It’s a lawsuit that “has it all,” according to an astonishing order from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which goes on to list alleged “corporate malfeasance, bribery, off-the-books recordkeeping, surveilling journalists, creating ‘ghost’ candidates, corrupting independent media outlets, and a failed acquisition that spiraled into two federal indictments.” If the litany of purported misdeeds sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the narrative that followed NextEra and Florida Power & Light Co. during and after the city of Jacksonville’s corrupt and ultimately unsuccessful effort to sell JEA. The story has been reported over a period of years by Florida investigative journalists, including our guest, whose work exposing the JEA scandal ultimately helped scuttle it. He explains what it means that a seemingly-dead lawsuit filed against FPL by utility investors was resurrected by the three-judge appeals court panel in their opinion late last month.

Guest: Nate Monroe, executive editor, The Tributary

Then, a book published posthumously with the help of family and friends represents a local hospice nurse’s third exploration of life on the verge of death. Three years after her death in 2022, Trudy Harris’ book was released after her unfinished manuscript was carried over the finish line by allies who thought her message of hope and peace too valuable to expire without notice. Harris worked as a hospice and palliative care nurse for four decades and was instrumental in helping raise money for the Community Hospice Hadlow Center for Caring, which serves the kind of patients she once cared for.

Guests:

• Dottie Dorion, triathlete, philanthropist, friend and former colleague of Trudy Harris
• Melody Simmons, journalist and editor of Whispers From Heaven

And, the Jacksonville Symphony unspools a mix of holiday classics and beloved classical compositions in two upcoming performances. On Dec. 13 and 14, Music Director Courtney Lewis conducts Handel’s Messiah featuring the full Symphony Chorus. On Dec. 19 and 20, he conducts a mix of seasonal and symphonic favorites, including Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, (featured in the iconic 1940 Disney film Fantasia), Ravel’s Shéhérazade and selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. (Note: the Jacksonville Symphony’s First Coast Nutcracker ballet is performed separately on Dec. 12-14.)

Guests:  

• Avery Amereau, mezzo-soprano opera singer
• Courtney Lewis, music director of the Jacksonville Symphony

Plus, a Dickensian event without the gloom. For the 11th year, downtown Fernandina Beach will be the Victorian center of the annual Dickens on Centre festival, which includes an illuminated parade, pics with St. Nick, a Christmas market, trolley tours, a fun run and Dickens After Dark, a 21+ costume party featuring stilt walkers, live music and dancing at The Pavillion, the city’s new open air facility on North 2nd Street.

Guest: Madison Jozsa, Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau