• Ray Rodriguez, president of the Real Estate Strategy Center of North Florida, says his downtown real estate market study is still a work in progress. The Downtown Development Authority hired Rodriguez last year to assess the office and residential markets in the City’s core. Rodriguez said DDA managing director Al Battle has been working the report — about 10 revisions so far. Rodriguez said the final draft should be ready by the end of the year.
• Downtown Vision, Inc., reports that downtown had the second lowest crime index of any Duval County neighborhood. Violent crime in the area was down 6.1 percent and property crime was down 10.5 percent.
• Orange Park’s Camarda Financial Advisors, Inc. gave Mayor John Peyton some unsolicited advice about financing Alltel Stadium improvements. CEO Jeff Camarda recommended the City issue 1,300 “super bonds” sold for $10,000 each to raise the $13 million needed for improvements like a new Jumbotron scoreboard. Camarda said the City and the Jaguars would guarantee the bonds, which would pay bonus interest triggered by gate revenue, ticket sales and wins and losses.
• The City Council will offer its congratulations to Mazda later this month. The car manufacturer recently hit the one million mark for cars imported through Jaxport since it began doing business in Jacksonville over 26 years ago.
• The 2004 tax certificate sale is scheduled for May 26, 27 and 28 and June 2, 3, and 4 from 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. at the Duval County Courthouse.
• U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw and a planner with the NASA outreach program talked to about 30 daniel youngsters Tuesday night about the challenges of space exploration. Crenshaw, a sponsor of the Starship 2040 exhibit at MOSH, stressed the importance of students absorbing lots of math and science if they want to pursue careers in the space program. For more on the Starship 2040 exhibit, see page 4.
• We mistakenly placed the law firm of Fowler White Boggs Banker in the BellSouth building. Their offices are located in the Bank of America tower.
• Clarification to our City Note Tuesday on artwork at the site of the new Main Library. Student artists from Paxon School for Advanced Studies painted a mural to beautify the site. It’s not part of the Art in Public Places program.