• For the next couple of weeks, downtown is the place to be for art lovers. The first Downtown Art Walk is set for Wednesday, beginning at 5 p.m. with several stops. And Nov. 13 the Downtown Council’s Corporate Art Tour takes places at the Suddath Building on the Southbank from 6-8 p.m.
• The rumors surrounding the next round of military base closures are apparently flying fast and furious around Washington, D.C. Daniel McCarthy, Jacksonville’s military liaison, said speculation over which bases are headed for closure recently prompted the Department of Defense to refute the stories as fakes. “I imagine the next year will be full of such reports, followed by denials,” said McCarthy.
• Property Appraiser Jim Overton wants to meet with Mayor John Peyton to discuss a location for a Charles Bennett statue. Overton and former City Council president Matt Carlucci have headed the drive to build a memorial for the former U.S. representative.
• University of North Florida president John Delaney said Mayor John Peyton shouldn’t take the blame for the lack of support given to the 101st Airborne infantry brigade, which the City adopted in March. Delaney said the City’s plans for the brigade were lost in the mayoral transition. “He’s [Peyton] been real good on the military; he definitely shouldn’t take the blame,” said Delaney. “Transitions are awkward at the best of times and I guess we just dropped the ball on this.”
• We’ve been passed over again. The M&M candy people are saluting NFL teams with candies in team colors, but no teal. But, if you’re out in Dallas, you can have silver and blue M&Ms.
• How good are the Levy Restaurant folks, who serve in the terrace sections at Alltel Stadium? They’re now running a restaurant in Downtown Disney: the one owned by famed chef Wolfgang Puck.
• C. Ryan Maloney has joined Foley & Lardner’s Jacksonville office as a member of the Litigation Department and General Commercial Litigation Practice Group. He received his law degree, with high honors, in 2003 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an articles executive for the “Journal of Law and Public Policy.”
• The NFL’s sports channel debuts this week, but it’s only available on DirectTV. Most cable providers haven’t signed up for the service yet.
• Maybe things will change for the Jags — Coach Jack Del Rio got a haircut.