• The investiture for James Klindt, the new United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Florida, is set for April 11. It’s at 4 p.m. at the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse and Chief Judge Patricia Fawcett will preside over the ceremony. A reception at the Main Library will follow the investiture.
• Jeffrey Smith is the new face at Office of General Counsel. Smith was appointed assistant general counsel, works in the government operations department and started last Monday.
• The Christian Legal Society has started a “Brown Bag Bible Study.” They are every Friday except holidays and luncheon days and are hosted by Blane McCarthy. For more, call McCarthy at 391-0091.
• The ground breaking for three to-be-named new buildings at the Youth Crisis Center is set for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Ayak Roll, a center success story and most likely the first resident of the new facility, will conduct the ground breaking. Members of the Northeast Florida Builders Association will also be on hand to donate material and labor for the $6 million facility and volunteers will be recruited to participate in day-long events to expedite construction.
• Great line by one of the radio announcers during Thursday’s Cornell-Stanford NCAA men’s basketball tournament game: “Can you imagine the SATs (scores) of the 10 guys on the floor right now?”
• Due to minor surgery and the time required for recovery, pianist George Winston has postponed his concert originally scheduled for Tuesday night. The new date is Feb. 28, 2009. Patrons may hold their tickets and use them next season on the rescheduled date or call the FCCJ box office (632-3373) for ticketing exchange or refund information.
• City Council Vice President Ronnie Fussell will make a couple of presentations before Tuesday’s full Council meeting. The first will go to Bill Gay, owner of W.W. Gay, for being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young. The other will recognize the achievements of longtime Tax Collector Lynwood Roberts and name the Renaissance Room at City Hall after Roberts. A ceremony marking the latter is set for 4 p.m. at City Hall. Roberts’ civic career includes 12 years on City Council and 24 as Tax Collector.
• The third annual Northeast Florida Economic Roundtable is set for May 29 at the World Golf Village. The two-day economic development summit is hosted by the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership that includes Duval, Baker, Clay, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. Last year, over 300 attended the summit.
“Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.”
– Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator, philosopher and statesman