• The old Coliseum is a pile of rubble but its presence is still being felt . . . literally. The afternoon winds blow dust from the rockpile onto the Jaguars’ practice field.
• City Council member Lynette Self is donating her surplus campaign funds — about $5,000 — to Junior Achievement.
• The Catholic Lawyers Guild is hosting the annual Red Mass Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church downtown. Bishop Victor Galeone will preside.
• The Fire Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer submitted a resignation letter to Mayor John Peyton Monday. Roscoe Hager will step down Thursday morning. He didn’t give a reason, but his letter said former chief Ray Alfred, who Peyton recently replaced, “was the best in every category that any one mayor could choose.”
• Mayor Peyton said his birthday celebration Monday was a “low-key” affair; a day full of meetings followed by dinner with his wife at Pom’s Thai Bistro.
• Speaking of birthdays, City Council members had a surprise party for Glorious Johnson Tuesday afternoon.
• AmSouth is trying a new marketing tool called “random acts of hospitality.” Bank representatives will be visiting neighborhoods around its new branch on County Road 210 in St. Johns County. They’ll be passing out dessert and coffee to residents and inviting them to a block party Saturday at the new branch.
• GOP bigshots are still mum on President Bush’s upcoming not-so-secret visit. No date or site yet, but that will be set by the White House, we hear.
• According to Doug Layton, project manager for the Better Jacksonville Plan, the Hendricks Avenue improvements (between Prudential Drive and Mitchell Street) will include a change from four to three lanes of traffic. On-street parking will also be eliminated. Work to upgrade JEA pipes is expected to be finished by Oct. 1, electric lines will be moved to behind buildings later this year and roadwork should begin by early next year.