Republican Dean Black has won re-election against Democratic challenger Gary McManus for Florida House District 15, which covers north and west Jacksonville and all of Nassau County.
Author Archives: Nichole Manna
Nichole Manna is The Florida Trib's Senior Investigative Reporter. She has been with the organization since 2023 and has covered the criminal justice system for more than a decade.
Nichole has extensively covered conditions at the Duval County jail and in 2024 received first place from the Green Eyeshade Awards in online investigations for her reporting of medical neglect at the facility. That series of stories was recognized with awards at the local, regional and national level. She took home the first place prize for a feature story in a small newsroom from the Online Journalism Awards in 2025 for her series, ‘Cold-Blooded’, which dissected a 1993 death penalty case and questioned whether the defendant received a fair trial.
Prior to joining The Trib, Nichole was an investigative reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas where she was a Livingston Award finalist for a series of stories about a neighborhood with the lowest life expectancy in the state. Her work helped get residents access to free pop-up clinics and they continue to receive help with food disparities.
She is currently working with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network to produce an investigative project.
You can reach her at nichole@floridatrib.org.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Republican incumbent Jessica Baker wins re-election for House of Representatives District 17
Republican incumbent Jessica Baker has garnered enough votes to keep her seat and will usher in her second term serving southeast Duval County.
Posted in2024 Voter Guide
Shayla E. Lee and Matthew Lufrano head to runoff for Duval County Judge seat
Candidates Shayla E. Lee and Matthew Lufrano for Duval County Judge Group 9 will move to a runoff in the general election on Nov. 5 after securing their spots during Tuesday’s primaries.
Posted in2024 Voter Guide
Ashley Wells Cox wins seat on Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit Court
Ashley Wells Cox was elected to Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit Court on Tuesday against Nancy Cleaveland.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Duval County inmate dies waiting for transfer to mental health facility
A 46-year-old man awaiting transfer to a mental health facility died in the Duval County jail on Tuesday, according to multiple media reports.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Duval County inmate, 66, dies after ‘lengthy stay’ at hospital
Scott Stormes, 66, is the fifth person to die in custody of the Duval County jail this year.
Posted inFlorida News Articles & Reporting
Arrest of heart transplant recipient who died wasn’t ‘the strongest,’ JSO sergeant said
A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sergeant deemed the arrest of a heart transplant recipient for a low-level misdemeanor as not “the strongest,” yet advised against reversing it, internal investigation documents show. Days after his release without crucial medication, the man died when his body rejected his heart.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sued for publicly stripping man
A 47-year-old man has alleged in a lawsuit that his constitutional rights were violated when two Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers strip-searched him in public, without justification, in September 2022.
Posted inCriminal Justice
JSO correctional officer, city employee charged with bringing drugs into Duval County jail
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested its own correctional officer and 16 other people and charged them with bringing drugs into the Duval County jail.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Jacksonville man beaten by JSO officers avoids jail time with plea deal
A 24-year-old who Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers beat after he fled during a traffic stop avoided jail time by pleading guilty to a non-violent misdemeanor Monday morning.