The NAVI is not "a failure," Mayor Donna Deegan insists. In our monthly Ask the Mayor segment, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan takes calls and questions on any topic. Today she tackled her contentious past year with the City Council, local infrastructure concerns and how she’s preparing for the next election season as potential candidates begin to test the waters.

Guest: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan

Then, the city’s new fire chief delivers an important holiday reminder about battery safety — particularly buying, storing and disposing of lithium-ion batteries. In addition to posing a fire risk if handled incorrectly, batteries can leach dangerous chemicals and toxic materials into soil and groundwater if disposed of improperly. We discuss how battery safety increasingly affects the work of first responders and how often the agency responds to fires sparked by the electrochemical devices.

Guest: Chief Percy Golden, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department

And, when it comes to keeping Florida wild, “it’s now or never.” The words of North Florida Land Trust President and CEO Allison DeFoor echo through the pages of a new book chronicling the group's 25-year mission and accomplishments. The nonprofit land conservation group has acquired nearly 44,000 acres of natural land throughout the region since 1999, protecting ecosystems and wildlife from future development. Keeping North Florida Wild details the group’s history of conservation through essays and photographs highlighting the places, people and priorities pivotal to the group’s success. We talk to the book’s principal author about the importance of land preservation and how the future of protecting North Florida’s most vulnerable natural spaces hinges on civic engagement. The book's release party is tonight at Story & Song Center for Arts & Culture.

Guest: Sarah Hande, North Florida Land Trust, principal author of Keeping North Florida Wild