• Some talk making the rounds recently has former State senator and mayoral candidate Betty Holzendorf joining Mayor John Peyton’s staff. Not true, says mayoral spokesperson Heather Murphy. Holzendorf is not being considered for any position in the administration.
• Rock & Roll Pizza owner Lisa Thomas is in the process of building a facility in Springfield to serve as practice rooms for local rock bands. As a talent scout and club owner, Thomas knows of 27 local acts without a regular place to practice. She anticipates the building will be complete in about a year and a half.
• NFL referees are in town this week to brief the Jaguars and the media on rule changes that take effect this season. This is the third year the refs have been in town for the briefing.
• City flags are at half-staff to honor the late comedian, Bob Hope.
• The Chamber honored immediate past Council president Jerry Holland with a River Club luncheon Thursday and the current president, Lad Daniels, admitted he couldn’t tell a good joke so he called on insurance exec Mark Snitzer. Here’s his effort: “Jerry goes to the First Baptist Church and the Internal Revenue Service called Dr. [Jerry] Vines with some questions about taxes. They asked Dr. Vines if he knew Jerry. Yes, was the answer. Does he go to church there? Yes. Did he give $100,000 last year, as he stated on his tax return? He will.”
• Thursday was the last day for Humana downtown. The last employee moved out.
• According to Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Mike Goldman, the Main Street Bridge painting project begins Monday. Workers are going to sandblast the bridge and do some structural repairs before painting. Commuters can expect one northbound lane to remain closed daily, except between 6-9 a.m.
• There’s a new nightclub on the Northbank, City by the Sea. It’s located in the old DV8 building on West Forsyth Street and is scheduled to have its grand opening tonight.
• Interim Chief Financial Officer Walt Bussells spoke last week to Washington, D.C. lawyers with empowerment zone experience — the federal zones allow Jacksonville to offer businesses tax cuts for hiring and building. Mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy said Bussells was advised to educate area businesses early on how to use the zones and said the City would expand on a series of empowerment zone seminars.
• The U.S. Navy and Marines pumped $7.83 billion into Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia economies last year, according to the latest Regional Shareholders Report released last week. An annual pay raise for military and civilian employees led to nearly $100 million more locally-purchased goods and pushed the total economic impact $330 million higher than 2001.