• Mayor-elect John Peyton will keep one of the previous administration's key officials: Rick Mullaney will continue as general counsel.
• Effective July 1, the city has a new fire chief, at least for a while. Mayor-elect John Peyton said today that department veteran Miles Bowers would be the chief until a permanent replacement is named. He’ll take over from Ray Alfred, whom Peyton vowed to replace during the campaign
.• Mayor John Delaney’s office looked like a ghost town last week. Few from the Delaney Administration will return today as Mayor-elect John Peyton prepares to take office Tuesday.
• Seems some folks who received City invites to the Coliseum implosion last week were unable to enter the viewing area at the arena. The City handed out 400 passes, but had only 200 hardhats and goggles, which were required to enter the new arena.
• Retired City Council auditor Bob Johnson received an award last week honoring his work. Council president Lad Daniels said the award — a large silver bowl — looked like “a hot tub . . . a hot tub for midgets.”
• Doug Oberdorfer has opened a new law firm downtown. The attorney, most recently with Bullock Childs Pendley & Reed, now has a general practice at 218 E. Ashley St.
• U.S. Open golf champion Jim Furyk is at his Ponte Vedra home for the week and brought along the silver trophy, which he’ll keep for a year. One thing to be determined: how does he get his name engraved on it? “A couple of past winners told me that I’d have to do it myself, but I think they were kidding,” he said. “I’ll wait until I talk to someone from the USGA.” He showed it off to the media Friday and Ch. 12/25 sports director Dan Hicken (left) got to pose with it.
• Another golf note: the TPC Stadium course’s famed 18th hole is a mess. They’re rebuilding the bulkhead.
• Sports talk show host Rick Ballou, who got fired here a few years back for fighting with a fellow employee, is back on the radio here. He’ll have his national show at night on AM-1570.
• The City is not hosting an Independence Day parade downtown this year. Why? According to the Special Events Department, it’s difficult to get bands and school groups to participate in the summer. Additionally, many servicemen and women are deployed or just getting back so they decided to give them the year off.
• La Cena is closing until July 9 and owner Jerry Moran also wants you to know that he now has a wireless high speed internet connection in the Laura Street restaurant.
• Attorney Lanier Drew Gibbs walked the aisle Saturday but no, she didn't get married again. Two-year-old daughter Sidney was the flower girl at a wedding and panicked, so Lanier had to walk down with her and then out the side door.
• You get so much suggestive email labels that you're wary of everything, you might pass the one labeled "New Brest Exhibit." Ah, but it's an art show in the Alexander Brest building at Jacksonville U.
• The state’s Democrats gathered in Miami over the weekend with at least 10 potential candidates for Sen. Bob Graham’ seat, if he gets a Presidential (or veep) nomination, or if he quits. No North Floridians in the mix, though there are rumors that ex-NationsBank head (and wife of gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride) Alex Sink is interested. She lived here briefly.