• Better not gripe too much about your taxes — we’re better off than most other cities in our category or bigger. A District of Columbia survey shows that Jacksonville residents pay only 5 percent of their income on state or local taxes. The survey used a family income of $75,000 as its base. The survey covered 50 cities and only two came out lower than Jacksonville: Anchorage, Alaska, at 4.3 percent and Cheyenne, Wyo., at 3.5 percent. The other end starts with Bridgeport, Conn. at 17.1 percent. The rest of the top 10 are Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Portland, Ore., Portland, Maine, and Louisville.
• Early favorites for the John A. Delaney Environmental Award are Mark Middlebrook, for his work with the Preservation Project, and Neil Armingeon, the St. Johns Riverkeeper. The mayor’s office will nominate them.
• The Jacksonville Naval Air Depot has won the Secretary of the Navy’s Award for Achievement in Safety Ashore. Secretary Gordon R. England may present the award himself when he comes to town April 20.
• St. Augustine visitors will be glad to hear that the rumors about the Conch House Restaurant closing are not true. In fact, the restaurant has expanded to include the Everglades outdoor dining area and the Seminole Raw Bar.
• RE/MAX on Park Avenue is sponsoring the Jacksonville Hot Air Balloon Festival May 22-23 at Herlong Airport. All proceeds from the festival benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.
• So how does Ch. 12/25 reporter Roger Weeder navigate around the beach? On a motor scooter.
• Speaking of Ch.12/25 personalities, Meteorologist Julie Watkins will act as emcee at Saturday’s Earth Day celebration at the Landing.
• Florida Coastal School of Law posted the second-highest pass rate in the state on The Florida Bar exams taken Feb. 24-25 in Tampa. With a 79.2 pass rate (38 out of 48), FCSL was topped only by 88.8 percent posted by the University of Florida (142 out of 160). Other state schools with students taking the exam were Stetson University (76), the University of Miami (66.1), Florida State University (67.3), Nova Southeastern University (54.5), St. Thomas (46.9) and Barry University of Orlando (40.9). The overall percentage of first-timers who passed the exam was 75.3 (837 out of 1,112).
• Congratulations to Matt Jackson, assistant to City Council member Reggie Fullwood. He’s one of the locals who passed The Florida Bar exam.