• Outgoing Real Estate Chief Patricia Brown has been helping interview candidates to replace her once she leaves office early next year. Early candidates include Edward Herbert, a commercial real estate specialist for Prudential Atlantic, and Wayne Sapp with the City’s Neighborhoods Department.
• In an upcoming interview, Mayor John Peyton says that attracting convention business is not a top priority for the City. He says there’s no money available to either expand the current Prime Osborn Center or build a new center.
• During testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gordon England, likely to become the next secretary of the Navy, defended a new combat ship program that could bring hundreds of millions to Jacksonville’s shipbuilding industry. Local naval architect John J. McMullen and shipyard Atlantic Marine are finalists to help build the $400 million Littoral Combat Ships.
• Charlie Towers of Rogers Towers law firm is the scheduled speaker at the Christian Legal Society on Friday at Sterlings at the Seminole Club. Call Jane to RSVP at 387-5400, Ext. 34
• The Jacksonville Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section held a cocktail party Thursday night at Coffman, Coleman, Andrews & Grogan. It was hosted by co-chairs Patrick Coleman and Melissa Dearing.
•The ABA just completed its on-site evaluation of the FCCJ Legal Studies Institute as preparation for reapproving the school’s paralegal program. Formal approval of the program is expected in the spring.
• The Super Bowl Host Committee debuted its mascot at the game and isn’t saying who’s in the Scoop the Pelican costume. We’ll find out, but it’s known that this is not the long-rumored Host Committee job which was held for Mike Weinstein in case he didn’t win the mayor’s race (he didn’t.)
• No, the “Jaguars Don’t Smoke” campaign didn’t end because of recent allegations of marijuana buying. The scoreboard signs are down reportedly because the sponsoring foundation didn’t renew the contracts.
• The land under the now-demolished Coliseum is being used for parking but won’t be paved until after the season. It’s being rolled before games to keep the dust to a minimum.
• The American Bar Association just completed its on-site evaluation of the FCCJ Legal Studies Institute as preparation for reapproving the school’s paralegal program. Formal approval of the program is expected in the spring.