• A retirement party for sisters Sylvia Blythe and Delores Battinelli has been scheduled for June 27 at the Duval County Courthouse. The two women have each been with the courts for nearly 37 years. As of last week, a replacement for Chief Assistant Clerk Battinelli had yet to be determined.
• We deal with it almost every day: we’re on Newnan Street, not Newman. Guess we confused the folks who put together brochures for Cecil Commerce Center. One of the main roads at Cecil is Lake Newman Street, and the maps called it “Lake Newnan Street.”
• The IT department at City Hall is looking a little spiffier these days. They were told to wear coats and ties while Mayor-elect John Peyton’s transition team conducts job interviews for the department’s management positions.
• At last week’s New Developments in Technology Law seminar, attorney Howard Caplain reviewed unique trademark and copyright cases. Among them was one involving a woman who, in light of recent advances in genetic engineering, wanted to patent her DNA. Her request was denied.
• Arts Triumphant Dance Conservancy has closed. The school moved north to pursue its “creative aspirations in a different way,” said Bob White, executive director of the Cultural Council. The group has performance opportunities both in the States and abroad, specifically the Netherlands and Israel.
• The Chick-Fil-A founder will be here Sunday to speak to the First Baptist Church’s Father’s Day ceremony. He’s a hero to those folks: he closes his sandwich stands on Sunday.
• Mayor’s office liaison to City Council Mike Miller and his wife Peggy spent the weekend in New York City. Wouldn’t be a big deal except it was their 30th anniversary. Last weekend, they renewed their vows.
• All that work going on in front of the City Hall Annex lately? JEA is working on a water main project.
• Rock & Roll Pizza on Forsyth Street has a new Friday night schedule. From 5-8 p.m. BiggieTea will DJ world beat music and movies in digital video will be simultaneously projected on the wall. He is also hosting a networking group called Gold Exchange. Swap your business card for a real gold surprise.
• The next big election isn’t until November 2004, but U.S. Rep. John Mica is already running TV ads. They’ve been on for a few weeks and his spokesperson is Art Linkletter.
• Occupancy at the 11 E. lofts is about 53 percent. Sixty-seven units have been leased or pre-leased. Also, word is the commercial space is very close securing a tenant. It’s a restaurant, but it remains to be seen what type or when it will open.
• Magellan Academies & Child Development Centers in the Bank of America Tower is expanding. They’re building a private elementary school in Southpoint. They are enrolling for the fall, but classes will be held at Centurion Square until the new facility is finished.