• According to Michael Sones of Ocean Blvd. Development Inc., the Home Street Lofts at the corner of Home Street and Hendricks Avenue on the Southbank are a big hit. Eleven of the 12 units in the converted Luther Rice Seminary Building have been sold, and the last has a contract pending.
• The site and bulkhead work at the Ortega River Club Condominiums will begin this month, and construction will start this fall. Developer Heyward Cantrell said all reservations have been converted to contracts.
• The downtown tunnel is getting a bit more eye appealing. You’ll see works by local artists as you wander through the shops. Oh, you didn’t know there was a tunnel under our streets? Starts at the corner of Bay and Hogan streets, and goes to the original Atlantic Bank building.
• Congratulations to Mary Lou Martinson, Chief Judge Don Moran’s judicial assistant, who was recently elected president of the local Judicial Assistant’s Association, which represents the 49 judicial assistants in the 4th Judicial Circuit.
• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has set a grand opening date for the Major B. Harding Center for Justice at 126 W. Adams St. Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major B. Harding will be the guest of honor at the event, which is scheduled for Aug. 6 from 5-7 p.m.
• La Cena restaurant on Laura Street will re-open today after being closed for a short vacation.
• The Jags annual ticket pick-up begins today at 11 a.m. in the West Touchdown Club. For those who requested their tickets be delivered, they should start arriving by the end of the week.
• City Council member Jim Overton has added his voice to animal rights advocates who disapprove of City Animal Care and Control Chief John Merritt. He said in an e-mail to Chief of Staff Scott Teagle that Merritt has not been effective in his job.
• The Jacksonville Women’s Lawyers Association had a runoff for the vice president’s slot. The winner: Susan Haag.
• Mayor John Peyton on his adviser, attorney Steve Diebenow: “If the train goes off the rails, he’s the one to call. If things are going good, I’m available.”
• The Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee meets monthly, and usually one person from the JEA shows up. Tuesday morning, with Peyton as the speaker: seven. “Did Walt [Bussells] make attendance mandatory?” asked Peyton. Bussells, of course, is a top Peyton adviser on leave from the top post at the JEA.
• A newly formed labor union, the Jacksonville City Employees Union, is set to challenge the Professional Association of City Employees to represent City workers in collective bargaining. The two-year “election bar” that prevented attempts to reorganize PACE’s workers closed July 5.
• Best wishes to Diane Thomas-Joy, programs instruction manager at FCCJ’s North Campus. She’s having knee surgery next week.
• The City Council chambers are getting a fresh coat of paint. It’s the same cream color as before.
• Mayor John Peyton is the scheduled speaker at the Aug. 8 National Rifle Association banquet. It’s at the Ramallah-American Club, 3130 Parental Home Rd.