• Supervisor of Elections candidate Lois Chepenik has obtained enough signatures to waive an approximately $5,000 qualifying fee for the upcoming special election. Chepenik needed 1,288 signatures on her petition. She got over 1,600. “Never doubt the power of motivated women,” she said.
• City Council member Kevin Hyde has offered some weighty legislation regarding the stalled Duval County Courthouse project. Filed late last week, the multi-faceted bill would reset the project’s budget at $232 million and also require Mayor John Peyton’s office to keep the Council informed on all future decisions regarding the project. Lastly, Peyton’s office would not be allowed to make a settlement with parties involved in the courthouse without Council approval.
• A number of companies responded to the Police and Fire Pension Fund’s Request for Proposal to rehab the Bisbee, Florida Life and Marble Bank building’s on Laura Street. However, Fund administrator John Keane confirmed that the list has been narrowed to three. A final selection, he said, will be made by Wednesday.
• Some expansions are is in the works on the main level at Independent Square. The building’s owners, Capital Partners, are enlarging their offices by moving some workers across the hall into the space formerly occupied by the Downtown Emporium, and the snack bar in the middle of the building will almost double its space by knocking out the back wall.
• Pat Summerall will be the guest of honor at the “Legends of Charity - A salute to Pat Summerall” luncheon and auction on Friday, Feb. 4, two days before the before Super Bowl. Proceeds from the CSX-sponsored event will go to the Hubbard House and it might be the first time anyone here honored the broadcaster who used to live in Ponte Vedra. One person who’s sure to be on the front row: daughter Susie Wiles, one of Mayor John Peyton’s chief operatives.