• The Jacksonville Airport Authority nominated current Chamber of Commerce chair Jim McCollum of BellSouth as its board chairman for the upcoming year. Linda Sherrer has been nominated for vice chair and Mary Burnett for second vice chair. The secretary and treasurer positions are being combined and Ron Weaver was nominated for that post. The nominations go before the entire board Sept. 22.
• Mayor John Peyton has accepted Debra Igou’s resignation as chief of the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Deputy Director Bob Baughman will serve in the interim.
• Several members of the City Council Finance Committee are questioning whether construction is already underway on the new Duval County Courthouse. Once the foundation is set, they believe it would be impossible to switch to a cheaper design. Council member Jerry Holland repeatedly asked the mayor’s policy chief Steve Diebenow Tuesday if work had started. However, Diebenow said only preliminary site preparations were underway and the Council was probably mistaking JEA construction on an adjacent site for work on the courthouse.
• Enterprise Integration vice president Dave Lauer will join Mayor Peyton’s staff as chief information officer. At Enterprise, he consulted on technology for several companies, including Merrill Lynch and CSX. Starting Sept. 22, Lauer will help the City use technology to improve service and increase efficiency.
• The paychecks issued by the City last week looked a little fatter. The City issues 26 checks annually, but insurance and parking fee rates are based on only 24 deductions per year. So twice a year City employees receive checks without the deductions.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority reports its new cruise ship terminal is scheduled for completion by the first week of October, several weeks before Celebrity Cruises’ Zenith departs on the first voyage from the 63,000-square-foot terminal. Both Celebrity Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines will use the terminal. Carnival will start service from Jacksonville in March 2004.
• Duval Acura, at 10100 Atlantic Blvd., will receive an American flag that flew over Baghdad. Sergeant Erick “Gonzo” Gonzalez, one of the company’s technicians, is currently serving with the 1st Expeditionary Red Horse Group of the U.S. Air Force and donated the flag. The flag will be raised Friday.
• No playoffs for the Suns this year, but the team has collected a couple of postseason awards. General Manager Peter Bragan Jr. was named Southern League Executive of the Year and the franchise received the Award of Excellence for a 56 percent gain in attendance over last season.
• The Jacksonville Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday at Holland & Knight. Greg Pierce of Administrative Partners, Inc. will discuss emerging technology. For more, call Rhonda Benizzi at 353-0211.
• More legal gatherings: the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday at noon at the Omni. City Council member Lake Ray will discuss a new mass transit system and the new Duval County Courthouse. Reservations must be made by 10 a.m. Monday. Call 354-5500 for details.
• General Counsel Rick Mullaney is the speaker at Friday's Downtown Council meeting. It begins at 7:30 a.m. at River City Brewing Co.