Last Top Stories: Gaming around the clock to help heal sick and injured children

• Gaming around the clock to help heal sick and injured children

  

  Jenny Love gets asked almost daily why she spends so much time playing video games.The 30-year-old work station technician said Saturday that she finally had an answer to satisfy most critics: She was playing games to help heal sick and injured children.Love was one of more than 670 First Coast gamers who participated in a 24-hour marathon called Extra Life Game Day. About 60 of those gamers set up their equipment and games at Latitude 360, a restaurant and entertainment venue across from The Avenues mall.Another 600 were playing online from their homes. They had joined more than 43,000 more gamers around the country who vowed to play all day and night, until 8 a.m. Sunday, to raise money fo..

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• Going to sea means long hours, hard labor, sacrifice for 1500...

  

  Two dozen people sit inside the Jacksonville seafarers union hall, their eyes constantly darting to a 40-inch electronic board mounted on a wall.Every once in a while a mariner’s eyes drift to a blue banner hanging above a wall of windows.“In memory of El Faro Crew,” it reads.The hum of tense conversation fills the hall as each member waits for a tiny line of text. When a job posts on the board, a new sound pierces the room as chairs crash backward and feet race to the front counter. There are only so many jobs.If a job interests members, they thrust their union cards over the counter, looking to secure a berth aboard a ship bound for Puerto Rico, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, India, Ch..

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• Backup QB Rylan Wells leads Jacksonville over Davidson | jacksonville

  

  Kerwin Bell’s plan was to play his starting quarterback for one half Saturday, keep him healthy for next week’s game and allow backup Rylan Wells to get quality snaps.But when defensive end Thomas Sykes sacked starter Kade Bell and landed on top of Bell’s right arm in the closing minutes of the first quarter, the Jacksonville coach had to move up the timetable.Wells padded the 14-0 lead he inherited, passing for 318 yards and leading the Dolphins to scoring drives on four of his first five possessions. That offset the likely season-ending loss of Bell during the 42-12 rout of Pioneer Football League foe Davidson at D.B. Milne Field.Jacksonville (7-2, 4-2) didn’t miss a beat with Wells, who c..

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• Nonprofit chief retires after 21 years of wrangling Jacksonville volunteers | jacksonville

  

  Judith A.M. Smith once ran a U.S. Navy unit in Washington that tracked down service members who had abandoned their posts.Deserter apprehension, it was called.The unit operated from multiple locations across the country, had substantial resources at its disposal and quickly reduced both the number of outstanding naval runaways and the desertion rate.“The most fun job,” she said. “Having the authority to do something where you really could see some positive results.”When Smith began her civilian career — she retires at the end of the year after about 21 years as president and CEO of HandsOn Jacksonville — she had to adjust to the comparatively paltry resources and sometimes slow results of th..

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• Jacksonville man jailed for murder nearly 7 years ago still yet to stand trial | jacksonville

  

  Harold Hammond began his odyssey in the Duval County jail after blasting two bullets into a friend’s forehead in a case most unusual for one reason: Nearly seven years have passed without a trial.Hammond, 54, and his sixth attorney are prepared to argue he fired in self-defense at Kenneth Solada, 45, in a Westside mobile home. The February 2009 killing occurred during an apparent struggle over Solada’s gun as they were arguing over drugs and money, police reports said.Prosecutors insist Hammond intentionally killed Solada and hid the weapon hours before being arrested on charges of stealing meat from a nearby Food Lion. They filed the second-degree murder charge three weeks later.Veteran pro..

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• What to watch: Breaking down Jaguars at Jets

  

  SPREAD THE WORKThe Jaguars are 2-1 when rookie T.J. Yeldon has at least 20 carries — 25 in the win over Miami, 22 in the loss at Indianapolis and 20 in the win over Buffalo. He should be the every-down back. But the Jaguars should work Denard Robinson (above) into the mix. He played no offensive snaps against the Bills, but could be effective in relief of Yeldon.STAY AGGRESSIVEThe Jaguars’ pass rush hit rock bottom in terms of simplicity during the Week 3 loss at New England (four pressures in 48 drop-backs). Since then, they’ve rushed at least five players on 33.9, 30.8, 28.9 and 38.8 percent of the opponent’s drop-backs. That should continue — with more new wrinkles — against Ryan Fitzpatr..

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• Man shot and killed Saturday evening in North Jacksonville | jacksonville

  

  A man was shot and killed on Saturday evening while walking down the street with a group of people in North Jacksonville, police said.The man, who police said was in his twenties but didn’t identify, was shot near the intersection of Springfield Boulevard and Basswood Street around 6:30 p.m. He was taken to UF Health and was pronounced dead on arrival.The victim was with a group of people that was targeted by multiple gun shots, said Sgt. Michael Paul of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. However, police have few other details about the shooting and haven’t identified a suspect because they have only located a few witnesses.Paul said he believes the victim was with a group of friends who fle..

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• Action News Jax helps clean up Jacksonville Saturday | www

  

  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —The Action News Jax team spent Saturday morning on the river helping to make Jacksonville a cleaner place.Dozens of people from the Action News Jax team, many that you see every day and many who help to deliver the news from behind the screen, helped to collect and dispose trash at Blue Cypress Park in Arlington Saturday morning.Our corporate cousins from News Radio 104.5 WOKV spent time with the Action News Jax team filling up dozens of bags of trash.It was all part of Cox Conserves, a program in which Cox Media Group takes action in local communities to help maintain the environment.View the photo gallery from Saturday’s cleanup by clicking the link on the left side of..

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• Ribault knocks off previously unbeaten Raines in Northwest Classic

  

  Ribault coach Anthony Flynn never doubted his team could upset unbeaten Raines in Jacksonville’s biggest rivalry.He just had to look back five years.“The last time we won [2010], we went back-to-back on them,” he said. “They were 8-0 at that particular time, and I was telling the guys that we had beaten them one time before when they were undefeated.”The Trojans took Flynn’s words to heart. Now, the intensity of Northwest Classic just turned up another notch.Ribault’s defense forced turnovers when they mattered most, stunning undefeated Raines 19-14 in Saturday’s 46th Northwest Classic at Alvin White Stadium.Brandon Thomas intercepted Raines quarterback Augie DeBiase with 26 seconds to go, s..

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• Weddings (Nov. 8)

  OATES-BLAKEAlicia Blake and Terence Oates, both of Jacksonville, were married 5 p.m. Sept. 19, 2015, at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville. The bride is the daughter of Cheryl and Victor Blake, Jacksonville. She is the granddaughter of the late Gladys E. Fields, Russell E. White, Lanham, Md., the late Myrtle Mae and Vandy Blake. She attended Edward Waters College and is employed by Holmes Glover Solomon Funeral Directors as office manager.The groom is the son of the late Lila Griffin and Tyrone Oates, Jacksonville. He is the grandson of Naomi Griffin, Jacksonville, the late Benjamin Griffin, Josephine Oates, Jacksonville, and the late Edward Oates. He graduated from Jea..

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