• Several NFL representatives were at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville Thursday afternoon to discuss an on-field, pre-Super Bowl party. The top-shelf affair will feature food and beverage tents in the outfield and a band playing on a stage set up on second base.
• The Omni is offering a Jacksonville Film Festival package. A weekend stay in a deluxe room and two all-access passes will cost you $380.
• The Navy told Mayport residents to prepare late next year for a series of explosions off the Mayport coast. No, they’re not expecting an attack. The Navy will be conducting shock trials, which call for five-ton explosives to be set off underwater to test effects on Navy submarines and boats.
• Bay Street Town Center spokesperson Michael Munz said the redesigned streetscape will provide more on-street parking, but more importantly, it will look like a lot of parking, hopefully drawing people to the area. “It’s like San Marco,” he said, “where you feel like you have a shot at parking in front of the retail establishments, and you circle around and end up parking wherever,” he said.
• Congratulations to attorney Angela Corey, director of the Gun Crime Unit at the State Attorney’s Office. She was honored as the Judicial Victim Advocate of the year at the Mayor’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council’s awards ceremony Thursday night.
• There’s something for everybody at the April ExZooberation 2004 auction to benefit the Jacksonville Zoo. Participants can bid to adopt and name the zoo’s new baby white rhino or take five friends to the 2005 Kentucky Derby. Two Super Bowl tickets will also be available, courtesy of Delores and Wayne Weaver.
• Speaking of the Zoo, Kelly Diedring, winner of the Animal Planet’s inaugural King of the Jungle competition, will be signing autographs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
• The City Council plans to congratulate the Jacksonville Barracudas Hockey team for winning the league championship. Offered as an emergency resolution by Council president Lad Daniels, the bill will be read at Tuesday’s Council meeting.
• 1402 San Marco, a bar on San Marco Boulevard, has apparently closed after being open for less than six months. A “for rent” sign can be seen hanging in the window.
• According to the Tampa Tribune, the Georgia/Florida game is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff Oct. 30, and the Florida/Tennessee game is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.