• The Omni is planning to renovate all of its rooms, beginning in May. The project should be complete by November, in plenty of time for the 2005 Super Bowl.
• Snyder Memorial at Hemming Plaza did not participate in Wednesday’s Downtown Art Walk due to electrical problems. The next art walk is scheduled for Feb. 4.
• Riverplace Jewelers in the Riverplace Tower is closing Jan. 17
• Technology Committee member Sharon Copeland and Chair Lake Ray recommended the formation of a subcommittee to review how the City prioritizes Better Jacksonville Plan road projects. The mayor’s policy chief, Steve Diebenow, said the mayor would employ “more analysis” in evaluating future projects, including overpass construction.
• Tickets are now on sale for the Guns and Hoses Fight Night, a charity event to benefit the Police Athletic League and MDA. The annual fund-raiser will be held Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., at the Arena. Tickets are $28 for general admission, $33 for reserved seats and $38 for the Club section. Tickets are available at the Arena box office or at the FOP Lodge, 5530 Beach Blvd.
• A New Year’s gathering turned into a surprise wedding party for the families of mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy and new husband, Capt. Dudley Capps., a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. The couple had originally planned to get married in December, following Capps’ deployment to Europe. However, they moved the ceremony to last weekend upon learning that Capps would instead leave next week for deployment to Afghanistan. The mayor’s chief community officer, Pete Jackson, married the couple at the Capps family home in St. Augustine.
• The Super Bowl Host Committee will kick off the year-long countdown to next year’s game with a Jan. 24 health festival at Metropolitan Park. Shands HealthCare will host the event, which will include a 5K race, kids’ races, awards, lunch, health screenings and an appearance by Scoop, the official Host Committee mascot.
• Martin Luther King III is the scheduled speaker at the Willie Gary/Martin Luther King luncheon Jan. 13.
• Council member Sharon Copeland will hold her first subcommittee meeting Jan. 15 to discuss well-head protection legislation. Joining her at the meeting will be Council members Lake Ray and Lynette Self and Jacksonville University professor Quinton White. Representatives from St. Johns River Water Management are also expected to attend.