• After a revision of all unscanned and provisional ballots from all Council Dist. 5 voter precincts, the number of votes between Art Shad and Jay Jabour shrank; if only by a four. It turns out Shad actually won by 98, not 102.
• Happy birthday to Maria Coppola of the McCormick Agency. She turns the big 3-0 Thursday.
• Some Chamber members have received invoices from a company called the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. No, nothing to do with this Chamber.
• Quack! Our company had a sales presentation by AFLAC rep. Ellen Afflick.
• Mayor John Delaney is getting awards from all sides these days and the latest was an “Honorary Hospitality Hero” from the convention bureau at their annual meeting Wednesday. Oh, he was elsewhere.
• Defeated incumbent Mary Ann Southwell won’t be returning to the City Council in July, but her aide, Stan Johnson, doesn’t have to look for job. He’ll be working for Dist. 13 Council member-elect Art Graham.
• The Loop is introducing a new “Lite” menu. Twelve of the Jacksonville restaurants will be adding four new items (with 10 grams of fat or less) to their menu. A black bean burger and an artichoke and roasted red pepper pizza are two of them.
• The Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau received Successful Meetings magazine’s 2003 Pinnacle Award. This is the fourth year in a row the CVB has received the award, which honors the top meeting destination support organizations.
• The City and Skanska USA Building, Inc. are just a couple of signatures away from reaching a deal for Skanska to be the construction manager on the new $211 million county courthouse complex. According to Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, a deal has been negotiated and approved by both sides.
• Good news for the medical clinic, Volunteers in Medicine, on Ocean Street. After a long delay, Dr. Jim Burt says plans are to open Sept. 2.
• Big bash June 27 for retiring Council Auditor Bob Johnson. It’s from 2-4 p.m. in the Renaissance Room at City Hall. They’ll have refreshments and trade stories, anecdotes and warm tales. After 35 years of service, there are probably a few stories to tell.
• Speaking of bashes, Mayor-elect John Peyton threw a big one at his campaign headquarters on Phillips Highway Tuesday night. Despite having a beer truck and three beer trailers, word is only one tap had anything left by 9 p.m.
• There are some new faces in the legal community; Staci Rewis has joined Moseley, Warren, Prichard & Parrish; Chris J. Kapinski is with Quintairos, McCumber, Prieto & Wood; and Adam Vorhis, started Monday as a summer clerk at Liles, Gavin, Constantino & Murphy.
• The grand opening of the City’s Ethics Office is set for Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Ribbon cutting, refreshments, socializing and Mayor John Delaney will speak at 4 p.m.
• Not all the City Council foolishness is in the big cities. In Waycross, a Council member charged a wig and her family’s Sunday buffet breakfast on a City credit card. When asked about it, she said she thought the card was part of her compensation.
• Former Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady will be in town next week. O’Grady was the pilot shot down over Bosnia several years, and he wrote a book on which the film “Behind Enemy Lines” is loosely based. He’s touring the country these days doing speaking engagements and on May 25, he’s speaking at the 9 and 11 a.m. services at Celebration Church.
• June 26 promises to be a big day. Plans are to incorporate the new arena dedication and implosion of the Coliseum into one event. City leaders are looking into using the upper concourse east stands of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Good views of everything.
• Just three years ago, our David Duval was No. 1 in the international points standings for golfers. Today, he’s No. 201 after a battle with what’s believed to be vertigo.
• According to the latest numbers, the Better Jacksonville Plan is responsible for repaving 1,043 miles of streets and 54 miles of new sidewalks.
• The Main Street Bridge will be closed Friday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the Parade of Sail, one of the events scheduled for the Tall Ships Festival.
• This year’s annual Jacksonville Marine Institute fish fry is set for June 16 and it’s a big one. It’s their 30th anniversary.