• Jacksonville is featured in Southern Living magazine’s current 12-page spread, detailing revitalized downtowns in six southern cities. A night image of Jacksonville’s skyline leads off the story, which also features Fort Worth, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Atlanta and Chattanooga.
• If one of the objectives of the planned Bay Street Town Center is to change the street’s traffic flow, then the project got a head start Wednesday. The ribbon cutting attracted enough attention that police had to direct traffic around the swell of reporters, City officials and developers that crowded the west bound lanes. Project spokesperson Michael Munz joked, “Let’s get this over with before we cause a traffic accident.”
• Asked about the appearance of slow progress on City projects such as the Northbank Riverwalk and The Shipyards public park, Mayor John Peyton said progress was being made, just not all of it is evident. “There’s a lot of behind the scenes things happening that don’t look like they’re happening,” he said.
• Genovar Hall project manager Reginald Estell said preliminary work to renovate the LaVilla structure was proceeding as planned. However, in a monthly review of the project, Estell said he was still lobbying for $275,000 in State money to start exterior work. The City Council extended the project’s deadline from this year to 2007 based on the promise of State funding.
• LB Jax Development managing partner Mike Langton gave Mayor John Peyton an impressive list of references following a meeting at City Hall. Langton provided Peyton with names and phone numbers for mayors of Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Sarasota to inquire about their experiences with downtown housing.
• David B. Wilford has joined Akerman Senterfitt as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group. He most recently worked as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson. He also worked as a clerk at Moseley, Warren, Prichard & Parrish and was an intern for U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas E. Morris.
• San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy extended the Chamber of Commerce a warm welcome five months before the chamber’s Leadership Trip to that city. Murphy said the city’s continued investment downtown had become “one of our city’s greatest success stories.”
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