• The latest Jaguars gimmick is a “Flap-Jax,” and Winn-Dixie will give out 40,000 at Sunday’s game here against the San Diego Chargers. It’s a mitt that shows the Jag logo, then the word “GO” when the person folds his fingers into his palm.
• The hungry folks who go to The Salvation Army headquarters on Adams Street for dinner got a surprise Thursday night: venison and wild boar were on the menu. It was courtesy of the local Safari Club, which did the cooking and serving, too.
• Don’t give the Super Bowl Host Committee any originality points for this one. The name of the mascot . . . drum roll . . . the envelope, please. Scoop the Pelican!
• The Governor’s Advisory Council, Tillie Fowler, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw and other officials will be in town Tuesday to tour local military facilities. The hope is the evaluators will decide Jacksonville should not fall under the base reduction ax. The City is the fourth largest in the country for military presence and economic impact — behind Norfolk, San Diego and Washington, D.C.
• Former Jags Coach Tom Coughlin’s gig on CBS may have been a one-time deal. He was a commentator on a college football Saturday show, filling in for the regular announcer.
• When the City moved the Friends of the Library into the Craig Field Armory, it didn’t make everybody happy. Blue Cross Blue Shield lobbyist Mike Hightower, who helped secure the space for the library fundraisers, said City firefighters wanted to use the space for a workout facility.
• Design work on the Hendricks Avenue
roadway and streetscape improvement
plan is about 90 percent complete,
says City Council member Art Shad. After the final details are confirmed, Shad and Better Jacksonville Plan representatives say construction should begin by January and be complete within a year.
• City Council members have been invited
to an exclusive “backstage tour” of the new
arena next week. Those lucky enough to get a pass have been told that they must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes or they won’t be allowed in. “No exceptions,” said arena representatives.