• Circuit Court Judge Charles Arnold told Dan Kleman, the City’s chief operating officer, the City should consider suspending work on the new Duval County Courthouse until the judges and City can “reach a plan we can all agree will be in the best interest of the taxpayers.” Arnold recommended invoking a contract clause that would allow the City to withhold payment to the construction manager for up to 90 days while the issues are addressed. Arnold told Kleman to take Sunday off from worrying about the courthouse, but the chief operating officer said that was unlikely. “I have a hard and fast rule that I do not do office work on Sunday, but I love the courthouse project so much I just couldn’t stay away,” he told Arnold.
• The Jacksonville Zoo was recently mentioned in Newsweek magazine. In a sidebar highlighting new zoo attractions across the country, The Range of the Jaguar was praised for appealing to both children and adults.
• Though City Council president Elaine Brown is staying pretty busy these days, she had just enough time to squeeze in a special appointment Thursday. Brown had lunch with First Lady Laura Bush.
• The Downtown Ambassadors have a new home. Located in the old Barnett Bank Building until it closed recently, the orange-clad troupe has moved to the old SunTrust Building.
• Downtown Vision, Inc. wanted to clarify that the crime and real estate statistics cited Thursday in our story about the JEDC’s evaluation of downtown included areas beyond the urban core. The JEDC measured downtown north to Martin Luther King [Boulevard] and west to Stanton [Street]. DVI also pointed out that the measured area did not include the resurgent Southbank.
• T-U columnist Ron Littlepage is going to take some heat from the Florida Public Relations Association in a couple of months. The group is holding a “Roast and Toast” for Littlepage Oct. 1 at the Omni.
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