• Not everybody will miss Chief Operating Officer Sam Mousa when he steps down at the end of July. Former property appraiser Ernie Mastroianni wrote a letter to the mayor offering “many kudos to you and Walt [Bussells]” for Mousa’s departure. “Your administration in particular and the city in general will be much better off without him,” wrote Mastroianni. His replacement? On an interim basis it’s going to be Lynn Westbrook, who will also retain his duties as Public Works director.
• The Super Bowl Host Committee must think we’re a bunch of fatties. On their Committee’s membership application for its “club,” it highlights the extra large size for the T-shirt you’ll get.
• The Sulzbacher Center’s upcoming fundraiser includes a silent auction of 12 cigar-box purses sponsored and designed by local celebrities, including model Kim Alexis, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio’s wife Linda and Rep. Ander Crenshaw’s wife Kitty. In the boxes are goodies such as tickets to the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston and a private tour of the Capitol with Crenshaw.
• Attorney Richard K. Britton has opened his own firm at 865 May St. in Riverside.
• The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art’s two new exhibitions open with a reception July 31. Hightide: Drawings & Sculptures by Joe Walters is being shown in the Regional Exhibition Gallery and Jonathan Lux: New Paintings will be in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Education Gallery. The event is free for members, $25 for non-members.
• The City is applying for a $250,156 grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources for the restoration of the Norman Film Studios. The City purchased the studio complex, used in the early 1900s for silent films and films featuring all African-American casts, from a private owner a few months back.
• JEDC executive director Kirk Wendland told Mayor John Peyton’s transition team Wednesday he would like to see the commission’s future revenue partially tied to the City’s property tax earnings.
• Community Outreach Coordinator Sherry Hall said the City will close Duval Street from Laura to Hogan streets July 26. The street will serve as the finish line for the Vestcor Summer in the City 5K run.
• Divas Nail & Hair Paradise has opened at 1424 San Marco Blvd. next door to The Corner Brasserie. Owner Trenea Shuford has another location on San Juan Avenue and said the shop will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• The library’s Ride to Read brochure, which informs parents on how to obtain JTA bus coupons for their children to travel to any public library free, was honored by the Library Public Relations Council as one of the most innovative public relations materials for 2002.