• Private fundraising for the Equestrian Center has lagged, but former City Council member Alberta Hipps is ready to lead by example. Hipps, who is also president of a non–profit group formed to oversee fundraising, said she will pay $2,000 to name a horse stall for a family member. Selling naming rights to the facilities is viewed as one of the center’s primary fundraising assets.
• The mayor’s office delegation returned Tuesday from the Super Bowl trip to Houston. Spokesperson Heather Murphy said Mayor John Peyton was most struck by the size of the crowds and said crowd control and traffic flow would be primary considerations. Murphy said Peyton returned from Houston, “confident that Jacksonville will be ready to put on a first–rate Super Bowl.” No word on the mayor’s reaction to the halftime show.
• The Super Bowl halftime fuss is keeping the phones in the mayor’s office ringing. Most callers are saying they don’t want a repeat performance here for next year’s Super Bowl, with several callers suggesting that church choirs be the entertainment for the game.
• No cell phones are allowed in the U.S. Courthouse at Jacksonville, but if you forget, The UPS Store across the street will hold your phone all day for $1.
• Work is progressing well on the Main Street Bridge painting project and should be complete by August, says Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Goldman. Next up: a decision on whether to light the bridge in time for the Super Bowl.
• Riverside is a little bit sweeter these days. That’s because a new Marble Slab Creamery just opened in the Riverside Square Shopping Center. It’s owned by Raj Desai, and is the second location in town. The other store is located on Southside Boulevard.
• Nancy Hogshead-Makar, assistant professor of Law at Florida Coastal School of Law, will moderate a panel on National Girls and Women in Sports Day in Washington, D.C. this morning. The discussion on gender inequities and high school sports is being held in the Rayburn House Office Building. Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic champion in the 1984 Olympics, has been at FCSL since 2001.
• Local employees of David Weekly Homes are being treated to a week-long vacation in Hawaii after helping set a company revenue record in 2003.
• With the awarding of a $4 million Housing and Urban Development grant, The Salvation Army has employed consultant John Hazelroth to serve as a guide through “the maze of HUD requirements.” Hazelroth will be in Jacksonville Feb. 12 to meet with Salvation Army board members. The grant will be used to build a senior assisted living center downtown.