-like or resembled a combination of household cleaners. This is dangerous and does not appear to be recognized by anyone with the power to do anything about it.
The odor issue with the IFF plant has been going on since at least 2015. Why has it been so long? The smell is strong enough to penetrate homes, with the mildest side effects being a headache. These chemicals are toxic and are not things residents should be breathing.
The International Flavors and Fragrances factory at 2051 Lane Avenue North has operated sine the 1930s. The owners of the factory are being sued by Murray Hill residents who say smells emitted from the plant bother their neighborhood several miles away.
Chemical leaks, fires and explosions are intertwined in our history. While the odor has not reached the level of severity to get our leaders to act, it makes one wonder if they are adequately addressing other concerns.
The source of the odor has yet to be confirmed. An investigation conducted in 2023 was inconclusive. There is a source, and the fact that the source is apparently known and not shared should scare all Jacksonville residents.
So, I question why a decade earlier, SCM Glidco was forced to implement a ventilation system to clean up its stench, but IFF does not receive the same treatment. What is the justification? The services the plant provides are essential to the success of Jacksonville, but we cannot afford to have them cut corners.
IFF states that the odor is not emanating from them because they use natural, plant-based chemicals in their products, but the odor remains.
This issue can no longer be ignored. We can remain an innovative community with industries like IFF, but the safety and quality of life of surrounding neighborhoods should be a top priority. This industry has been in Jacksonville for over a century; they have the resources to solve the issue and have done so in the past.
Deanna Moody, Ponte Vedra Beach
Guns and groceries?
Publix store aisle.
I love Publix; it’s convenient, and they have great products with great associates. However, I will no longer shop at Publix since they are now allowing open carry in their stores.
I fully support the Second Amendment and am a veteran who had to qualify on weapons. Like other military personnel, though, I had training and there was no unfettered access to weapons.
Visible guns do not make anyone safer; they raise tensions and turn small conflicts into deadly encounters. Law enforcement has warned that open carry makes it nearly impossible to tell the difference between a “good guy with a gun” and a “bad guy with a gun.” This is not rhetoric; “good guys” have been mistakenly shot and killed by arriving police on many occasions.
There is no guarantee that the person carrying a gun, concealed or openly, knows how to safely handle it. While one must demonstrate competency to drive a car, or (in the grocery business) operate the cash register, butcher meat or keep the food supply safe, there is no requirement in Florida to demonstrate even minimum competency in the safe handling of a lethal firearm.
Publix stated that if a customer is exhibiting disruptive behavior, “we will engage local law enforcement to protect our customers and associates.” Well, law enforcement was called and responded expeditiously to these events: Dollar Store shooting in Jacksonville (three dead), Buffalo Tops shooting (10 dead, including the security guard) and the El Paso Walmart shooting (23 dead, 22 wounded).
Florida’s gun deaths increased by 19% from 2014 to 2023. Florida’s gun death rate (13.6/100,00) is higher than California (8.2), New York (5.0) and 15 other states. Many of these deaths are preventable, but lax gun safety laws only increase gun violence.
Instead of promoting guns and groceries, Publix could help law enforcement to decrease gun thefts and gun crimes in Florida by distributing biometric gun locks and gun lock boxes for vehicles.
Jean Francis, Jacksonville Beach
Teaching for America’s 250th birthday
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp celebrated Independence Day with fireworks at VyStar Ballpark.
As a proud American and retired Duval County Public Schools teacher, I’m delighted to read that our teachers will get extra training on teaching civics through federal grants totaling $3.6 million. The University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville will help schools prepare lessons focusing on America’s 250th birthday.
With so much technology in use in schools, this is certainly an opportunity to make history come alive in ways that textbooks cannot.
Sad to say, I’m also very concerned about whose version of our history this will be. In addition to funding threats to colleges and universities, pressure has been put on the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of African American History, the Library of Congress and other keepers of the past to represent our history only in certain ways.
History is history, and if Germany can be honest about its history, surely we can do the same. A 250th celebration should be a joyous occasion representing all Americans and I, for one, am looking forward to it.
While not perfect, let’s at least be an America that can learn from our mistakes and fulfill the great potential that our Founding Fathers so eloquently set forth for our future.
Rhoda T. London, retired educator, Jacksonville
‘We the People’ must get involved
Vice President J.D. Vance speaks during a press availability with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Aug. 25. Furthering his federal takeover of the capital city’s law enforcement, Trump signed orders ending cashless bail in the District of Columbia and mandating prosecution for people who desecrate the American flag, including by burning it.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1989 that flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that uses flag burning as a pretext to prosecution of peaceful protesters if violence breaks out at an event where the flag is burned.
Congress is responsible for imposing taxes and tariffs, as well as appropriating those funds in service of the people. Trump is usurping both those powers, as have other presidents, and Congress is doing nothing to stop it or (even worse) supporting it.
Civil servants are being fired under the pretext of government efficiency, but those being targeted are merely the ones that don’t fit the executive’s vision for the country or are seen to be disloyal to him. Their loyalty is to the Constitution of the United States and its people.
“We the People” must get involved. Protest, write elected officials and vote your interests. Don’t listen to what they say; watch what they do — and hold them accountable.
Jo Crook, Jacksonville
‘Charlie Kirk’ roads unnecessary
Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond stands near a sign honoring the late Charlie Kirk before the start of a memorial vigil on Sept. 11 at Jarboe Park in Neptune Beach.
The bill proposed by state Rep. Kevin Steele to rename roads throughout Florida is an outrage and an insult to anyone who was not enamored of Charlie Kirk. His death was a tragedy brought on by the current atmosphere of hate and retribution that is contaminating our country.
Kirk was not an American hero in any sense of the word. He might be called a martyr to his cause, but it was “his” cause, not a national movement supported by a majority of the population. He was a popular, engaging personality who developed a devoted following, but please do not infer that the entire country somehow was beholden to him for anything.
In fact, he managed to enrich himself and his family quite well through his Turning Point organization.
Kirk was a great man to some, just a man to many others and a non-entity to many more. There is no need to disrupt our cities and college campuses over his unfortunate and untimely passing.
Jim Kavanagh, Saint Johns
Renaming idea is misguided
Reading about the proposal by Rep. Kevin Steele to rename streets at all Florida universities and colleges to honor Charlie Kirk seems extremely silly to me. I’m sure Kirk was an inspirational leader and a highly talented motivational speaker, but up until the day of his assassination, I’d never heard of him.
It might be a generational recognition, as my grandchildren certainly knew and thought highly of him. Despite those facts, I think the renaming of streets is over the top and misguided, not to mention expensive and confusing. The members of the Florida Legislature should deal with real issues — not silliness.
Peter Baci, Jacksonville Beach
No shootouts in the express lane
Publix is citing customers “dignity and respect” (though not fellow shoppers’ and accompanied young children’s comfort) as justification for allowing open carry of firearms in their stores. So, I plan to carefully count the items in my cart to be darn sure I have 10 or less before checking out in the express lane.
I don’t want to be confronted by an openly carrying annoyed guy or gal griping that I had 12 items, not 10, and claiming my BOGO soup or bagged salads should count as two items, not one.
Michael Miller, Ponte Vedra Beach
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Why don’t Murray Hill odors get Jacksonville leaders to act? | Letters