• Misspellings still abound with the last name of the late CSX leader Prime Osborn. Even the mayor’s office got it wrong in a press release (“Prime Osborne Convention Center”), and the Ozzy craze got to the people who do the daily billboards: “Osbourne Center.”
• The Westside sports bar Harpoon Louie’s is still closed for repairs — the roof caved in.
• Downtown Development Authority managing director Al Battle said the master plan to redesign the LaVilla subdistrict around an expanded Osborn Center is “in a holding pattern.” Battle said the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, which owns most of the land in the area, was still reviewing architectural firm Cooper Carry’s design. Battle said he hopes to meet with the JTA and Cooper Carry about the project “in the next week or two.”
• The DDA deferred action on a $50,000 loan to Gus & Company shoe repair. Al Battle said the loan was to help pay the store’s relocation expense from the Elks Building to another Laura Street location a few doors away. Battle said the proprietors dropped the loan request and instead asked for part of the money as a grant.
• More problems for Norm’s Pub & Post on Laura Street. The City has halted work at the proposed mini-mall because permits haven’t been issued for some of the renovations.
• Some tense moments this week in the mayor’s office when staffers heard a loud crash in the Rev. Pete Jackson’s office. Seems his chair broke, sending Jackson tumbling to the floor. Jackson’s fine, but the chair’s done, staffers say.
• Al Battle says the City will have to get involved to solve the Landing’s parking problems. New owner Toney Sleiman has told the City parking must be available if the project is going to succeed. Two options for the City: build a garage on the City-owned east lot or recast a current agreement with Humana to provide hundreds of spaces for the shopping center’s use.
• Starting Monday, the security checkpoints in Concourse B at JIA will be moved from the the concourse to an area adjacent to gate B-1. The project should be done by Sept. 1, but security measures will not be disrupted. The checkpoints in concourses A and C have already been moved.
• Taste of Five Points is scheduled for Sept. 5. The block party, sponsored by Art Stop, features cuisine from Five Points restaurants and music and art by local artists. Tickets, which cost $15 in advance and $20 the day of the event, may be purchased at Wolfgang, Milo and Fuel, all located on Park Street.
• Next Chamber chairman Wachovia’s Bob Helms.