• Attorney Bob Spohrer was recently nominated for the Inner Circle of Advocates. Membership is limited to 100 plaintiff attorneys in the United States, and to be considered, an attorney must have completed at least 50 personal injury trials and received at least one $1 million verdict in a personal injury case. Sporher was nominated by attorney Steve Yerrid of Orlando.
• Two downtown workers will play in the nation’s Senior Amateur golf championship this year. Both attorney Mike Dawes and sports agent Gary Verble (he’s with Michael Huyghue’s agency) will be in next month’s tournament in Virginia.
• The T-U’s search for a new sports columnist may lead to Orlando. Brian Schmitz of that city’s newspaper has interviewed for the job and reportedly is high on the list. The job opened when the paper moved Mark Woods from sports to the Metro section.
• Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Robert Horry was in town recently and dined with friends at Bistro Aix. Horry was complimentary of the Southbank restaurant, praising the food and service to his dining companions. But when asked to share his insights on teammate Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case, Horry declined comment.
• Local jazz musicians Lisa Kelly and J.B. Scott will record their new CD live at Simons Wine Bar Aug. 25 and 26.
• Fernandina Beach’s Gary Ross and his band will do double duty at Friday night’s Jaguars-Miami Dolphins preseason game. He’ll sing the National Anthem before the game, then will perform at halftime.
• Lots of children were at the Jags practice Tuesday. Included: the youngest sons of Coach Jack Del Rio and quarterback Mark Brunell.
• CIty Council member Michael Corrigan will get a shot at being Council president this week. No, it’s not a coup. Council president Lad Daniels and vice president Elaine Brown will be attending the Florida League of Cities Conference in Orlando. As Rules Committee chair, Corrigan is next in line to fill in for Daniels.
• The Harmony Center in LaVilla at 758 W. Duval St., may have another new tenant in addition to the Blue Hawaiian Cafe. The center’s owner, Tom Gildersleeve, said he’s in talks with a day care center.
• The Bay Street sidewalk fronting the City Hall Annex will be open today. Parts of the walk have been roped off for the last two weeks while the JEA installed water lines.
• If Jag first-round draft choice Byron Leftwich looked a bit sleepy at this morning’s practice, it might have been his late hours — it wasn’t until 12:30 a.m. when the quarterback signed his contract with the team.