Mayor John Peyton was on the job early Wednesday,and the first order of business was a series of meetings with key staffers, including Community Affairs director Pete Jackson and COO Walt Bussells.
• Vestcor will be hosting a 5K Race on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Hemming Plaza to benefit various local charities and are looking for runners. The entry fee is $15. Details: 260-3030.
• The Rotary Club of Arlington has elected its new officers for 2003-04. They are Angie Tekin, president; Ballard Simmons, president-elect; Hap Rogers, vice president; Steve Thompson, treasurer; Lisa Carter, secretary; and Bill Hohmann and Mike Sullivan, sergeants-at-arms.
• The Spina Bifida Association of Jacksonville will host its Celebrity Roast and Silent Auction Sept. 26 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. This year’s honorary chair is Sheriff John Rutherford. Roast chair is Suzanne Catto. Attorney Hank Coxe will emcee the event, which will be a toast to 20 years of roasts.
• The Florida Department of Transportation will host a Public Kickoff July 10 at Jacksonville University to discuss improvements to the SR-10A /Arlington Expressway /Mathews Bridge corridor between Liberty Street and Southside Boulevard. One topic will be the possible widening of the Mathews Bridge to eight lanes.
• Watson Carley isn’t slowing down in his retirement years — he’ll head the Children’s Home Society this year. Other officers are Smith Hulsey attorneys Richard Lewis and Charmaine Chiu, Regency Realty’s Kathy Miller, Charlie Cromer of Pricewaterhousecoopers and another retiree, James Griffiths.
• Former mayor John Delaney has agreed to serve as the temporary chairman of the St. Johns River Alliance. It’s a private, nonprofit organization designed to promote and preserve the river. Delaney will preside over the committee until the board of directors has been staffed and formally elects a chair. The alliance is accepting nominations for nine seats on its at-large board of directors. Send nominations to Linda Burnette, Director, Office of Communications and Governmental Affairs, P.O. Box 1429, Palatka 32178-1429.