• After months of handling legal matters for actor John Travolta, the law firm of Ossi, Butler, Najem and Rosario has been officially retained to represent Travolta and his companies, JTP Films and Constellations Productions. Michael Ossi got to know Travolta while the firm handled legal matters for the production company filming “Basic,” which starred Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson and was shot locally.
• Neighborhoods Department Director John Curtin presented Mayor-elect John Peyton’s transition subcommittee with an overview of his department’s operation over the last four years. The Animal Care and Control Division received the most attention. He said he wanted the City to move toward a “no kill” policy, which will emphasize finding homes for abandoned pets.
• Mayor John Delaney hobbled on a crutch into Mayor-elect John Peyton’s finance and efficiency transition team meeting Tuesday morning. He tweaked his twice-rebuilt left knee during a recent six -mile hike on a 10-day whitewater rafting excursion to the Grand Canyon.
• According to representatives for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, an additional concert has been added to the popular Masterworks and Coffee series because of increasing popularity. An encore matinee performance of Holiday Pops also has been added.
• Invites for the Chamber’s Leadership Trip to Dallas go out this week. The three-day October excursion is expected to include the City’s top elected officials.
• We confused our courts in a recent City Note about Judge David Gooding, who is a Circuit Court judge, not a County Court judge as we said.
• Jacksonville’s Foley & Lardner branch recently got a pretty big pat on the back. “Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2003-04” ranked the local office No. 3 in the state. The survey also cited partner Gardner Davis as having “substantial knowledge of corporate law and the inner workings of M&A transaction” and called Kevin Hyde a “true class act.” Chambers compiled the guide after independent researchers conducted over 4,500 phone interviews with clients and lawyers from throughout the country.
• Clyde Collins says the Democratic Party is soliciting funds to help paint its headquarters.
• The Urban League’s annual meeting is tonight at 6 p.m. at the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum. Judge Brian Davis will preside over the installation of the agency’s new board offices and members.
• To celebrate its first anniversary, Cowford Professional Network is hosting Cowford SunFest Saturday afternoon at the Landing. The party will feature live entertainment, food booths and a raffle.
• The Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame announces four new inductees Thursday and at least two will show up for the announcement: Florida’s Errict Rhett and Georgia’s Kevin Butler.
• Though no longer with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Marci Larson and Stephanie Barker met with organizers of the Skyway Party to discuss ways of improving a future Skyway event. Larson and Barker are two of the three members of JTA’s communications and marketing department who recently lost their jobs when JTA signed their communications over to the Boardwalk Group.
• The Whalebone Grill is now open for lunch and dinner in Five Points on Park Street. The menu features plenty of seafood.
• The Regency Wood homeowners association in Arlington requested a school rezoning request be postponed from City Counsel consideration because their lawyer, Patrick McCormack, was called up for reserve duty in the Persian Gulf. The Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee heard the proposal anyway.