• The invitations aren’t in the mail yet, but the Jacksonville Bar Association is already working on a list of potential speakers for next year’s Law Day luncheon. Suggestions include U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and one of the U.S. Supreme Court justices.
• Congratulations to attorney J. Stephen O’Hara Jr. of O’Hara, Spradley and Waters. He’s been named to the Florida Wildlife Foundation’s Conservation Hall of Fame. O’Hara has been involved in the organization since 1987.
• Nice perk for 11 E. residents: they can get a free cup of Barnie’s Coffee every morning thanks to the building management.
• The UPS Store at 221 N. Hogan St. should be open by Oct. 1 or, perhaps, a day or two earlier. More material should arrive early this week and will take two or three days to install, said Terry Wilkins, who will manage the store with his wife, Vikki. All that will be needed after that is a bit of clean-up and some final touches.
• To say that a “majority” of attorneys who take The Florida Bar’s certification exams pass them is “absolutely not true,” said John Mills, of Mills & Carlin, referring to a recent story on board certification. Mills said he doesn’t know what the pass rate is in the other 18 specialties, but it’s low in appellate, the one he considers the toughest. Eighteen lawyers qualified to sit for one appellate exam, Mills said. Eight passed. The issue has become a real bone of contention across the state, Mills said, as many attorneys insist the exams are far more difficult than they need to be.
• Give the Springfield Revitalization Roundtable points for candor. Their invitations to an Oct. 25, Halloween costume party read: “You thought Springfield was scary during the day. . . Wait ‘til you see us on Halloween!” The party will feature a live band playing at the Woman’s Club.
• Supervisor of Elections John Stafford has organized a Mock Convention in February at the Osborn Center. The goal is to rally younger voters and motivate elected officials and candidates in Jacksonville to address students as viable members of the voting population. City Council member Glorious Johnson is the first confirmed City representative who has agreed to be a political mentor.
• Jeannie Fewell, planning and development director for the City, has been invited to speak at a Harvard University conference on city planning. In addition, Fewell’s department was recently honored with three awards, one for town center projects.