• City Council member Glorious Johnson has thought of one way to save the City money: stop buying bottled water. Johnson said she doesn’t see the point in paying for it when JEA is providing “perfectly safe” water to drink.
• The First Coast Manufacturers Association has donated $9,000 to the University of North Florida for the College of Computing Sciences and Engineering for the association’s scholarship endowment fund. Each year FCMA awards two $2,000 scholarships to UNF students majoring in engineering.
• The Riverside Arts Festival is scheduled for Sept. 6 and 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Riverside Park. Over 130 artists are scheduled to participate.
• The Spina Bifida Association of Jacksonville won a second-place award for Most Innovative Fundraising, third place for Outstanding Website and honorable mention for its quarterly newsletter at the Spina Bifida Association of America national conference.
• The Cheesecake Cafe in San Marco is now offering karaoke from 7-10 p.m. every Wednesday.
• A group hoping to start an amateur adult sports and social league has hit a snag. The group originally wanted to rent or reserve City fields to play softball and football but was told it wouldn’t be possible because they are a for-profit company.
• The Florida Venture Forum, Inc. is hosting an educational program, Preserving Equity Capital — Understanding Term Sheets, Valuation Metrics, Financing and other Capital Raising Tools, Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton. Cost is $35 per person before Sept. 14, $40 per person at the door. For more, call 305-446-5060.
• The library is hosting two discussions of “Fahrenheit 451,” the book selected for the JaxReads program. The sessions will be held at the Haydon Burns Library on Sept. 8 at 11 a.m and noon.
• The Jacksonville Asian-American Bar Association September meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at the law firm of Ford & Miller. It starts at noon, and lunch is provided.
• FridayFest returns to Hemming Plaza this week with a Cajun theme. ZydecoZoo will provide the music. It starts at 4:30 p.m.
• OPUS, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s young professionals support group, is hosting its season-opening party Sept. 13 at spiller vincenty gallery from 6-9 p.m.
• Back from vacation: local builders association director Arnold Tritt. Alaska.
• Another builder note: local interior designer Rita Williams has been elected into the state builders’ association Hall of Fame.
• Jags owners Wayne and Delores Weaver will present a $3 million check Wednesday to two live jaguars (the animal, not the players) to announce the zoo’s capital campaign for the Range of the Jaguars and Kids Zone exhibit.