Jacksonville's Mandarin Info Blog

Archive for the ‘Mandarin General Information’ Category

I don’t if you noticed or not but it is really cold out there. At least it’s cold for Jacksonville, Florida. But I think we are lucky to live in the Mandarin area as we seem to be isolated from the more harsh weather. Our little neighborhood off St. Augustine Road between I-295 and I-95 is probably one of the best spots to live in. Most of our area is in the Category 5 hurricane ratings area and we are sheltered from some of the worse that most storm fronts have to offer. You can check your hurricane ratings for your address with the Duval County Property Appraiser’s Website at: http://apps.coj.net/pao_propertySearch/Basic/Search.aspx
If you own your home or are paying for it from the bank (like most people) you just put your name in the search box. If you are renting a home or apartment just put in the address and hit search. The website gives you the basic information listed about the property including what you want to click on is the JaxGIS map icon to look at the property and it will give you the option of checking if you address is in a “FLOOD ZONE” you can click on those words and it will give you a definition of your particular area. Fascinating information and good to know as well. The City of Jacksonville through the Fire and Rescue Department also has an evacuation map that you can copy and print out. This is very helpful if you plan on moving to Jacksonville or to a different area: http://www.coj.net/Departments/Fire+and+Rescue/Emergency+Preparedness/Preparedness/Evacuation+Zones+Map.htm

Now is the time to start thinking about the upcoming Hurricane season and of course the rainy season of late February and March. Don’t get me wrong we always need the rain but if we are getting too much then we really need to get prepared or just stay prepared for bad weather. Know your neighborhood and the various ways of getting into and out of the neighborhood quickly. You cannot always depend on the major highways. When you get a chance drive through different parts of you neighborhood every couple of weeks. As much as Duval County is adding, changing, repairing roads these days it pays to be informed!

We have updated a couple of pages this week including the Government Services Page and the Utilities page. The Government page has been updated with a listing of the Mandarin Area Post offices, Fire Stations and the Police Substation. The Utilities page has been updated with a listing of the local TV and Radio Stations. We will continue to update the pages with more information as we can gather it. You can access these pages either through the tabs at the top on the page listing on the sidebar.

We have also created an acrobat reader file of the Fire Stations that includes pictures for you to download: Mandarin Area Fire Stations

For those who would like to print the TV and/or Radio Stations Listing we have uploaded that as well but they are in a picture format:

Jacksonville Area TV Stations

Jacksonville AREA Radio Stations

For those who love history or are just curious about this area that you live in we are asking for volunteers to write a little history of the Mandarin area.  Now it can be a history of just your neighborhood as well.  There are plenty of interesting facts and history about all parts of Mandarin that we have yet to discover.  Find out when your neighborhood was built, see if you can find the person who has lived there the longest and interview them for your story.  Old and new pictures of your neighborhood would be great as well.  Here are two resources that can help you get started.  One of course is the public library but you will probably want to go to the one on Kori Road as that is the first library in Mandarin and will probably have some great material and possibly some pictures that you can copy.  The second source is the Mandarin Newspaper.  They may have some articles on the history of Mandarin or have some research available and pictures.  Remember to cite your sources and give credit to where you get your information.  If you take your own pictures, of course, we want to give you credit as well.

This is a great exercise for kids as well as adults and all entries will be posted.  So, get out there and discover your history!

cheers!

Jolene

We hope to provide our subscribers with all the latest information on what’s happening around the Jacksonville, Florida’s Mandarin Area. That will include restaurant reviews, local park information, schools, daycare,  government services and the different kinds of housing and neighborhoods.   We will also be including a photo gallery of the various categories as we get them.  These are usually taken on my weekend off which I only get two a month so the pictures will take some time to build up.  We also encourage our subscribers to upload pictures for any comments that they make on our posts or pages.

All of our Jacksonville Informational blogs will be divided by zip code.  Some may not consider a few of these zip codes as a part of that side of town but this is how we are going to be doing it.  So, for the Mandarin Area we include the following zip codes 32217, 32223, 32257, 32258 and 32259.  Now, technically 32259 is in Saint Johns County, however, we have long since included them in the Mandarin Area as far back as I can remember.  True, that area has grown tremendously over the last 7 years and is in the process of changing how things are named and may even become a whole city with a new zip code in the future.  But for now we include the Fruit Cove and Switzerland areas all the way down Racetrack Road to US1 and down State Road 13 down to Orange Dale in this blog.

We are always looking for volunteers to be authors for this blog as well so if you live in the Mandarin Area and would like to contribute just sign up as a subscriber and then email me at jolene.macfadden@jacksonvillemandarin.info.  We look forward to hearing from you and appreciate any volunteers.

We can use anyone who can type, take a digital picture and upload it or email them, and /or those who like to tell where they have eaten, found some terrific bargain, or just had some great service when they went out to eat or bought something.  We also could use those who have kids in sports and want to report on local sporting events or know of an art show, carnival or dance that is open to the public in our area.