• The downtown post office in Ziba’s hair salon has closed. Post office boxes and the postal retail counter were moved Saturday to the General Mail Center on Kings Road. “I regret that it did not work,” said Postmaster Richard J. Mckillop about Ziba’s decision to terminate the contract.
• Mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy said the City will hold on to three parcels of land surrounding the new county courthouse site. The City investigated giving the lots back to the sellers, which included Wachovia, as a way to save money on the project.
• Our symphony’s cutbacks are small compared to others. The Pittsburgh Symphony last week hit its musicians with a 7.8 percent pay cut.
• The old Barnett Bank building on the corner of West Adams and Laura streets could change ownership as early as today.
• The new face on the JTA board of directors is A. J. Johns, president of a local utility contracting firm.
• Mayor John Peyton will continue familiarizing himself with the City’s military outfits as he flies with the 125th Fighter Squadron Thursday. The mayor earlier toured the Enterprise Battle Group, based in Norfolk, Va. He was surprised to learn how many members of the Group have family living in Jacksonville, which is where a good number plan to retire.
• The City’s big BRAC day will be Oct. 7 as the Governor’s Advisory Council arrives for briefings and tours of military facilities. Congress will study recommendations before announcing which bases will be closed during BRAC’s next, and last, round. The Council will probably be reminded more than once that Hurricane Isabel passed Jacksonville by on its way to ravage Virginia.
• For the first time in its 22-year history, the The Loop Pizza Grill is launching a television advertising campaign. The Loop filmed the shots for the commercial in mid-September at the restaurant’s Eagle Harbor location. The ads should be ready to air in time for the holiday season.
• City Council member Jerry Holland recommended to Mayor Peyton that interim Parks and Recreation director Bob Baughman be given the job full time, but, given recent history, Baughman may wish the former Council president stayed out of this one. In early September, Peyton helped pull the plug on Holland’s $5 million park expansion. One week later, the mayor killed Holland’s proposal to put an employee gym in City Hall.
• According to a draft itinerary, Mayor Peyton will accompany interim Chief Financial Officer Walt Bussells, Finance Director Cal Ray and interim Treasurer Mary Arditti on a three-day visit to New York City bond rating agencies. Starting Dec. 2, the City will make pitches to Fitch, Inc., Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investor Services in an attempt to improve its rating.