• Seems shock rocker Alice Cooper’s performance at the Florida Theatre last weekend ended on a sour note. Pizzas delivered after the show included satanic messages and symbols, which were drawn on the inside of the pizza boxes. Cooper was enraged, saying he couldn’t leave the city fast enough.
• Mark Nelson, our convention bureau’s vice president of sales, is moving to Orlando. He’ll be with the CVB there.
• The Church of the Good Shepherd in Riverside is finally getting a rector. The Episcopal Church has been without a leader for about four years after an internal squabble sent Rev. Jim Dannels packing to a North Carolina church. Things finally have quieted down: the local bishop wouldn’t let them have a rector until the problems were solved. The new man: Rev. John Reese, who comes from a New York church.
• You’ll recognized some familiar names in the high school football ranks this year. Yes, Matt Carlucci Jr. is the Stanton quarterback, and Riley Skinner does the same for Bolles. His dad, Chip, once was the Bolles QB and is now a developer here.
• There will be a press conference Wednesday to announce that Jacksonville will be the “start” city for the Great Race 2004, a 4,000-mile cross-country auto rally. In addition to local car enthusiasts, vintage cars will be on hand, including some that will participate in the Great Race. The JEDC Sports and Entertainment Board and Rally Partners Inc. will make the announcement.
• The construction fence surrounding the main branch library site will soon feature public art. Art students from Paxon High School will work with an artist designated by the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art to paint sheets of plywood, which will then be hung on the fence over the next eight weeks.
• The bloodmobile will be at the Chamber Wednesday, and employees there are turning out to help a former employee, Misti Schneider, who’s battling leukemia. She once headed the Area Councils before starting her own hospitality business.
• Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will swear in the Federal Bar Association’s officers for 2003-04 during an Oct. 14 ceremony at the Omni. The ceremony will begin at noon.The new officers are Phillip Buhler, president; Tom Bishop, president-elect; Meg Zabijaka and Martha Bolton, vice presidents; Tyson Duva, secretary; and Kim Israel, treasurer.
• Attorney Tishia A. Green is the new face at Coffman Coleman Andrews & Grogan.
• John Rutherford has found a downside to being sheriff — no golf. The annual Police Athletic League tournament is Oct. 7, and he’ll be there, but he has to pose for photos with all the contestants.
• 100 Laura Street has its first tenant, Connexsys, a local data networking connectivity company which has leased the entire third floor.