• The big mess in the Fairgrounds? It was the leftovers from the Warped Tour alternative rock concert over the weekend. Debris almost covered the grass throughout the Fair’s complex.
• Nice touch at Jags practices. There are portable toilets and there also are portable sinks.
• GOP Senate candidate Doug Gallagher has signed up two heavy hitters to help with his campaign here: John Falconetti of Drummond Press and investor Duane Ottenstroer.
• State Attorney Harry Shorstein sent Mayor John Peyton a New York Times article detailing a nationwide trend of law enforcement budget cuts. Shorstein said Peyton was “bucking the trend with your tremendous support of your police.” Shorstein said it was important that the increased resources become productive.
• Mayor Peyton found another ally in his literacy campaign. Greenscape of Jacksonville, Inc. will give away four trees and 100 seedlings to participants of the latest citywide reading program. The book, “The House on Mango Street” has a chapter called “Four Skinny Trees.”
• Mayor Peyton and Jacksonville Bar Association president Reginald Luster will welcome Dr. Guinevere Eden of Georgetown University Medical Center to town Oct. 1 for the Florida chapter of the International Dyslexia Association conference. Eden is one of the country’s leading experts on the use of brain imaging techniques to study reading problems. Peyton and Luster are both involved in citywide efforts to improve early literacy.
• Jim Rink Park in San Marco is expected to open Aug. 9. A dedication ceremony is being planned.
• Rusty Chandler has been named airport manager at Cecil Field. He was serving as acting airport manager. Before moving to Cecil, he managed Craig Airport.
• City Council member Reggie Fullwood thanked JEA for its unexpected weekend donation of school supplies for children in Fullwood’s district. With JEA’s contributions, Fullwood estimated his community outreach supplied about 120 children with bookbags, pencils, pens and paper.
• The mayor’s staff is finding you don’t have to sacrifice fashion for security. Director of Written Communications Susan Pelter has offered to make chic lanyards for the staff to hang their security badges from. New security in the mayor’s office means the staff has to wear their ID badges at all times.