Changing of the Guard.(Brief Article)

A former Naval air station could help growth on the city's west side.

When the Navy began considering closing the Cecil Field Naval Air Station in 1993, former Jacksonville Mayor Ed Austin hired Herb McCarthy, a retired deputy assistant secretary of defense, to help the drive to keep the base open. That effort failed, but Austin's successor, John Delaney, thought enough of McCarthy to entrust him with a new task -- turning the giant facility on the city's west side into a business hub.

Last fall, the Jacksonville Port Authority took over 35% of the 27-squar