• Vestcor Companies chair John Rood says he isn’t packing his bags for a U.S. ambassadorship in the Bahamas just yet. Rood is still in the process of submitting paperwork to the White House for “a variety of positions in and out of the country.” He says he’ll know in a couple of months what, if anything, he’ll be offered.
• Supervisor of Elections John Stafford is hosting a voter registration workshop Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Balis Community Center at the San Marco Library to discuss the federal Help America Vote Act.
• Speaking of the elections office, they’re closing the gap on the $80,000 they need to host the 2004 Mock Convention in February. To date, they’ve amassed just over $60,000 and are anticipating a healthy windfall to make up the difference now that the holiday season is over.
• The Salvation Army is in the process of applying for a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs. If awarded, the money will go toward 15 new beds for veterans at the Red Shield Lodge homeless shelter. The application should be submitted in a few weeks and until then the non-profit group has been asking for letters of support from various City officials, including Mayor John Peyton and City Council president Lad Daniels.
• The JEA is using its technological expertise to help one local business. The Sea Turtle Inn in Atlantic Beach is using JEA’s solar incentive program to heat its pool, which is in the shade most of the day.
• The City Council’s Rules Committee is considering a resolution honoring the Florida Coastal School of Law as a community resource on social and environmental issues for hosting and organizing the 2003 Northeast Florida Environmental Summit.
• Now available at the Convention and Visitors Bureau: the 2004 Jacksonville & the Beaches Destination Planner and the winter 2004 edition of the Jacksonville & the Beaches Official Visitors Guide.
• A poll being released today by The Terrance Group says 78 percent of the 300 registered “likely” voters surveyed favor providing economic incentives for Toney Sleiman’s Landing project. Other findings: almost 30 percent say education is the top issue facing the City followed by the economy and crime; 52 percent said they are happy with the way Mayor John Peyton is dealing with the new Duval County Courthouse; and 70 percent support plans to upgrade the Landing.
• Private investigator Sean Mulholland has purchased the old Boyd & Jenrette law firm building on 220 E. Adams St. and has moved there. He was in the Coker building on Bay and Newnan streets.
• Ex-Adam’s Mark manager Irving Kass is a busy bee. He’s still a consultant in the hospitality industry but now he’s bought a florist business in Mandarin and soon will close on a small St. Augustine hotel.