New jazz club opens despite pandemic hurdles: ‘Failure was not an option’
Tags:
If you aren’t familiar with the name Kimmie Horne, there’s a good chance you’d recognize her voice. She’s a descendant of the legendary singer Lena Horne, and she performed at a new jazz club in San Marco Saturday night.
The owner of that club, Breezy’s Jazz, which officially opened Thursday, said Saturday was an exciting night for her, as she’s working hard to keep jazz alive in Jacksonville.
“When you walk into Breezy, I want it to be an experience from the front door,” said owner Thea Jeffers.
Managing Director and CEO, JEA
Jay Stowe, the new CEO of Jacksonville’s municipal water and electric utility since Nov. 30, inherited an organization cooperating in a federal grand jury probe and preparing a five-year, $2.5 billion capital investment plan.
His hiring ended a 1½-year period that saw an attempt to sell JEA to a private company, resulting in U.S. Department of Justice and City Council investigations and the firing of former CEO Aaron Zahn and his senior leadership team.
Stowe plans to repair trust within JEA while moving on plans to invest $1.6 million to modernize its its water and wastewater system.
The Southern Group lobbyist; Downtown Development Review Board member
The health of Jacksonville’s urban economy will partially depend on the coronavirus-related economic stimulus approved in the U.S. Congress.
One bright spot in Downtown’s real estate market during the COVID-19 pandemic has been multifamily housing. Residential is an area of Jacksonville’s Downtown market expected to grow in 2021.
On the residential side, people are still flocking to Downtown. The Residences at Barnett has a waiting list, for example.
There seems to be strong demand for Downtown. The Southern Group represents the Florida Theatre. Federal officials need to target workers like artists, stage workers and theater personnel whose livelihoods depend on the in-person experience that was shut down through much of 2020.